Wonderboy and amazing Lee

The sensual, honeyed vocals of Wayne Wonder have made him a consistent hit maker with both extraordinary songs for lovers and the streets since the late 80’s.

Up until that moment in 2003 when his carrier exploded with the global #1 hit No Letting Go was Wayne Wonder only known to dancehall lovers.
From the moment he started recording music in the 80’s, first with the late King Tubby himself and later on with his childhood friend Dave Kelly at Penthouse Recordings, he caught attention with his richer, more soulful vocal approach to Reggae rhythm tracks than many of his contemporaries.

At Penthouse Records, which label is synonymous with Dancehall Reggae hits of the late 80's/early 90's and after that on the Madhouse and Xtra Large labels and his own Singso label, he created a steady stream of successful tunes for himself and others. He has co-written hits for artists like Buju Banton.

In 2002, he earned the first #1 hit of his career with No Letting Go based on hypnotic Diwali rhythm track from Steve ‘Lenky’ Marsden. In 2003 the song and album No Holding Back were re-released on the Major label Atlantic Records and the rest is history.

The follow-up single and video was the equally good Bounce Along from the same album.

011 Wayne Wonder – No Letting Go

012 Wayne Wonder – Bounce Along

Beat guru extraordinaire Shawn Lee is the man behind The Ape Breaks and Planet of the Breaks series which were sampled by everyone from Guru to The Gorillaz. As a multi-instrumentalist and singer he has played and recorded with a diverse range of artists including Coldcut, Leeann Rhimes, Martina Mcbride, UNKLE, Tony Joe White, Chateau flight, The Dust Brothers, St. Etienne, Jeff Buckley, Bomb the Bass, The Spice Girls, and Natasha Atlas not to mention solo records for the Talkin’ Loud and Wall of Sound labels.

Taking inspiration from classic library records he made 2 albums worth of mood setting tracks that work great as an album to listen too, as a DJ tool, a production tool for sampling, or music for beds in advertising or film. My favorite tracks from the first studio sessions Music and Rhythm are El Duce and East West although the rest is just as groovy.

Library records were often recorded by top session musicians and featured tracks capturing a variety of moods - from the frantic bongo-driven chase scene to the string-laden back-drop for a tender love scene - the music featured was aimed largely at TV, film and radio producers. Many of these obscure records are highly collectible for the single one or two tracks that the best LP’s featured - often times selling for hundreds of dollars for an amazing breakbeat or a great funk track.

you can learn more about the amazing Mr. Lee at www.shawnlee.net

013 Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra – El Duce

014 Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra – East West