Gypsy Fari / Chi-Town Reggae

Artist: Gypsy Fari
Title: Chi-Town Reggae
Label: Soundway
Cat.#: SNDW7028
Format: 7" Vinyl
Country: UK
Released: 2023
Style: Soul, Dub, Reggae

Track Listing:

Reissue of the highly sought-after 7” from 1979 by Chicago reggae outfit Gypsy Fari.

Gypsy Fari was a project born in the south side of Chicago, after a chance meeting between St Kitts expat Leroy Webster and local music grad Kevin Coleman. The pair set out to blur the boundaries of genre with their unique brand of music,spearheaded by Webster’s Caribbean roots and fused with the soul and blues the midwest is famous for.

A striking stand-out of the band’s repertoire comes via their debut recording, laid down at Curtis Mayfield’s legendary Curtom Studios. The EP opens with Chi-Town Reggae - a super-charged blend of reggae and disco, led by Websters infectious vocal, steeped in soul and powered by a relentless rhythm section. Hail Jah follows closely, written on the hilltops of the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica, it’s a deadly roots reggae missile that pays homage to Websters beginnings.

Once dubbed by a local news outlet “Gypsy Fari are to Chicago reggae what Muddy Water is to Chicago blues” - now remastered, repackaged and made available again for the first time since its initial release.