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Around 1996 I employed Pierre, a young white Rasta from Switzerland, at Southern Record Distribution.

I cannot remember how long Pierre was employed before he moved on to other projects back in Switzerland.

If I recall, Pierre's work visa run out, so he had to leave his employment at Southern Record Distribution and head back to Switzerland.

While Pierre was working, he was somehow involved, or knew people who were involved in running Addis Records, unsurprisingly considering Pierre's dreadlocked mane and the moniker the capital city of Ethiopia, a reggae record label.

Pierre gave me a handful of 7" records while he was in employment, the first records that were released on the Addis record label.

The first three 7" records are showcased on this YouTube post.

Southern Record Distribution ended up distributing Addis Records in the U.K in 1997 but not these first three releases, which were, I guess, sold out by that year

From 1990 or 1991 Southern Record Distribution had been distributing 'digi-dub' records throughout the U.K, parallel to the roots reggae records from Jamaican artists.

On the digi-dub side Southern Record Distribution had a hand in distributing labels like Rej Forte's Jah Works, Riz Records, and sound system offshoot record labels like Conscious Sounds, Boomshakalaka and Wibbly Wobbly, the Zion Train Sound System's record label.

What struck me with Addis Records is that the label seemed to have worked in a completely different way to the U.K digi-dub record labels.

Addis Records seemingly either sent the masters (DAT's?) from Geneva to Kingston Jamaica, or perhaps dropped them off on a trip, for pressing onto vinyl. This would of course been a righteous move paying into the Jamaican economy rather than a rich European company. Of course, Jamaican pressed records, with the traditional technical 'faults', do sound rich and 'organic'. I might be writing bollocks but there you go. I love Jamaican pressed vinyl.

There were reggae legends performing on these first three 7" records, a massive statement for some (I assume) young kids holed up in some apartment in Switzerland.

The first 7" record features Studio Ones favoured saxophonist 'Deadly' Headly, a legendary artist that had (by 1994) for over three decades experience in the studios and stages of Kingston.

The second 7" record features someone with four decades of experience in the studios and stages of Kingston, the percussionist 'Skully' Sims.

The third 7" record, features not only 'Deadly' Headly and 'Skully' Sim's but Vin Gordon also. Another Alpha Boys School attendee, who as a member of The Skatalites, was responsible for recording his trombone onto most of the Studio One studio's sessions.

All the above were backed up by Restless Mashaits, who perhaps were the people behind Addis Records in Switzerland.

The recordings are credited on the labels as being completed at Leggo Studios in Kingston. I assume that the guest artists performed in the studio, overdubs on already completed (in Switzerland) digi-dub backing tracks.

However the tracks happened to have been created, I'm glad they were, and I am glad Pierre gave me the copies that I still have nice and safe to this day.

The last 7" record on this showcase ' Adwa March', as mentioned on the label, is a celebration of Ethiopia's triumph at the Battle Of Adwa against the Italians.

This 7" record was released on the hundredth anniversary of this battle. When I hear this record, it bears a similar vibe, in my opinion, to Aswad's 'Warrior Charge', recorded for the Grove record label in 1976, twenty years prior to 'Adwa March'.