Natrus

For the first time ever: the long-lost recordings of Birmingham roots reggae pioneers, Natrus. Mastered from the original tapes by Guy Davie at Electric Needle Mythology, the label is thrilled to announce the archival release of newly-discovered recordings by Birmingham reggae band Natrus.

Comprising members of the same family – seven in total – Natrus were a ubiquitous
presence of the live circuit within and beyond the West Midlands in the late 1970s.
Used as an ad hoc “Wrecking Crew” by local producer and promoter Toney Owens,
Natrus frequently provided live accompaniment to visiting Jamaican artists such as Sugar
Minott, Johnny Osbourne and Freddie McKay.

During their collective lifetime, Natrus released one very limited edition single Mash It,
with a stellar guest vocal from deejay Ranking Glad(Stone). Featured alongside Mash It on this release are a selection of recordings previously thought lost by the group who laid them down. They were only discovered after Toney Owens’ alerted Needle Mythology’s Pete Paphides to the existence of some 60 quarter-inch reels featuring all the music recorded by Owens over a period of ten years or so. When Paphides finally tracked down Natrus rhythm guitarist Owen Taylor, he was stunned to hear of their existence. After a meeting with Taylor and his siblings, Needle Mythology collaborated with Natrus on the restoration and remastering of the tracks featured on this, their very belated debut album.

Released: April 2026
Cat: NEMYLP023 
Label: Needle Mythology

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Tracklist