John Bolloten, also known as The Rootsman, is a musician and DJ based in Bradford, England. Bolloten is also a social documentary photographer.

Early life

Bolloten was born in Brighton. He moved to Scotland at the age of nine.

Amateur Photographer ''Amateur Photographer'' is a British photography magazine, published weekly by Kelsey Media. The magazine provides articles on equipment reviews, photographic technique, and profiles of professional photographers. About the magazine ''Am ...

. May 2019.

Music career

Bolloten's musical career began when he was living in Edinburgh, Scotland and taught himself to play guitar in 1978 at the age of 13 and formed his first punk band. After 3 concerts, he decided that being a guitarist in a band was not for him and he retired from that aspect of the music business. He moved to Bradford at the age of 18 in 1983. He worked for over two years in the local Roots Record Shop, where he began to be known as 'Rootsman'. Starting off making

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

in 1985, he began to incorporate African, Middle Eastern, Asian,

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...

and electronic dance music elements into his experimental dub music.Huey, Steve
The Rootsman Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved 3 December 2018Anderson, Rick
''New Testament'' Review
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved 3 December 2018 In the mid-1990s, he started his own Third Eye label, and went on to work with artists such as

Muslimgauze Muslimgauze was the main musical project of Bryn Jones (17 June 1961 – 14 January 1999), a British ethnic electronica and experimental musician who was influenced by conflicts and history in the Muslim world, often with an emphasis on the Isra ...

, Alex Paterson,

Soulfly Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 19 ...

Junior Delgado Oscar Hibbert (25 August 1958 – 11 April 2005),Greene, Jo-AnnJunior Delgado Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2016 better known as Junior Delgado, was a reggae singer, famed for his roots style. Biography Born in 1958 in Kingston, Jamai ...

, and

Dub Syndicate Dub Syndicate is a dub band, formed by Adrian Sherwood, which became a showcase for Adrian Sherwood's collaboration with Lincoln "Style" Scott, former drummer with the Roots Radics, Suns of Arqa and Creation Rebel. Dub Syndicate initially ...

. In the late 1990s, Bolloten converted to Islam, and his music took on an increasingly spiritual quality.Partridge, Christopher (2005) ''The Re-Enchantment of the West Vol. 1: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture, and Occulture'', T & T Clark International, , pp. 179–183 His 2002 album ''New Testament'' featured guest vocals from Sandeeno,

U Brown Huford Brown (born 8 June 1956, Kingston, Jamaica), better known by the stage name U Brown, is a reggae deejay who released eleven albums between 1976 and 1984. Biography Brown grew up in Bond Street in Kingston, living two doors away from Du ...

Earl 16 Earl Sixteen (b. Earl John Daley, 9 May 1958, Kingston, Jamaica)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 152 is a reggae singer whose career began in the mid-1970s. Biography Daley grew up in Waltham ...

, Mike Brooks, and

Daddy Freddy S. Frederick Small (born 1965), better known as Daddy Freddy, is a Jamaican ragga vocalist. Early life Small was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in the city's Trenchtown district.Huey, SteveDaddy Freddy Biography", Allmusic, retrieved ...

Photography

Bolloten is also a social documentary photographer.Big Issue in the North. September 2019.

Discography

*''City Rockers EP'' (1994) *"Koyaanisqatsi" (1994) *"In Dub We Trust" (1995) *"International Language of Dub: The Rootsman Remixed" (1995) *''Natural Born Thrillers EP'' (1995) *"Authorised Versions" (1996) *''Mother of Nature EP'' (1996) *''Pass the Chalice EP'' (1996) *"Into the Light" (1996) *City of Djinn" (with

) (1997) *"Out of the Darkness: The Rootsman Remixed" (1997) *"Rebirth" (1997) *"Third Eye Dimensions" (1997) *"52 Days to Timbuktu" (1998) *"The Final Frontier - The Rootsman Remixed" (1998) *"Union of Souls" (1998) *''We Come Rough EP'' (1998) *''Imitator EP'' (1999) *"Realms of the Unseen" (1999) *"Return to the City of Djinn" (with Muslimgauze) (1999) *''Versions of the Unseen EP'' (1999) *''Old School New School'' (with

) (2000) *"Roots Bloody Rootsman" (2001) *"Al Aqsa Intifada" (2002) *"New Testament" (2002) *''Joy and Sorrow EP'' (2003) *''Showcase EP'' (2003) *"Walk with Jah" (2003) *"Intifada", "Intifada Dub" b/w (with Celtarabia) "Valley of the Kings", "Valley of Dub" - Partial Records 10" (2014) *"Fittest of the Fittest", "When the Eye Opens" b/w "Only Jah", "Exodus" (Vibronics Remix) - Partial Records 10" (2015)

References

External links

*
Bolloten's photography site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rootsman, The Dub musicians English DJs English reggae musicians Musicians from Bradford Social documentary photographers 21st-century British photographers English photographers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)