Throwback Thursdays: Safari Sound on Cham and Wayne Wonder’s “Warm Jamaican Christmas”

Words by DJ Shirkhan and Sammy K

No video this week, just a special Christmas treat. The other day we brought you A Reggae Christmas, a brilliant mixtape roundup with—almost—every great, holiday-themed reggae classic there is, from Sweden’s Safari Sound. Except one tune, that they told us they wished had made the mix. So we asked them to say a little something about it.

It’s Christmas time and everybody is busy buying gifts, organizing for the holidays and adjusting to that “right” mood. Therefore, we thought that it would be a great idea to put together a Christmas reggae mix to cool people’s nerves. Well not only therefore, actually there are some really nice reggae Christmas songs. So an alternative Christmas soundtrack (at least in the “North Pole,” where we are based) was in order.

This mission resulted in a nearly hour-long mix with Studio One legends like Alton Ellis and Dennis Alcapone to Yellowman and UK legend Peter Hunningale. Two days (and 2000 plays) after it was released, we realized that we forgot a very important song: “Christmas Coming” by Alton Ellis (Blame it on the holiday stress, though luckily the late Mr Ellis got two other songs on the mix). Another song meant to be included was our all-time favorite Christmas song, “Warm Jamaican Christmas” by Wayne Wonder and Baby Cham, produced by Dave Kelly for Madhouse Records. The reason it didn’t find its right spot on the mix is because we did not have it in good quality. You’re probably thinking, “So why didn´t you just download it from iTunes?” Well, being in a basement studio without any internet connection was to blame, and we just had to get the mix done in time. But don’t let that stop YOU from grabbing it, if you don’t have it already that is.

As it turns out, Madhouse Records, one of our all time favorite labels, has teamed up with Dubshot and Jamaicanmusic.com, to offer the wickedest Christmas gift ever: A virtual box consisting of 27 Madhouse produced albums for only $49.99. It sounds too good to be true, right? Well it is. This offer, which includes full-length LPs and riddim albums such as Bruckout, Bug, Arab Attack, Joyride and Pepperseed, is only available through Dec. 25. Of course, “Warm Jamaican Christmas” with Cham and Wayne Wonder is included to, in good quality! Go grab it as soon as you can because this is a must in every dancehall-reggae lovers collection. “Warm Jamaican Christmas” has the typical Dave Kelly sound, and the great singjay/deejay combination of Wayne Wonder and Cham deliver as always. There are also several other nice cuts on the riddim—Lady Saw’s “Get A Straw” and Spragga Benz’s “Bad Mind.”

That said, we wish you all a Merry Reggae Christmas and A Dancehall New Year. Play our A Reggae Christmas mix loud during the holidays—just don’t forget to add “Christmas Coming and “A Warm Jamaican Christmas” to that playlist.