Seeed

by Jason Ankeny German reggae ensemble Seeed formed in Berlin in 1998 -- a product of the city's nascent dancehall scene, their sprawling, multi-ethnic, and multilingual lineup is comprised of vocalists Pierre "Enuff" Balgorry, Demba "Ear" Nabé, and Frank "Eased" Dellé; DJ Luke; guitarist "Rudeboy" Rudy; bassist Tobsen Cordes; keyboardist "Dubmaster" Reibold; saxophonist Moritz Delgado; trombonist Jerome "Tchamp" Bugnon; drummer Based; and percussionist Alfie Trowers. Opening slots for visiting headliners including Buju Banton established Seeed's reputation as a dynamic live act, and over time their set lists -- initially made up of classic reggae covers including "The Tide Is High" and "Police and Thieves" -- began to include original material as well. Seeed issued their debut LP, New Dubby Conquerors, in 2001, scoring a massive German pop hit with the single "Dickies B." Traditional reggae gave way to dancehall on the 2003 follow-up, Music Monks, which yielded its own smash, "Water Pumpee." Atlanta soul savant Cee-Lo guested on Seeed's third LP, the 2005 release Next!