Out on 19th March 2021, On-U Sound are reissuing the four studio albums, plus another album of unreleased music from seminal group New Age Steppers, who were essentially a loose collective based around the partnership of Adrian Sherwood and The Slits’ Ari Up.
The band existed, albeit on and off, between 1980 and 2012, bringing together musicians from the post-punk and reggae scenes, and included comtributions from members of The Pop Group, The Raincoats, Flying Lizards, Roots Radics, Aswad and Creation Rebel.
Ahead of their release, On-U Sound have released an unreleased track from Avant Gardening titled ‘Send for Me’. It’s a little shaft of light in your life, with persuasive guitar lines, brass at the corners of the changes, and Ari’s rather lovely chilled out music. If this doesn’t make you smile, even in these weird times, call someone.
New Age Steppers launched On-U as the first act to release both a single and album on the label, and it’s fitting to have these brilliant records back out in the world, as the label celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2021. This reissue campaign features:
- Their first 3 classic studio albums back on vinyl for the first time since original release in the early 80s: New Age Steppers, Action Battlefield and Foundation Steppers
- A first time vinyl pressing of the posthumous 2012 Love Forever album, with sleeve by Vaughan Oliver collaborator Chris Bigg of v23
- A new LP of outtakes and rarities, Avant Gardening (in the On-U tradition of albums such as Return Of The Crocodile, Displaced Masters and Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi)
- New sleevenotes for all LPs by Oli Warwick featuring interviews with Adrian Sherwood and other key players
- A 5CD + 32 page book boxset anthology of all their work for the On-U Sound label, Stepping Into A New Age
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