THE SOUND OF YOUNG JAMAICA
After Jamaica gained independence from the British crown in August 1962, the Caribbean island developed into a musical hotspot that sent ska, rocksteady and reggae on a triumphal march around the world. In the middle of it all: Clement Dodd and his label Studio One, founded in 1963 in Brentford Road, Kingston.

In the sixties, "Sir Coxsonne" not only gathered Jamaica's most talented voices under his roof with Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, the Wailers, Slim Smith and Jackie Opel, he also had some of the most talented musicians working for his empire, which included a recording studio, record store and pressing plant: The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo's Soul Brothers, The Sounds Dimension, The Soul Vendors. Like Motown in the US at the same time, Studio One released at least one new hit week after week, shaping an entire decade.

To this day, Studio One, which employed around 50 people and hundreds of musicians in its heyday, is Jamaica's most successful record company. The compilation "Freedom Sounds" takes a look back at this golden era and presents 18 ska, rocksteady, soul and reggae classics