Soul Revivers is an ambitious and collaborative project from David Hill and Nick Manasseh, bringing together icons of Jamaican music with some of London’s finest musical talent, steeped in West London’s reggae heritage. After their critically acclaimed 2022 album On The Grove and subsequent dub version Grove Dub, they return with the new album Holding It Down. After On The Grove’s impressive set of collaborations with the likes of Ken Boothe, Ernest Ranglin and Devon Russell, Holding It Down features a further roster of legends. Johnny Clarke, one of reggae’s founding fathers, performs the lead track, written with Manasseh and Hill for the record, The Good Book, as well as his earlier composition Come Back To Me, originally recorded by Neil ‘Mad Professor’ Fraser in 1985, and given the Soul Revivers treatment. Fellow Jamaicans, vocalists Susan Cadogan and Earl 16, and trombonist Vin Gordon, bring their exceptional talents to three further tracks: No Place, Serious Time and Everything Is Everything respectively. Also featured is Sandra Cross, a stalwart of the UK reggae scene, who appears on A Thousand Years and Like A Lion. While shining a light on key figures from the pillars of reggae, Soul Revivers are defined as much by their contemporary vision and vitality, working with some of the finest musicians from the wider London music scene. Appearing on Stable Way is bandleader and trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey (aka Ms. Maurice) and Anoushka Nangay from Kokoroko (who previously appeared on On The Grove standalone 45, Coconut Rock). Recorded at Nick Manasseh’s The Yard studio, the rhythm section includes Manasseh (bass), with Adrian ‘Kenz’ McKenzie (drums), Will Rast (keyboards), James Shepherd and Wayne Almond (guitars), alongside horns Colin Humphries and Dougal Caston. Soul Revivers prove once again they are exemplifiers of world class reggae, expertly drawing on its history, while incorporating contemporary artistry and new sounds, to create something fresh and timeless. Presented in a beautiful sleeve, which features an incredible black and white photograph by Charlie Phillips of the first Notting Hill Carnival in 1966, adorning both sides of the cover, Holding It Down is available on LP and CD. Fittingly released to coincide with the 2026 Carnival, it is an institution close to the hearts of Soul Revivers - Nick having played there on the Manasseh sound system in the 1990s, while David runs the official Carnival after-parties at The Tabernacle - as they continue to expand West London’s reggae connections.
