Our first 7″, Sandeeno’s ‘Poorman‘, produced by Martin ‘Unlisted Fanatic’ De Ronne, was released in May 2024. Here we have some notes on the tune from the producer himself.
Martin De Ronne aka Unlisted Fanatic is a Belgian producer, composer, mixing engineer, label owner and selector with two decades of experience in the business.
His portfolio includes releases on his own Sir Runnin’ as well as various European labels, including our Strictly Dub Records – working with names like Linval Thompson, Earl 16, Sandeeno, Lyrical Benjie and Paul Fox just to name a few.
Now Unlisted Fanatic promotes and plays live shows with his UFO Collective in Belgium and abroad, and of course produces and releases new music. It is our pleasure to have him onboard Seafront International with Sandeeno’s ‘Poorman‘, recorded back in 2014 and never released until now.
‘When I rolled into UK Roots & Dub some 20 years ago, Sandeeno’s voice was one that stood out to me with tracks like “Put Down the Guns“, “Top Shotter“, “Worthy to be Praised” … Besides having a great voice, Sandeeno was melodic, had a killer flow applying differents rhythm and tempo changes, incoprorated whitty gimmicks like adding winks to pop songs … at that time I started taking my first steps in rhythm building, so it seemed like a far stretch to work with a singer of his status.
Russ D has been a mate and mentor in production to me over the years. We often discussed technical stuff or just waffle about things as he calls it. One time in 2014 Russ mentioned Sandeeno was coming to his Backyard studio to record some tracks for an album project of his own. I took the opportunity to send some riddims I had sitting. Russ played the riddims to Sandeeno to see what he thought about them. He liked them and would record on the next session.
Originally I intended for Sandeeno to pick one, but talking to him on the telephone he told me he had idea’s for both riddims. The guy was a lyrical machine. He offered me a discount on the second vocal to motivate me to let him record both riddims. In retrospect I should have send him more riddims! I always had the intention to record Sandeeno again but as I took me ages to finish the two tracks I already recorded, I delayed my request as something I could still do in time. Sadly this was not the case. Sandeeno’s passing came sudden and like so many way to soon.
I was lucky to meet Sandeeno in person one time. Not long after the recording session he played in my home town as part of a Conscious Sounds showcase. I volunteered to pick him up from the Eurostar Station and take him to the hotel and venue. I am thankfull to have spent and reason couple hours with Sandeeno and King General while we endured the huge Brussels city traffic jam. It was a nice encounter.
Now with the release of “Poorman” on Seafront Intl. my second collaboration with Sandeeno is released on vinyl to be enjoyed by people worldwide. I hope it keeps the memory of the great artist Sandeeno was alive.
I like to thank Saimon & Jan of Seafront for the opportunity, Russ D for the recording and link up, and Moonshine Horns & Kingston Echo for the musical support.’
Sandeeno – Poorman and Unlisted Fanatic – Poorman Dub are available for streaming on all platforms, and also as a 7″ disc and a digital download through the label’s bandcamp.