Bruno Blum

Bruno Blum
File:Bruno Blum 2010.JPG Bruno Blum shows his Don't Drink and Drive, Smoke and Fly artwork picturing a sound engineer mixing dub music. Click to enlarge.
Background information
Also known as	Doc Reggae
Born	(1960-10-04) October 4, 1960
Origin	Paris, France
Genres	Reggae, rock, blues, dub
Occupation(s)	Singer, guitarist, songwriter, music producer, cartoonist, painter, photographer, writer, speaker
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass guitar
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Human Race, Rastafari, Ménilmontant International, Out Here, etc.
Website	[15]

Bruno Blum (born October 4, 1960, Vichy, France) is a French singer songwriter, guitar player and music producer sometimes nicknamed "Doc Reggae." He is mostly known for his work in the reggae and rock music fields, and also works as a comic book artist, illustrator, painter, photographer, writer, interpreter and speaker.

An eclectic character

Originally renowned as the enfant terrible of French rock critics Bruno Blum gradually embodies an adventurer-musician globe-trotter figure, a free-spirited, astute lyric writer and a remarkable guitar player, as well as a historian of English-speaking popular music and graphic artist. A fully bilingual (English-French) vegetarian and ecologist, he has lived without drugs or alcohol for over twenty years. In the "Human Race" CD booklet, a Blum production, noted American reggae historian Roger Steffens described him as "a virtuosic polymath" and concluded: "An artist, producer, director, archivist, musician as well as author of and contributor to dozens of books [including 'Jamaïque, sur la piste du reggae,' where Blum tells his own account of his musical adventures in Jamaica], Doc Reggae stands supreme among France’s reggae chroniclers in his perceptive observations and the impressive variety of his accomplishments, not the least of which can be found on the album you now hold."

Musician

As a teenager bass player he was part of the late seventies London punk movement and was later the first French musician to record and release dub music, as well as afrobeat, and has released several French songs albums (including the classic Nuage dÉthiopie) in a wide variety of styles. He is known, among other things, for his work with the press-acclaimed Asmara All Stars and on Serge Gainsbourg's three reggae albums, which he has produced new mixes of, as well as dub and deejay versions in 2003 (and 50 new dubs in 2015). He produced a new mix of Serge Gainsbourg's Gainsbourg Et Cætera Palace live album in 2006. In 2015 two 'Super DeLuxe' triple CD sets were released in the form of books: Gainsbourg and the Revolutionaries (Gainsbourg's three reggae albums in the Blum mixes form, including 8 previously unreleased tracks) and Gainsbourg in Dub, which contains 50 previously unreleased dubs. Blum also performs steadily with his rock/soul/blues and reggae bands as a singer and lead guitar player.

His abounding, dense world often includes a touch of humour, and his art complements his Jamaica, Nigeria and USA-inspired music. Influenced by the electric, genuine analog sound and militant spirit of the 1970s, his wide array of works melt into a coherent whole, where different styles are approached in true eclectic fashion. Alternatively playing blues, dub (which he often mixes himself on analog sound boards), rock, jazz, afrobeat, reggae, etc., he is playing Organic music guaranteed to be played without machines by live, free-range musicians. His successful French ("Guerre") and English versions of Bob Marley's "War" recorded with The Wailers gave him some international exposure and recognition. He also created Human Race Records, a vinyl record label in Jamaica. According to Roger Steffens in the Human Race anthology booklet notes, he is an "independent polymath thriving on passion" and always funded his own recordings, which put forward his individual, idiosyncratic lyric style.

He occasionally records 'updated' pastiches of well-known songs in both English and French, including "I Feel-Like-I'm-A-Fixin'-To-Die Rag", the Viens fumer un p'tit joint à la maison hit and satirical songs such as "Ça Bouge (sur la place Rouge)". His own French songs output often displays puzzling double-entendre lyrics.

Writer, musicologist

Besides his extensive work as a lyric writer, Blum speaks worldwide on the history of reggae music, African musics and other rock and blues culture-related subjects as well as veganism (which his 2016 autobiography is mainly about). His reggae lectures come with his reggae photography exhibition. Written in a lively style, several of his books on music history give him an authority status in the French-speaking world. These include Lou Reed, Bob Marley and John Lennon biographies, best-seller Le Reggae, a fully illustrated Jamaican travel journal autobiography and a major contribution to Le Dictionnaire du Rock. A musicology and music graduate, his documented music reissues (he runs three series of albums for Frémeaux & Associés for which he wrote substantial, informative ethnomusicologic booklets) including major Bob Marley & the Wailers reissues with U.S. partner Roger Steffens gave him some international recognition. He is often working as an interpreter, has published many translations and texts in English, translated three books and has also directed several documentaries for television. In addition, Blum has moved on and published two substantial surveys on societal issues: his book Shit - Tout Sur Le Cannabis includes an autobiographical chapter and De Viandard à Végane is written in the form of an autobiography depicting his growing awareness of veganism through his musical career.

Illustrator, cartoonist, artist, photographer

Blum has published many cartoons, illustrations and comic strips in several of his books, in U.K. comic books and newspapers as well as a long list of French magazines including Best, Actuel, Panda Magazine and Hara-Kiri. A prolific artist, besides photography, illustration and comic strips, he has also always produced graphic work meant to be exhibited. He often draws a blurry line between plastic arts and comic strip, as in the "Don't Drink and Drive, Smoke and Fly" series (see picture above) where the story jumps out of the pages to become a series of pictures, before going back to its initial, former frame. As a reporter photographer he has accumulated archives published alongside his illustrations in several of his books. His photo exhibition "Jamaica on the Reggae Tracks" has been shown all over France since 2008. He has also directed Tenor Saw's classic Ring the Alarm reggae video.

Biography

Early life

A Spirou magazine reader and André Franquin (Spirou, Marsupilami, Gaston Lagaffe) fan, the song Les Élucubrations d’Antoine was a revelation for him at an early age. When advertising was permitted on French television from October 1, 1968, his parents of humble origins Nicole and Tony Blum started producing commercials. Their success was immediate. Their company, named FBI (Falby Blum International) had already produced several films by young director Jean-Jacques Annaud when they were awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Advertising Film Festival in 1972 for Annaud's Crackers Belin film. The company has opened offices in five countries as Tony Blum moves to Toronto in Canada, where his son joined him during the 1974 and 1975 summers. Aged fifteen, he was already bilingual after several stays in the UK, USA and Canada. His father produced the first feature film by Jérôme Savary Le boucher, la star et l'orpheline (1975). Bruno Blum got to meet and know his parents’ colleagues and friends, including directors Jean-Jacques Annaud, Ridley Scott and actors such as Pierre Desproges and Jerry Lewis, but he was not interested in advertising. A dedicated comic strip reader, as early as twelve he was the founder of several amateur college comic magazines with his classmates. After an encounter with Asterix author René Goscinny, he created a magazine named ‘’Klaus’’ in the Paris art school Les Arts Appliqués where he studied comic book art with Georges Pichard, Jacques Lob and Yves Got. In 1974-1975, the very young editor gathered a team of talented artists that would all become professionals, including Bernar, Fernand Zacot, Gilles Hurtebize, Jean Teulé and classmate Jean-Marie Blanche, son of the famous French comedian and humorist Francis Blanche, an inspiration to both friends. Failing all studies, Blum was evicted out of three colleges, including two art schools. Self-taught from then on, he would build teams following the same pattern, being the prime mover in many of his future projects.

Move to London

Following two convictions for record theft, and as his parents' company was going bankrupt, causing them to lose almost everything, in 1976-1977 the drifting teenager moved to London to study animation film with Oscar Grillo (who directed several animation films for Paul McCartney). In 1977-1978 he lived in North London's Stamford Hill Jamaican neighbourhood where he discovered reggae sound systems and dub music. Going through straits, he is staying in London squats, sharing houses with punk rock musicians including Private Vices and The Electric Chairs. A precocious, gifted person, he had already formed a rock group when he starts writing for glossy magazine Best, a popular rock monthly for which he was London correspondent from 1977 to 1981 as chronicler, reporter, illustrator and photographer. He would then work for years with a small team comprising Christian Lebrun, Francis Dordor and Patrick Eudeline, travelling (and recording) to the UK, USA and Jamaica as a reporter. His successful In The City column, in which he published accounts of the very influential British music scene of the time, is written in lively, vivid gonzo style and left its mark on the French youth. He meets several reggae artists, including Linton Kwesi Johnson, Steel Pulse, Peter Tosh, Toots and the Maytals, Bob Marley and widely contributes to promoting reggae music among the French youth with his stories in popular Best Magazine. He also interviews rock artists, including Nico, Lou Reed, John Cale, Wilko Johnson, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, The Clash, the Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Fela Kuti. By 1978, he has become a daily contributor as London correspondent and chronicler to nationwide French radio station Europe 1's Monde de la Musique show hosted by Pierre Lescure. He is recording and touring the UK in 1978-1979 with British punk group Private Vices, which he founded in 1977 with Christophe Ruhn. He was to be the first French journalist to write about The Pretenders, Devo, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Madness, Motörhead and the then-unknown Stray Cats, which he put up in his London squat as they first arrived from New York City. He also drew their original logo (as seen on the original Runaway Boys single cover), and drummer Slim Jim Phantom's tattoo showing a drum set bearing his name.

1980s

Blum was a militant ecologist since the age of fourteen, and after discussing the matter with The Pretenders' singer Chrissie Hynde, he went vegetarian like her, a theme he would later sing about in his song "Les Andouilles". Blum then becomes a DJ at the London Marquee Club as an occasional replacement for his girlfriend DJ Mandy H. Initially published in Best, his fiction comic strip Rock Commando staging Motörhead is published in New Music News in London then by the band as a comic book in the UK.. He then creates the Nutty Boys comic book for pop group Madness, drawing their biopic in issue #1. Blum comes back to live in Paris after a busking episode in Nice in the summer of 1982 with Nice-born photographer Youri Lenquette on second guitar. In 1983 he forms Les Amours, a six-piece vocal group which records and tours in 1984. In 1984-85 Blum then begins a side career as fashion model, posing for several advertising pictures, including for France Inter radio. Still writing for Best in the 1980s, for a time he does contribute to the Les Enfants du Rock rock TV show as a reporter and publishes cartoons in the magazines Rigolo, Best and Zoulou, an Actuel magazine offshoot. In 1985, as seen in several TV shows, including Michel Drucker's, he is featured live in Catherine Ferry's rock backing band produced by French pop star Daniel Balavoine. Blum then records a few of his compositions in 1986 with a four-piece version of Les Amours not including the vocal group. After treating some personal problems reported in his Cultures Cannabis book, he has since abstained from using any legal (alcohol, tobacco) or illegal drug. In 1989 he records with some of Ziggy Marley's musicians in Kingston, Jamaica where he presses his "Des Couleurs" vinyl single. In late 1989, he records and releases Ça Bouge (Sur la Place Rouge) in Paris, coinciding with the fall of the Berlin Wall. His first album Bruno Blum (1990) assembles these various recordings. He becomes the first French musician to have played, produced and released a dub record. A video of his rock song L'Histoire de ma Guitare taken from the album was broadcast several times on M6 television in France.

1990s

In 1990 Bruno Blum plays onstage with Willy DeVille, and joins Bo Diddley live at Le Casino de Paris. A noted singer and guitar player, in 1990-1994 he leads a rock cover band featuring John Weeks and other American musicians named The Sexy Frogs, with whom he recorded the original "J'aime les blondes" as well as various songs. In 1994 he is the editor of a Best special reggae issue for which, among others, he interviewed Lee "Scratch" Perry. In 1995 with the help of Patrick Zerbib and Léon Mercadet he then edited a special Bob Marley issue for one-shot new magazine Radio Nova Collector that was soon to become Nova Magazine. Blum persuaded Chris Blackwell to let him include a CD featuring Bob Marley's "Punky Reggae Party" and a rare dub of "Is This Love" entitled "Is This Dub" in the issue. He drew several album covers and published artwork in Backstage, Actuel (Kronik le Kritik), Best (Scud le Rok Kritik Sourd), Hara Kiri Hebdo (weekly comic strips on vegetarian culture), L'Environnement Magazine, Panda Magazine, hosted a short, daily radio show on Radio Nova and directed the documentary film Get Up, Stand Up – L'Histoire du Reggae produced by Jean-François Bizot for the Canal + channel. Jamaican producer Clement Dodd produced two of his original songs at Studio One in Kingston, Jamaica. As Dodd aka Coxsone saw Blum's Best of Reggae special issue, he nicknamed him "Doc Reggae", which has stuck since.

In partnership with American specialist Roger Steffens he conceived and produced a series of ten Bob Marley & the Wailers albums that include around a hundred rare or previously unreleased recordings (he also mixed eight of them), time period photographs and much previously unheard of 1967-1972 information. In 1997-2003 Blum revives the original Danny Sims-owned JAD American label in Paris at this occasion, and successfully releases the albums in several countries.

Doc Reggae then created the Jamaican label Human Race Records and its European incarnation Rastafari Records, through which he releases several reggae vinyl singles featuring the voices of Haile Selassie I, Marcus Garvey, Big Youth, King Stitt, Buffalo Bill and Doc Reggae himself, also playing the guitar on all tracks. A version of Bob Marley's "War" is recorded using the voice of the lyrics' creator himself, Haile Selassie I and surviving members of the Wailers. A vinyl single featuring Bob Marley and Haile Selassie I reaches the #1 spot in the April 1998 of British magazine Echoes charts. The War Album is then recorded with Big Youth and Buffalo Bill.

In Jamaica he directed videos for Tenor Saw's Ring the Alarm and Buffalo Bill's Perfect Woman, as well as several TV reports for the Tracks show broadcast on the Arte channel. After the demise of Best in 1995 he joins competitor Rock & Folk magazine until 1999, then gives up all journalism work, excepting for a few stories published in Les Inrockuptibles, which he leaves in 2002.

2000s

Pierre Astier published his first book, the comprehensive biography Lou Reed – Electric Dandy at Le Serpent à Plumes. A rock and reggae specialist, Blum was to publish a further fifteen books, including some successful ones, among which:

• Le Reggae
• Bob Marley, le Reggae et les Rastas as well as his travel chronicles, fully illustrated with his photographs and artwork Jamaïque, sur la Piste du Reggae where he tells the story of his Jamaican adventures. He also co-signs Le Dictionnaire du Rock as a main contributor with Michka Assayas.

Still performing live through the decade, after the 2001 The War Album recorded with The Wailers, where he can be heard playing the guitar and voicing two tracks, he is noted as a lyric writer on his second solo album Nuage d'Éthiopie, also in 2001. Released on his own De Luxe label, this reggae album includes the single "Si Je Reste" (adapted in French from The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go"), a duet with Annabelle Mouloudji. Nuage d'Éthiopie gets good reviews. To Yves Bigot « French reggae has found its songwriter ». Backed by The Wailers on "Avis aux Amateurs", he puts to music the letter in which Arthur Rimbaud breaks the news on his mother that he will remain in Africa. Going against the grain of fashionable electronic music, he forwards in a 1970s-influenced style where lyrics and skilled electric instruments players are pivotal. He refers to Boris Vian, Alain Bashung, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jacques Dutronc (he has recorded a parody of Dutronc's "Et moi, et moi, et moi") and Serge Gainsbourg of whom he recorded a version of "L'Appareil à Sous" (originally recorded by Brigitte Bardot) - and soon an English version of "Lola Rastaquouère".

Think Different, his third album of original compositions, was recorded in a wide array of styles and released in 2002, followed by Welikom 2 Lay-Gh-Us ! recorded in Lagos (Nigeria) with a 20-piece band from Fela Kuti’s group, and released by BMG, which also reissued his Bob Marley 1967-1972 twelve-album series. JAD Records suddenly signed a distribution deal with Universal, and BMG was compelled to retrieve the entire JAD stock from the shops. The JAD delivery included two previously unreleased Peter Tosh albums, a Buffalo Bill album as well as Amala & Blum’s Welikom 2 Lay-Gh-Us ! album which, although just released, was also retrieved from the shops by mistake (as it had nothing to do with JAD Records) in spite of getting daily airplay on José Artur’s Pop Club show on France Inter. Nevertheless, Blum remains the first French musician to release an afrobeat album – destroyed shortly after its release, it only reached about a hundred journalists.

In 2003 Universal Music releases two double Serge Gainsbourg CD albums, Aux Armes Et Cætera and Mauvaises Nouvelles des Étoiles in a new 1970s style Kingston mix produced by Bruno Blum, featuring veteran Jamaican sound engineer Soljie Hamilton. Also included on the album are dub and deejay versions (including Lisa Dainjah, Big Youth, King Stitt, Lone Ranger). The two press-acclaimed albums unveil several previously unreleased recordings, among which the Gainsbourg composition "Ecce Homo Et Cætera". Blum also voices one track himself, an English rendition of "Lola Rastaquouère", and plays guitar on his new arrangement of "Marilou Reggae", recorded with Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace on drums and Flabba Holt on bass.

After contributing to slam shows in his Ménilmontant neighborhood, he records slammer Nada’s Live at the Olympic Café (2001) album. He also supplies artwork for the CD cover as well as the follow-up Ultrash, which he produces and plays on as Nada recites his lyrics over newly recorded instrumental versions of Velvet Underground songs. Two other ex-members of Best magazine’s team participate to the album : Gilles Riberolles and Patrick Eudeline, who contributes with several short songs on Ultrash.

Gainsbourg... Et Cætera, a new Blum-produced mix (Thierry Bertomeu, engineer) of the poorly mixed, original Serge Gainsbourg live album Enregistrement Public au Théâtre Le Palace is released in 2006. This double CD includes five previously unreleased versions and an interview with Serge Gainsbourg.

A new album entitled Doc Reggae (partially recorded in Jamaica on the ‘’Marilou Reggae’’ sessions with Horsemouth Wallace and Flabba Holt) is coming together with his group Dub De Luxe. Blum keeps performing live with Dub De Luxe as well as, from 2006 in an American group playing classic 1930s/1960s R&B covers sometimes featuring pianist Gilbert Shelton, the well-known Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comic book artist. Blum also produces an album by Shelton.

In 2006 he was invited to play a series of shows in Asmara, Eritrea by the French Ambassador in Eritrea. It is his first of a series of trips that would lead to producing an anthology album of the best Eritrean singers (released in 2010).

In June 2007, the publication of his book Culture Cannabis led Bruno Blum to an hour-long clash with Professor Jean Costentin live on national radio France Inter. In 2008 he obtains a Master in musicology in Paris and publishes Le Rap Est Né en Jamaïque (Rap Was Born in Jamaica) in 2009. He also produced the Harry Belafonte - Calypso, Mento & Folk 1954-1957 anthology. Still performing onstage, he MCs dances as deejay and selecter, and speaks regularly in conferences around his country and abroad. In 2009 as he was one of the main writers in Best Magazine he creates the Facebook group Best, le mensuel du rock. This internet site would eventually lead to Blum directing an anthology book of Best's best stories.

2010s

In the summer of 2010 a major Emma Lavigne exhibition on punk rock visual aesthetics and photographs at the Rencontres d’Arles show his collection of rare original punk records. At this occasion he speaks on punk musical aesthetics from 1930s jazz to 1940s-1970s rock music. In September, Doc Reggae performs at the Trois Baudets in Paris. For the first time, he offers a multimedia event where his paintings, artwork, comics trips as well as his Jamaïque sur la Piste du Reggae photo exhibition and video footage are shown before his own reggae show.

In 2008-2009 he produced the Asmara All Stars Eritrea's Got Soul (released in 2010) album in Eritrea, also playing on several songs. The album gathers some of the best musicians and singers from eight ethnic groups, including Faytinga, Sara Teklesenbet, Mahmoud Ahmed Amr, Temasgen Yared, Ibrahim Goret and Adam Faid Amr. The album gets a warm welcome in the press as well as the radio: "If you like the Ethiopian soul-funk sound of the early 1970s, you should find much to enjoy in this contemporary take on it. Eritrea is Ethiopia’s neighbour and many of the country’s musicians actually contributed to those classic recordings. The main difference with this contemporary project is the influence of Jamaican reggae. But the dub elements fold erfectly into the sinuous Ethiopian grooves – as our own Dub Colossus have already demonstrated. Vibrant, heady and sensuous stuff" (The Independent, London, October 2010). Two album release party shows, including one in the Opera House, take place in Asmara in October 2010.

In November 2010 Volume 1 of Best of Best, an anthology of rock magazine Best to which he was a major contributor, was published. The 320 pages book was conceived, coordinated and edited by Blum with the support of the original team including Sacha Reins, Patrick Eudeline and Francis Dordor, who wrote a tribute to the late editor Christian Lebrun. As part of the Festival des Cultures Juives de Paris in June 2011 he speaks on the theme "Bob Marley, culture Rastafari et Judaïsme" in the Paris 4 Town Hall. In 2011 Bruno Blum also translates the Kim Gottlieb-Walker's Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae photo book (as Bob Marley, un portrait inédit en photos) to which director Cameron Crowe contributed.

An anthology of his Jamaican record label Human Race was released in late 2011. Essentially recorded in Jamaica, the double roots reggae CD Human Race includes The War Album with a bonus track, and features the voices of Haile Selassie I, Marcus Garvey, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela as well as Big Youth, Spectacular, Buffalo Bill, King Stitt, Brady, Annabelle Mouloudji, Joseph Cotton, Lady Manuella, Bruno Blum and several previously unreleased tracks. Illustrated by several photographs and original artwork by Blum, the CD booklet is written by renowned U.S. reggae historian Roger Steffens.

Unveiling much information and rare original music, he also edited the following Caribbean music anthologies: Jamaica, Mento 1951-1958, Bahamas, Goombay 1951-1959, Trinidad, Calypso 1939-1959 and Calypso, Jamaica - Rhythm and Blues 1956-1961, Voodoo in America - Blues Jazz Rhythm and Blues Calypso 1926-1961, Bermuda - Gombey and Calypso 1953-1960 for which he writes sizeable, standard reference booklets. In 2011 he designs and draws both ten-CD Anthologie des musiques de danse du monde (Dance Music Masters) box sets covers as well as each of the twenty album covers they contain. Three of these albums were co-published by national museums of France: Great Black Music Roots 1927-1962 and Jamaica - Folk Trance Possession 1939-1961, the latter being awarded the Académie Charles Cros' World Music Coup de Cœur in 2014. Slavery in America - Redemption Songs 1914-1972 includes a foreword by French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira, author of a law compelling the French educational system to include the memory of slavery in school programs.

His contribution to the Frémeaux & Associés label also delivered several rock albums, including Elvis Presley & the American Music Heritage - 1954-1956 containing both Elvis' versions as well as all of the original versions of the songs he recorded; The Indispensable Bo Diddley 1955-1960. His Caribbean series are perhaps his most significant reissue work, documenting and making available to the public rare foundation recordings of most Caribbean islands including the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Trinidad, Bermuda, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Haiti, etc.

Discography

Albums

• Bruno Blum (New Rose, 1990)
• Nuage d'Éthiopie (Culture Press, 2001)
• Think Différent (Culture Press, 2002)
• Amala & Blum : Welikom 2 Lay-Gh-Us! (BMG, 2003)

Compilations

• With Private Vices (in 1979): Paris 84 and Total Control on the Les Plus Grands Succès du Punk album (Skydog 1984)
• With Les Manches (in 1982): These Boots Are Made for Walking on the Week End à Nice album (Black and White 1983)
• With Les Amours (in 1984): La Tentation (elle est dans ton cœur) (adapted from Lou Reed's Temptation Inside Your Heart) on the Romances 85 album (Romances 1985)
• With The Wailers (in 1996): "War" and "Guerre" on "The War Album" (Rastafari 2001), a Human Race (Jamaica 1997) 45rpm single, and a Rastafari (Europe 2009) 45rpm single.
• With Dub De Luxe (in 2003): Viens fumer un p'tit joint on the Libérez Marie-Jeanne, Tolérance Double Zéro Volume III album (Productions Spéciales, 2003)
• With The Revolutionaries (in 2002): Lola rastaquouère (English Version) on the Serge Gainsbourg : Aux Armes et Cætera - Dub Style album (Mercury, 2003)

Production

• The War Album featuring the voices of Haile Selassie I, Bob Marley, The Wailers, Big Youth, Buffalo Bill and Bruno Blum (Rastafari Records, 2001)
• King Stitt : Zoot Suit Hipster (vinyl single, Human Race 2002)
• Big Youth/Spectacular and the voice of Marcus Garvey: Marcus Garvey (12" 4-track single, Human Race, 2002)
• Serge Gainsbourg : Aux Armes Et Cætera' (Mercury, 2003)
• Serge Gainsbourg : Mauvaises Nouvelles Des Étoiles (Mercury, 2003)
• Nada : À l'Olympic (live recording, 2003)
• Nada : Ultrash (2004)
• Serge Gainsbourg : Gainsbourg... et Cætera: Enregistrement Public au Théatre Le Palace (Mercury, 2006)
• Joseph Cotton : Conflicts (vinyl single Rastafari, 2008)
• Haile Selassie I, Bob Marley, The Wailers, Big Youth, Doc Reggae, Buffalo Bill : War (vinyl 10", Rastafari, 2010)
• Spectacular, Big Youth and the voice of Marcus Garvey : Marcus Garvey (vinyl 10", Rastafari, 2010)
• The Asmara All Stars : Eritrea's Got Soul (Out Here, 2010)
• Human Race featuring the voices of Haile Selassie I, Marcus Garvey, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Big Youth, Spectacular, Buffalo Bill, King Stitt, Brady, Annabelle Mouloudji, Joseph Cotton, Lady Manuella and Bruno Blum (double CD Rastafari/Patch Work, 2011)
• Gainsbourg and the Revolutionaries (Mercury, 2015) (3-CD Super DeLuxe edition)
• Gainsbourg in Dub (Mercury, 2015) (3-CD Super DeLuxe edition, includes photographs and drawings by Bruno Blum)

Bibliography

Books

Aside from his songs, booklet notes, writings for Best, Rock & Folk, Actuel, Hara-Kiri, Nova Magazine, Bruno Blum has published several books, often illustrated by his own artwork and photographs:

In French:

• Le Reggae (Librio 2000. Revised, augmented and illustrated edition: Le Castor Astral 2010)
• Lou Reed - Electric Dandy (Biography. Le Serpent à Plumes 2001. Updated and illustrated edition with photos by Bob Gruen: Hors Collection 2008. Final, complete edition: Le Castor Astral 2014. Czech edition: Volvox Globator 2014)
• Couleurs reggae (photo portfolio, Tana 2001)
• Bob Marley, le reggae et les rastas (Hors Collection 2004. Revised edition, augmented with a discography, foreword by Tiken Jah Fakoly: Hors Collection 2010)
• Le Ragga (Hors Collection 2005)
• John Lennon (Biography. Hors Collection 2006)
• Punk, Sex Pistols, Clash et l'explosion punk (Hors Collection 2007)
• Cultures Cannabis (Scali 2007)
• Jamaïque, sur la piste du reggae (Scali 2007) (narrative, photos and travel drawings)
• Sur la route avec Bob Marley (Scali, 2007) by Mark Miller. Translation, introduction, Marley biography and various added texts by Bruno Blum.
• De l'art de savoir chanter, danser et jouer la bamboula comme un éminent musicien africain (Scali 2007) (A guide and essay on African music)
• Bob Marley l'Africain (Scali 2008) by Adebayo Ojo, introduction and translation by Bruno Blum
• Les 100 plus grands tubes du reggae à télécharger (Fedjaine 2008)
• Le Rap est né en Jamaïque (Le Castor Astral 2009)
• Bob Marley, un portrait inédit en photos (Translation, Hors Collection 2011) by Kim Gottlieb-Walker, Jeff Walker, Roger Steffens and Cameron Crowe.
• Reggae Vinyls (Stéphane Bachès 2012, a collection of mostly Jamaican vinyl record sleeves)
• Shit! Tout sur le cannabis (First 2013)
• De Viandard à végane (Mama Éditions 2016)

In Czech:

• Lou Reed - Electric Dandy (Biography. Czech edition: Volvox Globator 2014)

He has also contributed to the following:

In English:

• Rebel Music (Genesis Publications, Guildford, Surrey, UK, 2004) by Kate Simon.

In French:

• Best of Blues (1994), special issue of Best, le mensuel du rock.
• Best of Reggae (1994), special issue of Best, le mensuel du rock, edited by Bruno Blum, with contributions by Florent Droguet, Mehdi Boukhelf, Christian Eudeline, Patrick Eudeline, Blaise Ndjehoya, Jean-Pierre Boutellier, Pascale Geoffrois, Awal Mohamadou, Hélène Lee, Steve Barrow and Roger Steffens.
• Le Siècle rebelle, dictionnaire de la contestation au XXe siècle (Larousse 1999) edited by Emmanuel de Waresquiel.
• Nova Collector, a special issue magazine devoted to Bob Marley, edited by Bruno Blum, with contributions by Léon Mercadet (the magazine included a CD of Punky Reggae Party and the previously unreleased Is This Dub).
• Le Dictionnaire du rock (Robert Laffont 2000) (contribution: 14% of the texts, edited by Michka Assayas)
• Sur la route avec Bob Marley, un chevalier blanc à Babylone by Mark Miller (Bob Marley's stage manager in 1978-1980), translated and augmented by Bruno Blum (Scali 2007. Revised, augmented and illustrated edition: Le Castor Astral 2010).
• Rock Critics (Don Quichotte, 2010).
• Best of Best, tome 1, 1968-1979 (Le Castor Astral, 2010), an anthology of Best, le mensuel du rock. Conception, coordination and editing: Bruno Blum

As an illustrator

• Motörhead - Rock Commando (Motörhead, 1980) [Comic book, UK, with Gilles Hurtebize]
• Madness - Nutty Boys Comix #1 (Madness, 1981) [Comic book, UK, with Spike and Dave Mitchell]
• L’Abécédaire de rien de ce §#ç&%$ de monde du « rock » (Autour du Livre 2007) by Pascal Samain [illustrations].
• Too Much Class… Dogs, l'histoire (La Belle Saison, 2013) de Catherine Laboubée [includes a comic book story].
• Manga Comix n° 1 : Radasse la Grosse Pouffiasse (Ménilmontant International, 2015) [Adult comic book, art & scenario]
• Manga Comix n° 2 : Humour Végane Intégriste Bête et Méchant (Ménilmontant International, 2015) [Art & scenario]

Most of Bruno Blum's books are illustrated by some of his artwork and photographs.

CD booklets

• The Asmara All Stars - Eritrea's Got Soul (Out Here, 2010)

In both English and French

The Complete Bob Marley & the Wailers 1967-1972 series in partnership with Leroy Jodie Pierson and Roger Steffens:

• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Rock to the Rock (Jad 1997)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Selassie Is the Chapel (Jad 1997)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, The Best of the Wailers (Jad 1997)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Soul Rebels (Jad 1997)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Soul Revolution Part II (Jad 1997)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, More Axe (Jad 1997)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Keep on Skanking (Jad 1998)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Satisfy my Soul Jah Jah (Jad 1998)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Freedom Time (Jad 2003)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Soul Adventurer (Jad 2003)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Jungle Dub (Jad 2002)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Rebel (Jad 2002) (4 CD set)

Caribbean series:

• Dance Music Masters: Calypso (Frémeaux et Associés 2011)
• Harry Belafonte, Calypso, Mento & Folk 1956-1957 (Frémeaux et Associés 2009)
• Jamaica - Mento 1951-1958 (Frémeaux et Associés 2010)
• Jamaica - Rhythm & Blues 1956-1961 (Frémeaux et Associés 2012)
• Jamaica - Roots of Rastafari, Mystic Music from Jamaica - Folk, Trance, Possession 1939-1961 (Frémeaux & Associés/Musée du Quai Branly 2013)
• Jamaica - USA - Roots of Ska - Rhythm & Blues Shuffle 1942-1962 (Frémeaux et Associés 2013)
• Jamaica - Jazz 1931-1962 (Frémeaux et Associés 2016)
• Bahamas - Goombay 1951-1959 (Frémeaux et Associés 2011)
• Trinidad - Calypso 1939-1959 (Frémeaux et Associés 2011)
• Bermuda - Gombey & Calypso 1953-1960 (Frémeaux et Associés 2012)
• Virgin Islands - Quelbe & Calypso 1956-1960 (Frémeaux et Associés 2013)
• Dominican Republic - Merengue 1949-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2014)
• Haiti - Meringue & Konpa 1952-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2015)
• Haiti - Vodou - Ritual Music From the First Black Republic - Folk, Trance, Possession 1937-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2016)

America series:

• Voodoo in America - Blues Jazz Rhythm and Blues Calypso 1926-1961 (Frémeaux et Associés 2012)
• Africa in America - Rock, Jazz & Calypso 1920-1962 (Frémeaux et Associés 2013)
• Slavery in America - Redemption Songs 1914-1972. Foreword by Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira (Frémeaux & Associés/Musée du Quai Branly 2014)
• Road Songs - Car Tune Classics 1942-1962 (Frémeaux et Associés 2013)
• Elvis Presley & The American Music Heritage - 1954-1956 (Frémeaux et Associés 2012)
• Elvis Presley & The American Music Heritage vol. 2 - 1956-1958 (Frémeaux et Associés 2012)
• Electric Guitar Story (Frémeaux & Associés 2014)
• Rock Instrumentals Story 1934-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2014)
• Roots of Punk Rock Music 1926-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2013)
• Roots of Soul 1928-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2014)
• Great Black Music Roots 1927-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés/Cité de la Musique Paris 2014)
• Roots of Funk 1947-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2015)
• Race Records - Black Rock Music Forbidden on U.S. Radio 1942-1955 (Frémeaux & Associés 2015)
• New Orleans Roots of Soul 1941-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2016)

Indispensable series:

• The Indispensable Bo Diddley 1955-1960 (Frémeaux et Associés 2012)
• The Indispensable Bo Diddley 1959-1962 (Frémeaux et Associés 2013)
• The Indispensable James Brown 1956-1961 (Frémeaux et Associés 2012)
• The Indispensable Gene Vincent 1956-1958 (Frémeaux et Associés 2013)
• The Indispensable Gene Vincent Vol. 2 1958-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2015)
• The Indispensable B.B. King 1949-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2013)
• The Indispensable Chuck Berry 1954-1961 (Frémeaux & Associés 2013)
• The Indispensable Eddie Cochran 1955-1960 (Frémeaux & Associés 2014)
• The Indispensable Roy Orbison 1956-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2014)
• The Indispensable Rockabilly 1951-1960 (Frémeaux & Associés 2014)
• The Indispensable Bill Haley 1948-1961 (Frémeaux & Associés 2015)
• The Indispensable Miriam Makeba 1955-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2015)
• The Indispensable Little Richard 1951-1962 (Frémeaux & Associés 2015)

French/English booklet texts are online on the Frémeaux & Associés site.

• Serge Gainsbourg : Gainsbourg and the Revolutionaries (Super DeLuxe 10" book, 3 CDs, Mercury, 2015)
• Serge Gainsbourg : Gainsbourg in Dub (Super DeLuxe 10" book, 3 CDs, Mercury, 2015)

In partnership with Gilles Verlant (available in English editions):

• Serge Gainsbourg : Aux Armes et Cætera - Dub Style (Mercury, 2003)
• Serge Gainsbourg : Mauvaises Nouvelles Des Étoiles - Dub Style (Mercury, 2003)

In French

• The Very Best of Jamaica (Trojan 1990)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Freedom Time (Jad 2002)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Soul Adventurer (Jad 2002)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Jungle Dub (Jad 2002)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, Rebel (Jad 2003) (4 CD)