Livity Is My Temple

The mysterious Fredread, from Southern France, is the organizing force behind Webcam Hi-Fi, a genuinely world-class French roots reggae project. The collective’s first album finds Fredread working with a variety of singers and toasters from around the global reggae scene, including Horace Martin, Ras Seven, the legendary singjay Joseph Cotton, and (on the brilliant “Come On”) a singer named Senykan. I can’t say enough about Fredread’s production prowess: the sound of these songs is consistently rich, heavy, and carefully detailed, with great horn charts and powerful roots grooves. There’s not a weak track on this outstanding debut.