Listen: Philip “Fatis” Burrell’s Previously Unreleased Songs & Highlights From Sizzla, Beres, Capleton, Wayne Wonder & More
The XTM.Nation label has released a new posthumous compilation from Philip ‘Fatis’ Burrell, the influential Jamaican producer who passed away in 2011 at age 57. Fatis Tapes In The Oven Vol. 3 features recordings with Sizzla, Beres Hammond, Capleton, and several others through an assortment of previously-unreleased tracks and catalog highlights.
The project pulls from Burrell’s studio work from the early 1990s into the early 2000s. Dancehall’s digital evolution was largely guided through this period by the productions that Burrell released on his Xterminator label.
As with the first two entries in the series, the title of Fatis Tapes In The Oven Vol. 3 refers to baking reel-to-reel tapes, a process required to reverse damage to certain tapes and render them playable. The producer Kareem Burrell – Fatis’ son – launched the compilation series in 2018 and spearheads the various stages of development and release on every installment.
In a statement shared with DancehallMag, Kareem said: “The prolific producer helped launch the careers of Luciano, Sizzla, Pinchers, and many more. Working with the island’s top musicians, his tireless work ethic yielded an abundance of classic recordings, many of which have never been released. After combing through an extensive archive of DAT tapes and two-inch reels to preserve them, I now present some of the best of my father’s musical legacy to the world.”
XTM.Nation, the label through which the volume series is released, is operated by Kareem and was formed in 2012, in the wake of Fatis’ passing.
The fourth volume of Fatis Tapes In The Oven is expected to be released in December of this year.
Philip ‘Fatis’ Burrell has been highly regarded for his music since his earliest years of producing, back in the early 1980s. During this period, he recorded at Channel One studio with a host of artists, including Sugar Minott, Tenor Saw, and Michael Palmer.
By 1986, he had launched his Vena label, which was followed by Exterminator later that decade. The name was changed to Xterminator in the early 1990s, and under this iteration, Burrell worked extensively with the Firehouse Crew band and saxophonist Dean Fraser to push Dancehall’s sound to new heights.
Burrell’s mentorship played a significant role in the careers of artists like Capleton, Luciano, and Sizzla. Together, they created some of Dancehall’s most celebrated recordings.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of one such effort – Praise Ye Jah, the classic collaborative album between Sizzla and Fatis Burrell.