Great sound, classic reggae & dub records, and a rockin dance floor. Sounds nice doesn’t it? Well this was the sweet combination of things that unfolded yesterday at the Blue Galaxy stage here at Fujirock Fest. Delivering the goods was none other than “Eastern Standard Sounds” an independent record label and collective based in Seoul, South Korea specializing in all things Reggae & Dub. Established in 2014, the crew not only releases their sounds on vinyl but also organizes events and fosters cross cultural exchange with tours, concerts and creative collaborations.

We were treated to an all vinyl jam yesterday from Eastern Standard sounds core members- Smiley Song, Moho, and Cheong Dahl. Each with their own unique breadth of experience and musical history, all three brought a little different flavour and spice to the slowly simmering afternoon dance floor.

Smiley started things off with a tasty mix of 45s, drifting from bass heavy dubs to trumpet-tinged tracks, even sprinkling some of his own delay-drenched vocals on top adding a nice live element. Smiley is a prominent figure in the Korean reggae scene, wearing many hats from melodica player and percussionist to producer and selector. He’s worked with Alpha Steppa and legendary Alpha & Omega, and has been collaborating and making dubplates with many artists from Europe and Japan.

Next up, Moho mixed things up with some rocksteady, roots and vocal backed tracks. Favouring 12 inch records more than Smiley’s 45 set, the longer mixes added some nice pacing to the dub-wise showcase.

Lastly Cheong Dahl brought the set to a skanking, high energy conclusion. Specializing in classic Ska from the early 60s, Dahl brought the simmering dance floor to a boil with a series of seamless mixes and infectious riddims. Dahl is no stranger to top notch selections, with a long personal history of reggae and dub album collaborations and even acting as an organizer for ‘Rise Again’ the largest reggae festival in Korea. He’s also the trumpet player for critically acclaimed Korean live reggae group ‘NST & the Soul Sauce’.

All in all, their set was a great balance between musicality, danceability and got my Fujirock weekend started off (skankin’) on the right foot!