Eccentric is an adjective that sticks — practically enshrined in the name Eek-A-Mouse. The man never sang like a sane person. “I Want to Know” is the best evidence that it was absolutely the right call, one he made, naturally, in the most eccentric way possible.

Released in 1983 as a limited 12-inch in the United States, the track is an artifact from one of reggae dancehall’s most fertile moments: when roots was shedding its spiritual robes and moving toward the dance floor. George Phang — the architect behind the Power House era — produced this riddim on a foundation laid by Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. The groove runs deep, heavy, dense enough that there’s no room to breathe in the wrong place. Over that construction, Eek-A-Mouse launches his singjay phrases — part nonsense, part prophecy, and entirely impossible to imitate.

Forty years in vinyl collectors’ shelves, and now “I Want to Know” has been remastered and landed on every digital platform. The analog energy holds, arriving with a cleaner headroom. The release also carries the 12-inch Discomix version and a dub mix titled “Creeper” — an apt name for a version that crawls slowly forward, exposing the riddim’s skeleton that had always been hiding beneath the vocals.

Taken together, this reissue lands as a quiet irony: a reminder that the rub-a-dub era’s archive still holds plenty of buried treasure — music that remains unheard, and deserves to be.

(Text: Keyko, Editor & Translation: Sam)