Steely & Clevie – At the Top

Description

Few names ring louder in the digital dancehall revolution than Steely & Clevie. With ‘At The Top’, the iconic duo distils their sound into a vital collection of stripped-back, forward-pushing dubs-eight tracks that pulse with creativity. Keyboard maestro Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson and rhythm scientist Cleveland “Clevie” Browne built their partnership on deep foundations – seasoned musicians who came up in reggae’s golden years, backing legends like Hugh Mundell and Gregory Isaacs before reshaping the landscape of Jamaican music. Their chemistry sparked early at Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Black Ark and later caught fire at King Jammy’s studio in the wake of the game-changing Sleng Teng era. As innovators who embraced digital technology long before it was the norm, the duo truly understood that ‘leading edge’ is also ‘bleeding edge.’ But Steely’s synth mastery and Clevie’s drum programming, often criticised by the old school purists, set the standard for dancehall production from the mid-’80s into the next decade. Their rhythms powered hits by artists such as Shabba Ranks, Cocoa Tea, and Foxy Brown, and their independent label carved out space for their own boundary-pushing releases.