Long-Lasting Reggae

I screwed up this week. Kind of.
After deciding to listen to acts from countries I'd yet to look at, I ended up prodding at YouTube's recommendations, and listening to Yet Another Japanese Band before I'd done any of my listening for the challenge this week.
Which wouldn't be an issue, if they were a band I'd heard before.
But they count towards this goal, so...I'll tack them on at the end, as a bonus band!

This week, my main focus is acts from Jamaica!


Black Uhuru
Formed in 1972, the 'uhuru' from this reggae band's name means 'freedom' in Swahili.
Black Uhuru were apparently most successful in the 80s, and have been through several lineup changes over the years.
Their music has a real timeless quality that makes it difficult to put a date to! Though I suspect someone knowledgeable in this genre would be able to date a song right down to the year...
Though I like the timbre of the vocals, this isn't an act I'd listen to again, solely because the genre isn't my thing. But if you do like reggae (or want to give it a try), definitely give this group a listen!
Black Uhuru are still active, which is awesome for anyone that likes them--particularly as they still go on tour!
Black Uhuru on Facebook



The Skatalites
This band were originally active for a few years in the 1960s, but reformed in the early 80s and have been going ever since.
The Skatalites are another group that have been through a lot of lineup changes, and their music is categorised as multiple genres on Wikipedia, but I'm going to note it here as 'ska/reggae'.
Some of their music is instrumental, whilst other tracks have lyrics. I'll embed an instrumental here, but also check out If You Want To Be Happy For The Rest Of Your Life for some lyrical goodness (and a track completely unlike the one embedded here--this group has some variation!)
I like the songs with vocals on better than the ones that don't, and might listen again if I was in the mood for this kind of music. It has an upbeat feel to it, and is worth checking out!
The Skatalites Official Website


Bonus


CLØWD
YouTube suggested this act to me, and honestly the reason I clicked on it was because I wanted to know what kind of band would release an album named Tenderloin.
Formed at the beginning of last year, this band is a baby compared to the other two acts I've written about here! 
The video above is for the most part the complete opposite to what I expect from a Japanese rock band. Rap verses alongside the more typical-sounding bridge and chorus, a narrative unlike 99.9% of other Jrock music videos I've watched (and I've watched a lot)--this one music video really caught my attention!
The other videos I watched were much more along the lines of what I expect from bands of this genre, both visually and musically. Guess I lucked out on finding one of their more unusual songs first!
I'll probably go back to hear more of this band, when I'm in the mood to listen to something outside of the artists usually on my playlist*!
If you like Jrock, go ahead and check out this band.
CLØWD Official Website


*Before anyone accuses me of being a Jrock weeb, my playlist currently comprises of Moulettes (UK), Steam Powered Giraffe (USA), Beastie Boys (USA), Shilfee and Tulipcorobockles (JP), Vitas (RU) and Rammstein (DE). And soon to add Freshlyground (SA) because their album Nomvula turned up in the post today :3 )

Anyway, that's it for this week! Next week I'll try not to get distracted with YouTube's suggested videos before I get this challenge done!