Genesis

Fruits Records is a Switzerland based music label dedicated to roots music. We started it all in 2014 when we went to Jamaica searching for the forgotten singer I Kong. Together, we recorded the showcase album A Little Walk, part of it in Jamaica, with legendary musicians such as Scully Simms and Dalton Browne, part of it in Europe. It was released in the Spring of 2015 and marked I Kong’s come back.

During the same sessions, we also recorded the Trod On riddim and released a maxi featuring The Viceroys, Lone Ranger, Prince Alla and Roberto Sanchez. These two releases became the founding stones of our label. We then invited I Kong for his first tours in Europe with the Swiss band Najavibes, making live performance one of our label’s activities.

Our direction

We love Jamaican roots music, from the 60’s ska era to the 80’s rub-a-dub era! And we intend to bring our modest contribution to keep it alive. That’s why we go looking for the legendary musicians who made the music we love, and bring them together with younger artists from both Jamaica and Europe. We work with recording studios and engineers that share our vision of music in order to reach the desired roots sound.

And to be true to the roots… we release all our music on vinyl!

And then?

The Inspirators

After A Little Walk and Trod On, we released The Inspirators, an ambitious project by Mathias Liengme (one of the four founders of Fruits Records). Recorded in 2013 in Jamaica, it features legendary musicians such as Earl “Chinna” Smith, Leroy “Hoursemouth” Wallace, Lloyd Parks and Anthony “Sangie” Davis. Not only do they play their usual instruments on the album, but each of them also sings two of the eight tracks. These musicians are well known for their playing but not enough for their singing. The Inspirators project pays a tribute to their hidden talent.

Pass It On by I Kong

One album was not enough for I Kong and Fruits Records to really explore all the possibilites of their collaboration. A Little Walk was recorded in one week and I Kong only discovered the instrumentals once they were already recorded. For Pass it On, I Kong and his Swiss musicians created all the music together, from the first note to the final release. Some songs were built around I Kong’s singing, some were written by I Kong during jam sessions, some were written by band members, etc. So the whole effort emerged from a close collaboration. For Pass It On, I Kong crosses the bridge between generations, sharing his singing task with the great Judy Mowatt (from the I-Threes, Bob Marley’s backing vocalist) on Motherless Child, with the legendary Ken Boothe on They Don’t Know, and with the rising stars Raging Fyah on the title track Pass It On.

Out of this album, three songs were released in single or maxi, Motherless Child, Keep Grooving and Pass It On.

The Master Plan by The I-Twins

Up to 2017, Fruits Records had only released music with Jamaican singers. The Master Plan is the first release where Fruits Records opens to European artists. The I-Twins is a vocal duet composed, as the name suggests, of twins brother and sister, Quentin and Camille. The same musicians who played on I Kong’s albums took part it this project. The album goes from roots reggae to rockers and rub-a-dub, bearing few touches of jazz and soul, and deals with topics that matter particularly to the I-Twins: our relation to death, suffering, injustice, love, as well as to beauty, and gives a critical view of our political system and its dysfunctions.

Our partners

Recording studios

Sound Engineers

Distribution