David Rodigan MBE Reworks the Rules With House Of Roots

I love artists with vision. Especially when that vision starts with three Defected classics, a reggae legend and the simple idea that people have always wanted roughly the same thing from music: a big sound system and somewhere to dance.

David Rodigan MBE calls the project House Of Roots, bringing house, reggae, dub and jungle together for one rather loud family reunion. Turns out, they get along pretty damn well.

From Jamaican music to the Olive Grove

Rodigan discovered Jamaican music in the ’60s and, by summer 1967, he was hooked. His own description says it beautifully: “Jamaican music is like a fever and there is no known antidote.”

Decades later, that fever followed him to Defected Croatia in 2025. Rodigan admits he felt nervous before facing thousands of house fans in the Olive Grove. Then he started playing and, well… turns out he had nothing to worry about. Defected subsequently invited him to curate remixes from its catalogue. That’s how House Of Roots found its roots.

David Rodigan MBE on House Of Roots – how reggae, house and one rather good idea came together:

Same dancefloor, different machinery

David Rodigan sees a natural connection between Jamaican sound-system culture and house. Both grew around people getting together, turning the music up loud and, most importantly, dancing.

Shy FX takes Fish Go Deep’s The Cure & The Cause into one-drop reggae direction, using live musicians while preserving that famous vocal. Rodigan premiered it in Croatia and watched the people recognise the song, discover the new rhythm and start singing along. That’s what I call a nice job done.

Meanwhile, CLIPZ turns Soul Central’s Strings Of Life loose as a junglist mix. Then Prince Fatty gathers musicians and horns around The Vision’s Heaven for his reggae treatment.

Three records, one rather good idea

The Cure & The Cause is already out, with Strings Of Life following September 25 and Heaven on October 9. Then comes my favourite part. All three arrive as a limited-edition 7” vinyl box set on October 23, packed in a hard outer box, with each record getting its own artwork sleeve, plus a 16-page photo and sleeve-notes booklet. And yes, you can pre-order this beauty right here.

House Of Roots basically takes decades of musical history, cranks up the music and finds the common language hiding underneath it all.

Follow David Rodigan and everything happening around House Of Roots here – and perhaps warn the neighbours before pressing play.