Jamaican youth producer Leonard ‘Santic’ Chin first arrived in the UK on the 10th of February 1974. While staying in London he compiled and released his debut long player, built around his then current successful Jamaican seven inch recordings, the classic \’Harder Shade Of Black\’ album.

Twenty one years later ’Harder Shade Of Black’ was the first album to be released on Pressure Sounds. Re-titled ‘An Even Harder Shade Of Black’ Leonard’s original ten tracks were augmented by a further stirring selection of deejay, dub, instrumental and vocal releases of the same superb vintage. Over the ensuing years ‘An Even Harder Shade Of Black’ has proved to be one of the most consistently popular Pressure Sounds releases.

And now, almost thirty six years to the day after Santic first flew in from Kingston, we are both pleased and proud to be re-presenting and re-releasing this classic set. Totally re-mastered, with added bonus tracks, new artwork and graphics the album comes, once again, in the sleeve that was first used on the original Santic release. For the CD release Leonard has kindly allowed us to use some never before seen pictures of himself and the original Santic All Stars band; the liner notes recount, in Leonard’s own words, the origins and the ways of working that produced these timeless recordings.

“Looking back now I’m thinking, in the eighties and nineties, people would spend these relentless hours voicing, dropping in, voicing, dropping in. And nobody’s happy! Doing that you have no soul! You’re just like a mechanical thing. When you hear sweet things and think it can be sweeter… but it’s sweet enough already! You become over technical and everybody wants to be greater than they really can be. It doesn’t really happen like that. You can only be the best you can be…” Leonard Chin

The vinyl LP is now an exact facsimile of the original Santic release. The bonus tracks on the CD are ‘Columbo’ from Augustus Pablo, ‘Special Branch’, ‘Hell Boat’ & ‘Mexican Rocking’ from the Santic All Stars, ‘Shouldn\’t Say No’ from Jah Woosh and its vocal counteraction ’I Don\’t Want To Lose You’ from Paul Whiteman. A classic roots album.