ENTITY · RECORD LABEL

Federal Records

Well supported

Ken Khouri's label and, more importantly, Jamaica's first real recording plant — the Marcus Garvey Drive operation where much of the island's early output was cut and pressed from the 1950s. Nearly every founding producer passed through Federal's rooms before building their own; Tuff Gong bought the premises in 1981, which is its own kind of succession.

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At a glance

Type: Record label →
Era: Ska and independence-era culture →
Confidence: Well supported

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Discogs — Federal Records Jamaica

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Discogs source for Federal Records catalogue credits.

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In stories

Story · Well supportedThe producer owned the riddim

In Jamaica's foundation years the man who paid for the session owned the sound - and often the shop, the studio and the label too.

Story · Well supportedVinyl pressing, reissue and export

Between the studio and the dance sits a factory. Jamaica's pressing plants, its blank-label pre-releases and its export routes shaped what the music sounded like as much as any producer did.