Harry Mudie is a reggae producer who can be considered one of the most innovative. He was not only known for the low-pitched sound that reggae is famously known for, but he also incorporated the soul sweetness of many rocksteady side with strings and touches from Philly soul ambience. His prime work in the 1970s is among the most complex and lush of all the dancehall-ready reggae sides. Harry Mudie was born on Jamaica’s Spanish Town in 1940. He was the first to be known for his contribution to the rise of Count Ossie, the drummer. Ossie was among the first island musicians to embrace Rastafarian beliefs. He also helped create an Afro-centric style of percussion called nyahbingi drumming at the camp he established with other Rastas in the mid-’50s. Mudie captured some of Ossie’s early work on tape in 1960, when Ossie was performing at the Spanish Town Scaramouche Garden Club. Mudie decided to travel and study abroad during the middle of the 1960s. Mudie signed a deal with U.K labels Trojan and R upon his return to studio in the mid-’60s.
