Style Scott

Style Scott
Source: www.rootz.net

Lincoln Valentine 'Style' Scott's skills as a drummer were first spotted when he was still a very young man by non other than Prince Far I, having served his time as a studio hanger-arounder, soaking up the vibe and honing his skills on the skins. He was soon inducted into Far I's own rhythm section The Arabs, appearing for example on Chapter III of his 'Cry Tuff Dub Encounter' series - also featuring Adrian Sherwood under the guise of 'The Dub Syndicate' in one of his first outings as producer-in-charge.

Around the same 1978-9 period Creation Rebel (more or less The Arabs reincarnated without Prince Far I) were developing a strong repertoire and live following. It was one such Creation Rebel line up, including Style Scott, that Prince Far I brought from Jamaica to the UK to tour, that provided the first opportunity for Style and Sherwood to cross paths. Many of Creation Rebel's recordings were subsequently issued in the UK through Adrian Sherwood's and Far I's label Hitrun, and their original editions are now considered highly collectable.

In 1980 with the forming of On-U Sound, Scott was sucked into Adrian's merry band of singers and players, forming part of the crew for the new label's first releases, and settled there for the duration. First outings in his new role saw him providing drums and / or percussion for the likes of the New Age Steppers, Deadly Headley, Playgroup, African Head Charge, Bim Sherman and the Singers And Players. Between 1989-93 as part of the sprawling, Gary Clail fronted, On-U Sound System the influence of Scott's writing credits on tracks such as 'The Emotional Hooligan' and 'Rumours' are clear for all to hear.

Besides his work for Adrian Sherwood, Scott remained a very busy session musician in the first half of the the 1980s and was a key member of the era's top Jamaican rhythm section, Roots Radics, before the arrival of the digital era after which nothing was quite the same again for reggae musicians.

From an On-U Sound point of view though, Style Scott is most well known for being the creative heart of Dub Syndicate - a forward-looking, but backward-nodding dub / reggae collective, usually with Adrian Sherwood along side him at the helm. Though Scott was only associated with the group's name from its second album 'One Way System' (ON-U LP25), he has progressively made it his own ever since. Having returned full time to Jamaica and set up his own label Lion & Roots (L&R), Dub Syndicate riddims are typically now laid in Jamaica by Scott, exported to London for Sherwood to undertake the final mix and then released through L&R rather than On-U Sound as was once the case.