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Herman Chin-Loy

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Jamaican-Chinese retailer and producer who ran the counter at Aquarius Records in Half Way Tree from 1969, having earlier kept the One Stop shop at 125 King Street; his forward-thinking Aquarius productions and instrumentals (later compiled as 'Aquarius Rock') shaped early-1970s reggae, and he is credited with giving Augustus Pablo his stage name.

He was the first to record a young Horace Swaby, later famous as Augustus Pablo, and is credited with pioneering the melodica as a lead reggae instrument as early as 1969, anticipating Pablo's later "East of the River Nile" sound. His 1969 LP "Aquarius Dub" is cited by Bradley as among the earliest true dub albums, emerging around the same time as the first dub experiments coming out of Randy's studio.

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At a glance

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Sources
Herman Chin Loy biography (Jack Russell Music); Jamaica Gleaner, 'Razzle-dazzle at Aquarius'; Pressure Sounds.

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Musical & sonic elementsPeople & rolesTechnology, recording & industryDiaspora & global influence

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Articles & sources

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Razzle-dazzle at Aquarius record store in Kingston

WEB · rights discovery only · press source

Jamaica Gleaner archive feature on Aquarius and Herman Chin-Loy.

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In stories

Story · Well supportedCounter to catalogue: how record shops became record labels

In Jamaica and the diaspora, the retail counter was the A&R department.

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 · ProbableThe record men: Chinese-Jamaican producers

From ska instrumentals to modern dancehall, a cluster of Chinese-Jamaican entrepreneurs ran the shops, studios and labels at the centre of the music.

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Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.

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