Dadawah

The Arc of Dadawah

The pivots — what forced Dadawah to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Federal Sessions

   In 1974, Lloyd Thompson moved away from the more conventional vocal group sounds to record Peace and Love at Federal Studios. He collaborated with the Wildman Brothers to create a sound defined by long-form Nyabinghi chanting and heavy reverb that pre-dated the rise of pure dub. The tracks are stripped of artifice, focusing on the interplay between the funde drums and a sparse, hypnotic bass. You hear the studio’s natural acoustics fighting against the sheer weight of the low end on every track.

2. 02

   The Ras Michael Connection

   Following the cult success of his solo work, Thompson integrated deeper into the Sons of Negus circle. Working alongside Ras Michael, he helped solidify the Nyabinghi drum as the primary driver of roots music rather than just a background element. This era was less about solo stardom and more about communal recording sessions that prioritized spiritual intent over commercial polish. The output from this period is characterized by a thick, polyrhythmic density that makes mainstream reggae of the same years sound thin by comparison.

Influences

• Count Ossie — Ossie was the high priest of the Nyabinghi drum and lived in the Wareika Hills where Thompson spent time. You hear Ossie's groundation rhythms as the literal foundation for the entire Dadawah LP. It’s the sound of the hills brought into a Kingston tracking room.
• The Abyssinians — Their deep, spiritual vocal harmonies on tracks like 'Satta Massagana' set the template for the meditative lyrical themes Dadawah explored. The religious conviction in Thompson's delivery mirrors the dread-focused songwriting of the Manning brothers. It’s the same spiritual DNA, just slowed down to a crawl.
• Mortimo Planno — As a key Rastafarian elder and drummer, Planno's teachings and rhythmic philosophy directly informed the 'Peace and Love' sessions. Thompson was steeped in the drum circles Planno led, which focused on the 'heartbeat' rhythm. You can hear that unwavering, singular pulse throughout the entirety of 'Run Come Rally'.
• The Skatalites — Specifically their early work with Don Drummond, which incorporated Afro-centric themes before the industry became obsessed with American soul. Lloyd Thompson was around the scene when these guys were first fusing jazz horns with mento rhythms. That early independence of spirit gave him the balls to ignore pop structures later on.
• Marcus Garvey — His Pan-Africanist philosophy is the lyrical bedrock for every word Thompson recorded. The 1974 record is essentially a Garveyite manifesto set to a repeater drum. Without the 'Back to Africa' movement's intellectual framing, the songs lose their central gravity.