Aswad means black in Arabic and is also the name of one of the United Kingdom's finest reggae bands. Undoubtedly, for the national charts they reached number one on the English charts with "Don't Turn Around" in March 1998. Their success was testimony to the quality of the band Aswad: over the decades they have been one of the world's best reggae bands. In twenty years Aswad has released some of the finest reggae material of our time and now comes prepared with a new album, BIG UP, released on the Mesa label, part of the Atlantic Record Group.
The band was formed in 1975, and fully emerged in 1976, when they were launched by Island Records, marking a significant point in reggae history because they were the first UK band to be released by a major label. Aswad's sound was not only authentic and militant, but positively original, unlike many Jamaican counterparts. The first album was released in 1976. "Back To Africa", characterized by a cool rhythm, steady groove and Drummie's broken tones, was a great eloquent call for a return to their homeland.