Born Horace Swaby on June 21st, 1953, in Kingston, Jamaica, Augustus Pablo was a revolutionary force in reggae music. A visionary producer, musician, and the man who made the melodica a spiritual signature of dub, he transformed the soundscape of Jamaican music in the 1970s and beyond. His influence can still be heard around the world today in roots reggae, dub, ambient, and hip hop. But to his son, Addis Pablo, he was also a father whose quiet strength and musical genius remain deeply personal.
The Curious Teenager with a Melodica
Long before his international acclaim, Augustus was a student at Kingston College with a growing passion for music. He and his friend Tyrone Downie—later famed as The Wailers’ keyboardist—were playfully known as Jackie Mittwo and Jackie Mitthree, a nod to their admiration for Studio One’s legendary organist Jackie Mittoo. The duo would often sneak away from lessons to practise Mittoo’s songs on the school organ, honing their keyboard skills long before ever stepping into a studio.
Pablo’s dedication paid off in the late 1960s during a visit to Herman Chin-Loy’s Aquarius record shop on Constant Spring Road in Kingston. “Jah gave me a break,” he would later say in an interview with David Rodigan. Carrying a borrowed melodica—a modest instrument typically used in classrooms—Pablo played a few notes for Chin-Loy, who invited him to a recording session the next day at Randy’s Studio 17 in downtown Kingston.
It was through his relationship with Chin-Loy that he was first given the name Augustus Pablo, which he later adopted. He eventually left his studies entirely to pursue a boundary-pushing, experimental music career that would come to define the sound of roots reggae and dub.
An Unmistakable Sound
Augustus Pablo developed a musical style that was atmospheric, meditative, and unmistakably his own. His blend of minor key motifs, floating melodica melodies, and heavy dub textures came to be known as the “Far East” sound. The melodica, once dismissed as a toy, was transformed in his hands into an instrument of emotional depth and spiritual resonance.
He quickly rose to prominence, collaborating with many of reggae’s most influential figures. His partnership with King Tubby resulted in the groundbreaking ‘King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown’ (1976), widely regarded as one of the greatest dub albums of all time. Pablo also worked closely with Lee “Scratch” Perry, Bunny “Striker” Lee, and childhood friend Clive Chin, with whom he produced hist first hit track ‘Java’, and other classics like ‘East of the River Nile’, and ‘Africa Must Be Free By 1983’ —the latter featuring a young Hugh Mundell, whom Pablo mentored.
His son, Addis Pablo, recalls realising the scale of his father’s influence from an early age: “having seen people visit him from across the world—specifically Japan, London and North America,” he says. It became clear that his father’s music had transcended Jamaica.
Augustus the Father & Father Figure
Though a musical giant to the world, Augustus Pablo is remembered by his son, Addis Pablo, as a devoted and engaged father—“very hands-on” and “well-experienced,” a nurturing presence to his siblings and “a father to many other children” whose lives he deeply impacted.
Some of Addis’s strongest early memories include family outings with his dad. “We used to go on family trips together with me and Isis, usually in natural settings such as rivers and beaches,” he shares. And, despite Pablo’s quiet public persona, Addis remembers, “He had a great sense of humour even though he didn’t talk much.”
Though Augustus passed when Addis was just nine years old, the early musical exposure stayed with him. “At times I’d sit with him and he’d teach me the basic notes of the piano and simple melodies such as children’s nursery rhymes.”
While the public may still see Augustus Pablo as a somewhat mysterious figure, Addis’s reflections reveal a man of deep conviction, generosity, and strength. He was always “helping people with their development—not just in music but in life,” he says. Addis also admires his father’s “willingness to adapt to change whilst remaining true to his values.”
Stepping Into His Father’s House
Addis’s debut album, ‘In His Father’s House‘, served as both a tribute to his father and a personal declaration that was “definitely inspired by the biblical reference and the obvious connection to my father being a musician and me representing him in his house of music that we call Rockers,” he explains..
Like his father, Addis also chose the melodica as his primary instrument. “It was my debut album that introduced me to the world in a way which reflects the approach my father took in the use of melodica with vocals and dub mixes.” For Addis, playing the melodica is both symbolic and instinctive. “I’ve always loved the sound of the melodica as it has been in my life almost like a soundtrack to my childhood and growing up into my own musical experience.”
The Original Rockers
In addition to being a pioneering musician, Augustus Pablo was also an entrepreneur. In 1979, he founded Rockers International—a record label and record store at 135 Orange Street in Kingston—named after the sound system he had run in his youth. It quickly became a cultural landmark.
With his hit track “Java,” Pablo had introduced a new bass-heavy skank rhythm that gave rise to the “rockers” sound. Through his Rockers International label he continued to experiment with and develop this style, with label outputs resonating strongly in London’s underground music scene. Rockers International would go on to play a pivotal role in exporting Jamaica’s music and culture to the world.
But the weight of his responsibilities was considerable. “He was constantly in pain due to his leg injury and the stress of operating a business and being the leader for many people in and out of music,” Addis reveals.
Today, Addis and his family continue to steward that legacy. “We have recently renovated our record store Rockers International,” he shares. Addis and sister Isis are also keen to preserve his father’s legacy through music and film: “We are working on a few musical projects of his works—mainly repressed on vinyl—along with a documentary about our dad’s life which Isis started developing some years ago,” Addis explain.
Carrying the Torch
At the heart of Augustus Pablo’s music was a message of healing and spirituality. Addis describes it as “a revolutionary movement of like-minded individuals creating a sound which can help to guide people to their own inner peace.”
Addis has taken that message around the world. Touring extensively, he performs his father’s iconic tracks alongside his own, reaching both long-time fans and new listeners. “Well received with much appreciation,” he says of the response abroad. More than applause, the reception is a reminder. “It’s more of a confirmation of what I saw and felt when listening or observing his activities.”
Alongside the classics, Addis is forging his own path. “I’m working on a self-produced LP featuring many classic riddims of my father in my interpretation along with some of my original works.”
“Music is the only universal language,” Addis reflects. “So it’s joyful to express my feelings and emotions through music.”
His influences extend beyond his father, citing King Tubby, Lee Perry, Soul Syndicate, Sly and Robbie, The Wailers, and Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee—but his foundation remains rooted in the sound Augustus Pablo created.
A Healing Legacy
When asked what he wants his father’s legacy to continue to represent, Addis is thoughtful: “A form of healing through sound, which he was able to express in a world full of pain and sadness which can overwhelm us—and one of the best remedies to ease the pain and anxiety is found in music, especially in spiritual music like dad created.”
While there’s no confirmed plan for unreleased material, Addis suggests there may be more to come. “Anything is possible, and we have released a few of these types of tracks over the years.”
More than two decades after his passing on 18 May 1999, Augustus Pablo’s sound continues to echo. His legacy endures not only through recordings and riddims, but through the people who carry it forward—his children, his community, and his global following.
Augustus Pablo Tribute
To honour this enduring legacy, a special tribute event celebrating the life and times of Augustus Pablo will be held on Saturday, June 21st—his birthday—at the newly refurbished Rockers International, 135 Orange Street, Kingston, Jamaica. Running from 3 PM to 9 PM, the event will feature performances and DJ sets from Illawi (Jah Love), Isis Swaby with Addis Pablo, the Rockers Crew, and special guests.
It promises to be a powerful evening of music, memory, and celebration—paying homage to one of Jamaica’s most beloved musical pioneers in the very space he helped to build.
