Author Rene Wynands

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Review

Lee PerrySipple Out Deh

Every true reggae fan has a small (or large) extra section in their record collection, which is dedicated to the work of Lee Perry. This is where the fast-bouncing upset recordings from the very early 1970s are located. But the worn records all come from the period between 1974 and 1978, i.e. from the time when Lee Perry lived in his Black Ark studio and created the craziest and at the same time most mystical sounds that could be heard in reggae up until then. The master also produced a lot of crap, which is marketed again and again as "obscure, unpublished cult recordings" to this day. But he also (and above all) created fantastic masterpieces, some of which he licensed to Iceland-Records and some to Trojan. The latter are now on the double CD Lee "Scratch" Perry & Friends "Sipple Out Deh - The Black Ark Years" (Trojan / Sanctuary) published - a total of 44 pieces, nicely arranged in chronological order. Of course you know them all and already have them in your collection, distributed on different sound carriers. But still it is an uplifting experience to hear them again with such concentration and to follow the master through the years of his work, to perceive the change in his style and to witness the condensation of his sound, up to an impenetrable jungle of sound. Above all, it is fascinating that Perry's recordings are still able to cast a spell over the listener almost 40 years after they were made. What is it that makes this music too timeless? Maybe it's the fact that Perry was little interested in commercial success and therefore just created real art regardless of market laws. But perhaps - to argue a little more rationally - it was simply Perry's focus on the sound that makes his music seem too contemporary today. While his competitors were producing real hit songs, Perry buried himself deeper and deeper in the sound world of his Black Ark studio and created an incredibly complex sound structure there that was so far ahead of its time that it now, 2010, perfectly matches ours today , "Sound-oriented" listening habits fit. Be that as it may, listening to the double CD is not only simply beautiful, it also fuels the respect and appreciation of Perry's genius. Unfortunately it burned out too soon.

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Reggae

Gappy Ranks: Put The Stereo On

I usually listen to a new album two or three times and then new material attracts my attention. But the new album by Gappy Ranks, "Put The Stereo On" (Greensleeves / Groove Attack) turns this practice on its head. I have now listened to it 10 to 20 times while new CDs are sealed on my desk. What a nice album! Produced by Peckings brothers Chris and Duke Price, who were also responsible for Bitty McLean's “On Bond Street”. While for McLean they only resorted to old original Treasure Isle rhythms (they are allowed to do so due to ancient license agreements between Duke Reid, Coxsone Dodd and father Price), Gappy Ranks mainly uses Studio One productions - and we can do more find that what Coxsone has practiced all his life, namely to recycle his recordings from the 1960s and 70s and thus constantly produce new hits, still works. Perhaps it is the greatness of this music that inspires the singers to write beautiful songs again and again. In any case, Mr. Ranks is no exception and offers us (especially in the first half of the album) a couple of great retro songs, where you inevitably feel transported back to the golden days of reggae (and secretly ashamed that you - like all the old rock men - still loves the music of their own youth). I cannot praise the album highly enough. To my liking, it's even better than the heavenly-acclaimed McLean album "On Bond Street," which, to be honest, was a bit too sappy for me. But since we are here in England, a few Lovers Rock songs should not be missing from Gappy Ranks - and as the press information reports, the Oberschnulz song “Heaven In Her Eyes” was number one in British reggae for 13 weeks -Charts. But if that's the price to be paid to enjoy the rest of the album, then I'll pay it with pleasure.

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Review

Dub Foundation

After Greensleeves with the “Evolution of Dub“Series the story of the Dub recounted, Trojan probably also wanted the benefit of the popularity of Dubstep use the favor of the hour brought about to do the same - albeit in a somewhat reduced framework. Instead of releasing several 4-CD boxes like Greensleeves, Trojan limits itself to a double CD - but with at least 40 tracks: Foundation Dub (Trojan /Sanctuary). And since Trojan doesn't mess up, here is a collection of the best and most important Dubs compiled their archives, beginning in the early 1970s and ending in the early 1980s. All important Dub-Producers and mixers of the era of the classic DubThere are: Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Niney, Prince Jammy, Scientist, Linval Thompson, Bunny Lee and of course (and above all): Lee Perry. In chronological order you can go through the history of the Dub hearing, following how the sound has changed and how the mixes first became more and more complex and finally very simple again, can penetrate deeply into the Dub-Mysticism of the Black Ark studio, listen to Jammy's virtuosity and of course admire Tubby's routine. It is a journey through time from the instrumental version to pure sound, from the B-side to abstraction, from secondary use to independent art. A journey based on absolutely essential Dubs, by the way, a trip that doesn't come across as academic, but offers exactly what it is for Dub was invented: fun.

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Reggae

The best of the last few weeks

In the last few weeks I have had many good albums that all have one thing in common: They don't contain any Dubs. But lately it doesn't matter anymore, which is why I honor the best here and now. Let's start with the new album by Famara: "The Sound Of Famara" (famara.ch). I heard about the Swiss for the first time two years ago. At that time he presented his album “Oreba”, which I liked very much, although I am not a friend of African reggae per se. This is exactly what the alpine boy plays: reggae as it is produced in Africa. Lighter, faster, more percussive than the Jamaican original. Famara manages this style perfectly, but what makes his music remarkable are his very beautiful melodies. Seemingly effortlessly he lines up one catchy tune after the other. While some Jamaican stars struggle unsuccessfully for inspiration in the studio, Famara seems to gush out of the pen by itself. “The Sound Of Famara” looks back on the twelve-year career of the “Basel Reggae Bird of Paradise” (press release) and presents us with his greatest hits and older, but previously unreleased songs, as well as two newly recorded tracks with the help of the Scrucialists. Everything is very nice - and as I said: melodious. For the next 12 years!

Speaking of Africa and ideas: "United States Of Africa" (VP) is the name of the new album by Luciano and is a perfect example of a good album, which could have used more ideas. The rhythms, recorded by Sly & Robbie, Dean Fraser, Steven "Lenky" Marsden, Robbie Lynn and Mafia & Fluxy and produced by veteran Frenchie, are without exception very good and make the album's real attraction. But for the most part, Luciano's songs sound a bit uninspired. Luciano has his strongest moments when he sings a wonderful remake of "Only A Smile" by the Paragons or reinterprets Ini Kamoze's hit riddim "World A Music" - when he can use good song ideas from others. The result was a beautiful, but not particularly original album that definitely could have been more.

As is well known, there is a lot in the annual VP Gold Samplers. Suitable for the World Cup (and therefore already totally outdated) is logical "Reggae Gold 2010" published. Four girls in fantasy soccer jerseys pose on the cover: Japan, England, America and, of course, Jamaica, which would be wonderfully addressing VP's main sales markets (while they had very little to report in terms of their soccer competence at this World Cup). In contrast, the sampler has a lot to offer, namely veritable reggae hits like “Hold You” by Gyptian, “As We Enter” by Nas & Damian Marley, or “Skip To Ma Luu” by Serani & Ding Dong. I hardly paid any attention to the sampler from 2009 because of its unworthy content, but 2010 is a real surprise. According to my taste it contains really good material - also for reggae friends who have outgrown hardcore dancehall. But maybe Dancehall is changing and gaining more independence compared to Hip Hop and R, n 'B. That would be nice.

And another album from VP: "Romain Virgo" (VP) by Roman Virgo. It's great evidence of the puzzling phenomenon that pop music sounds somehow the same in every genre. There seems to be such a thing as a meta-style “Schlager” that exists independently of all stylistic features of a genre. Unfortunately there is also reggae and in the worst case it sounds like the first half of Roman Virgo's album. With the new edition of the “Baylon Boops” riddim, however, the music changes to soft but beautiful reggae halfway through the album (only the last song then functions as a gruesome thrower). But is a good half an album reason enough to buy a whole one?

On the other hand, I really enjoy the one riddim sampler "Kokoo Riddim" (Rootdown), which presents the pretty, funny, lively, light, melodious, bouncing ska riddim produced by Teka and sung about by Jaqee in 17 versions. Almost all the performers (including Louie Culture, Antony B, Nosliw, Slonesta, Maxim) came up with really good songs to the ska beat. Rarely heard such a varied album ;-)

In the last few years I've always avoided dancehall, but now I have to say that the new album is me "DOB" (VP) from Busy signal pretty much like it. Is something wrong with me? Or is there something wrong with the dancehall sound of Busy Signal? I think the latter is the case, because Dancehall as a sub-form of Hip Hop only offers Busy Signal in the songs "My Money" and "Yes Dawg". To compensate for this, we get to hear real salsa with “Busy Latino” while “Picante” reanimates the Pocoman style of the 1990s and with “HiGrade” an extremely nice remake of the Stalag riddim is presented. “Opera”, on the other hand, is a terrific minimalist work that consists of just a few cello strings. And to fill the bag, Mr. Signal even offers us with “One More Night” a wonderful and not a bit poky lovers track. So, while listening consciously, I am impressed by how versatile, how exciting and, last but not least, how beautiful the album is. I think I'm going to become a fan of Busy Signal.

I was eagerly awaiting the last chapter of the “Reggae Anthology” (17 North Parade / VP), which is on the double CD "The Definitive Collection Of Federal Records (1964-1982)" the label of the same name and the man behind it, Mr. Ken Khouri. Khouri had already been producing Mento records in the 1950s. In 1960 he bought a piece of land in Kingston and founded his studio and pressing plant "Federal Records" there. Driven by the vision of real music in Jamaicaindustry he began to record ska, later rocksteady and then reggae - always in a very commercial way of playing. It was an important pillar of his business z. B.To cover hits from other producers in a more "pleasing" way and then sell the records in the Caribbean. Especially with the productions from the 1970s, the commercial orientation aimed at an international audience becomes abundantly clear. That makes the double CD - although it is an important historical documentation - largely inedible. In 1981, Ken Khouri sold his studio and press shop to the Bob Marley clan, who renamed the complex Tuff Gong.

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Reggae

Rocksteady - The Roots Of Reggae

In the next few days the film "Rocksteady - The Roots Of Reggae“Premiere in Germany. I looked at it beforehand, not least because I was really excited to see if a good documentary about the music of Jamaica would finally be made. My DVD shelf is full of them dubMost popular films about reggae, mostly amateurish attempts to pay homage to reggae instead of explaining it. The only glorious exception is the BBC documentary “Reggae: The Story Of Jamaican Music”, a two-hour foray into reggae history with great footage from all the decades of our favorite music's short existence, with very precise voice-over and beautiful interviews. But now there is: "Rocksteady - The Roots Of Reggae" and the BBC documentary doesn't exactly get competition on my shelf, but a good addition. In contrast to the BBC, director Stascha Bader's interest is not so much in the accurate communication of historical facts, but rather in the people who breathed life into rock steady in the mid to late 1960s. And it is precisely in this respect that “Rocksteady - The Roots Of Reggae” sometimes seems like a copy of “Buena Vista Social Club”. Here as there, the camera circles the aged musicians, shows them in the studio and on the stage, feasts on their furrowed faces and, with a mischievous wink, shows the old warriors in poses that viewers are normally used to from young stars. And something else inevitably makes me think of Wim Wenders original: We see a Jamaica that, like Cuba, got stuck in the middle of the last century. We see romantically dilapidated places, picturesque ruins of old theaters, places of innocent dancing pleasure, which can resurrect a Jamaica before the fall of man. These are the places where the Rocksteady veterans stand, reminisce about a better time and sing a song. Well, innovative cinema is something different ten years after “Buena Vista Social Club”. But as a friend of reggae's “golden age”, namely the rocksteady era, one likes to overlook the overly conventional form of the film and is happy, Gladstone Anderson, Ken Boothe, Stranger Cole, Marcia Griffith, Rita Marley, Derrik Morgan, Judy To watch Mowatt, Dawn Penn, Leroy Sibbles and many other musicians make music. It never gets boring, because Stascha Bader develops an entertaining dramaturgy through the variety of studio scenes, interviews with the artists (often recorded in their amazingly petty-bourgeois furnished houses), documentary street scenes and footage from the 1960s, an entertaining dramaturgy that the film makes it very entertaining. Equally entertaining are the superbly produced and recorded songs, even if Stascha Bader unfortunately (but understandably) opted for the absolute "mega hits" of Rocksteady, which one is actually a bit tired of. But it doesn't matter. That's all complaining at the highest level. For a reggae documentary, “Rocksteady” is a really great success and a godsend for every reggae connoisseur.

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Review

Dubmatrix: System Shakedown

Dubmatix - my current one Dub-Held released a new album: "System Shakedown" (echo beach/ Indigo) - and it's not at all Dub! Damn it, such a cool album and it doesn't fit in my column. And actually not in that either Dubblog. But whatever. If Moses doesn't come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Moses! So from today: The Dubblog is expanding its spectrum and now allows everything the author likes - and I really like "System Shakedown". Because the album offers exactly what I do DubMatix adore: very fat, powerful, grandiose arranged and orchestrated old school rhythms. If there were already many tracks with guest vocalists on the previous album, then Dubmatix now nailed it and (with two exceptions) put the entire album at the service of singing. As expected, the veterans of the micro genre pass on here: The Mighty Diamonds, Dennis Alcapone, Gregory Isaacs, Tippa Irie and of course U-Brown. They are flanked by lesser known artists such as the Ragga Twins, Brother Culture or Omar Perry. And, that's better than a pure one now Dub-Album? The purist in me grudgingly admits: yes, that could be, because the singers all deliver great songs. Songs that make the rhythms burn, while the rhythms fire the songs again. So all in all a pretty impressive explosion that bangs our eardrums here. Or, to put it soberly, objectively and without personal judgment: the album rocks as if it had Dubmatix invented the groove.

Categories
Reggae

Moss Dub

Via Funkhaus Europa today I came across an extraordinary and highly exciting album: "Mos Dub" (mosdub.com). Max Tannone, who is already responsible for two mash-up albums (with material from Radiohead and Beasty Boys), has extracted the vocals of US rapper Mos Def, isolated them and put them over crazy reggae backings. Scientist meets Lee Perry, meets Niney, meets Wailing Souls, meets King Tubby, meets Errol Thompson, meets Studio One and meets Desmond Dekker's “007” on the most beautiful piece on the album. I save further descriptions because the album can be downloaded legally and free of charge here: http://mosdub.com/

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Dub (Revolution Review

Dub Evolution, August 2010

Who believed the evolution of the Dub would be finished with the “Natural Selection”, wrong, because Greensleeves now presents us with the “Missing Link”, that is Vol. 5 of the “Evolution Of Dub“CD box series (Greensleeves). Despite advanced evolution, we are still in the middle of the 70s of the last century with the musician and producer Ossie Hibbert. He contributes two of the box's four albums: "Earthquake Dub" and "Crueshal Dub" (Sic!).

"Earthquake Dub" appeared on Joe Gibbs' label after Ossie gave it to him in exchange for a car (Errol Thompson's car!). In “Reggae: The Rough Guide” it is referred to as a “more militant continuation of the“ African Dub“Series” describes what hits the nail on the head. You can hear the classic, well-known and universally popular Professionals / Aggrovators / Revolutionaries sound, dominated by Sly Dunbar's repeatedly fascinating drum patterns. Uptempo, light and yet also determined, determined and straightforward. In keeping with the style of the times, there are mainly re-editions of classic rhythms to be heard like z. B. "Pick Up The Pieces" by the Royals or "Declaration of Rights" by the Abyssinians.

The box's second Ossie album, "Crueshal Dub", is so obscure that even Ossie himself can hardly remember how it came about. In terms of sound, it is clearly ahead of “Earthquake Dub“And focuses on reviving old Studio One rhythms. Less strong and independent than "Earthquake", but knows it through beautiful, artistic ones Dub-Mixes to convince.

The other two albums in the box are a novelty in the series, as they are used to venture into England: "King Of The Dub Rock Part 1 "and" Part 2 ". In this respect, the boxing title “The Missing Link” has been chosen very cleverly. Both albums are produced by British sound man Lloyd Blackford aka Sir Coxsone Sound. In the sixties, many British sound systems named themselves after their Jamaican models. And since Blackford's worst adversary was named after Duke Reid, Blackford consequently chose the name of Clement Coxsone Dodd. "King Of The Dub Rock Part 1 ”was released in 1975 and contained rhythms by Dennis Bovell and Gussie Clarke. Blackford mixed those Dubs itself and gave the very different sounds a certain uniformity. For historical reasons the album is quite interesting as “Missing Link”, but in terms of listening pleasure it lags far behind “Part 2”, which was released seven years later (and thus made the leap into the 1980s). I bought the album in the year it was first released and on the one hand was fascinated by the rich sound, the strong brass sections and the beautiful melodies, but on the other hand I was also quite irritated by the Space Invaders 8-bit sounds that randomly entered the Tracks were mixed. Fortunately, these were overdubs now removed, leaving the original Dubs can be enjoyed here in all its unclouded beauty. The old school was to my liking Dub at the time of this album's creation at its artistic peak - only to die out a short time later in Jamaica. I am curious to see whether the boxing series will continue with Jah Shaka and Mad Professor in England. "Escape To The Asylum Of Dub"Would be a perfect sequel ...

How about a little Dub from Australia? Brian May, who was born in Britain, tinkers down under on various styles of music that all have one thing in common: Dub. He now has the album under the pseudonym Beam Up "Terra Sonica" (beamingproductions.com) published on the he Dubs, which stylistically cannot be grouped into a single genre, but which all comply with the laws of Dub to obey. The spectrum ranges from world music to reggae Dubstep. To my taste, cross-genre experiments are in principle exciting, but the spark doesn't really want to jump out here. The mixes are brilliant, the rhythms alone are lacking. They could use a little more groove.

On the other hand, Al's new album is pleasantly traditionaldubb to: "Aldubb Meets Ras Perez " (MKZwo Records). You know what you have! Beautiful rootsDubs, very calm, without claim to an innovation award, just fat basslines, big echo chambers and a nice old-school sound. The recordings were made during many rehearsal sessions in Al's in-house Berlin studiodubb. He has drums and percussion Dub-Master himself recorded, Ras Perez took care of the rest. An album that was made unintentionally. While jamming, the two simply let the tape run along: “At some point there were so many Dubs that it just had to be put on CD. ”Right decision! It turned out to be a good album.

Dubstep shouldn't be missing - especially when it comes from Kanka, the French steppers king who recently released his album “Don't Stop Dub“Catapulted our neighbors out of bed. Under the pseudonym Alek 6 he now has that Dubstep album "Inside" (Hammerbass.fr), which uncompromisingly delivers what we promise from Kanka, namely bass, bass and bass. However, unlike usual, only a few offbeats can be heard around it - instead of Warrior style there is dark electronics and rigid minimalism. Occasionally a few jungle breakbeats flare up, but otherwise the wealth of ideas is limited. But who needs ideas for a deafening bass drone? The main thing is that the pants flutter.

Finally something slightly obscure, namely a Polish one Dub-Album by a band called DUP !: “Dup! Session In Something Like Studio ”(dupmusic.com). The entire press release consists of these two sentences: “We are called Dup and proudly present our first album. We play Dub-Music and our main influence is the old school sound of old Jamaican recordings ”. Concise but precise. "Old school-Dub"Hits the point quite well: Dubs that sound almost played live, full of atmosphere, with virtuoso percussions and really beautiful bass lines. And of course with tubby-style mixes and an extra-clean sound.

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Dub (Revolution Review

Dub Evolution, June 2010

And there they are again. After 14 years of silence, eight months ago with “Sonn und Mond” there was definitely the most exciting thing Dub- To hear album of the year. And now, with “We So Horny”, another work by Hey-O-Hansen follows! What got into the two Tyroleans and Berliners by choice? Have the muse kissed Michael Wolf and Helmut Erler? If you take the creative content of their albums as a basis, then this question must be answered in the affirmative. I haven't come across anything so unusual, weird and yet absolutely coherent for a long time. Don't worry, we're not dealing with cerebral studio experiments here, but with wonderfully groovy ones, albeit strangely eccentric Dubs. There are Dubs that emphatically show the enormous creative leeway the genre offers and how this can be used convincingly. Unlike “We So Horny”, the predecessor “Sonn und Mond” was the distillate from 14 years DubResearch work and hard to beat in terms of the wealth of ideas. “We So Horny”, on the other hand, contains entirely new material and inevitably sacrifices the diversity of its predecessor to a greater stylistic unity. While "Sonn und Mond" offered a different surprise with every track, "We So Horny" allows you to get into the strange (supposedly influenced by Tyrolean folk music and its idiosyncratic offbeat) Dub- Listen to the sound of the two studio freaks. And what makes the sound so idiosyncratic? Not that easy to say. Perhaps it can best be described with the term “artistic rebellion”. Nothing here sounds “smooth” or conventional. On the contrary. The question is: how much Dub-Convention can be thrown overboard without the music stopping Dub to be? Hey-O-Hansen's answer is: everything except echo, bass and offbeat. And the first thing that goes overboard here is the classic instrumentation scheme. That's why the Hey-O-HansenDubs initially played incorrectly, only to sound logical and compelling in the next moment. The massive use of wind instruments alone is extraordinary. In addition, there is an idiosyncratic mixture of electronic sounds (à la Basic Channel) and hand-played, acoustic instruments as well as a simple, but somehow tricky polyrhythm. Hey-O-Hansen's music cannot really be described. Only one thing can be said very clearly: it is great.

Let's continue with weird Dub-Mucke: "Japanese Dub“(30 Hertz) by Jah Wobble & The Nippon Dub Ensemble. The last I heard from Mr. Wobble was his "ChineseDub”Album“ Mu ”from 2005. With“ Japanese Dub”He picks up where he left off with“ Mu ”. He just moved a little further east. Instead of the Chinese character “Mu”, the Japanese “Ma” now appears on the cover. The meaning is the same: emptiness, absence - an essential term in Zen meditation - and there Dub has a meditative quality per se, it is of course predestined for Jah Wobble's esoteric excursions. This time she leads us to ritual Shinto music, taiko drums and shamisen sounds. The basis of all the pieces on the album is always Wobble's rumbling bass and often beats programmed by him (on Japanese equipment, of course). That doesn't work badly, especially since Wobble often relies on reggae beats. Traditional Japanese singing is really crazy. If you are not open minded here, you should be in shock. The intoned song ("Kokiriko" - supposedly the oldest song in Japan) is actually very beautiful and has an incredibly catchy melody - even for western ears. Jah Wobble was so obsessed with this song that he put it on the album four times, as it were as a version excursion. Besides this song, there are other nice things to discover: pentatonic and chromatic scales, kabuki singing and booming drums for example. Jah Wobble doesn’t go easy on his listeners - but that’s exactly what offers the chance for new discoveries. And for that we thank Mr. Wobble-bass.

Last year the debut album by Dubkasm, "Transform I" (Sufferah's Choice), a dark, mysterious one Dub-Root's work with guest vocalists like African Simba, Dub Judah and, interestingly, also Brazilian singers outside of the reggae scene. Now with “Transformed in Dub“(Sufferah's Choice) the DubVersion of the album. This is even darker, more intense, even heavier and - according to my feeling - has also become even more interesting, because here all attention is given to the music, the sound, the finesse of the mix. Behind Dubkasm are two guys from Bristol, Digidub and DJ Stryda, who since childhood (after attending a show by Jah Shaka) have devoted themselves entirely to the "orthodox" rootsDub have prescribed. Therefore you are not allowed to make any new ones from the two Dub- Expect knowledge, rather the loving care of the good, old ones Dub-Tradition. How much the two BristolDubYou can look forward to your new, analog mixer dubsee casm.com in a nice little film portrait.

Ok, dreadzone. With this name, memories of the early 90s awaken in me, memories of a huge aha moment when I saw the crossover of Leftfield and Roots for the first time on the Dreadzone album "360 Degrees"Dub heard. As a result, Dreadzone released more fabulous albums, which not only represent the next higher evolutionary stage of Dub presented, but on which also great songs and insanely catchy melodies played. So I hardly need to mention that I have the new CD "Eye On The Horizon" (Dubwiser Records / Soulfood) with trembling fingers. What came next can perhaps be described as a result of confusion, disappointment, and ultimately favor. What is certain is that the new album cannot meet the gigantic expectations. It follows on from “Second Light” or “Biological Radio” - especially when it comes to song melodies and arrangements - but it does not reach the level of these albums. While this virtuoso techno / dance, leftfield and pop under the predominance of Dub united, “Eyes On The Horizon” clearly steers through pop and often even rock waters. Even if the title "Eyes On The Horizon" suggests otherwise, Greg Dread & Co have not really developed since the aforementioned albums from the 90s, but also since "Once Upon A Time", which was released in 2005. It's nasty to write something like that, but I have a feeling that Dreadzone was looking a little too much towards chart success on their new album. Surely this criticism is a high level complaint. Countless Dub-Producers would thank heaven if they could only produce anything close to the quality of "Eye On The Horizon". Because: if you leave all expectations and prejudices about pop and rock behind you, it suddenly becomes obvious: The new Dreadzone factory is good. And how do you notice it? Simply because you put it on again and again and have fun listening to it.

After we had the "absolutely last volume" of the King Size a few times DubSeries behind us and last year with “Vol. 69 ”a sampler fluttered into the house“ out of line ”, there is now:“ King Size Dub Chapter 13 “(Echo Beach) - and, that's the beauty of traditions, again with a Ruts DC remix. But - seriously now - I am glad that Echo Beach is continuing the legendary series, because the samplers (Vol. 1 appeared in 1995!) Always offer a highly tasteful selection of current productions. So also Chapter 13, where this time, in addition to a lot of in-house artists such as Noiseshaper, Up, Bustle & Out, Dubxanne, Dub Spencer & Trance Hill or Dubblestandart, also tracks from Dreadzone, The Vision, Aldubb or autumn in Beijing to be brought to hear. An excellent selection - Echo Beach just knows where the bass is playing.

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Dub (Revolution Review

Dub Evolution, April 2010

Behind the beautiful name Jahtari is a small label from Leipzig that started a few years ago as an experiment and, as the name suggests, is initially dedicated to the 8-bit sound of early computers like Atari and the C64 with its famous three-part SID sound chip would have. The experiment consisted in playing music as soulful as reggae with the help of mathematical algorithms. By the way, an experiment that King Jammy and Steely & Cleevie had already succeeded in the mid-1980s. But while Jammy's “Computerized Reggae” sounded retort-like “digital” due to the inability of the computer technology at the time and this stage was soon overcome with the availability of better sound chips, for Jan Gleichmar, the founder and boss of Jahtari, this sound is the goal of all efforts. He tailored the Jahtari label to his body and collects his own productions here as well as the like-minded laptop fricklers. The “Jahtarian Dubbers ”albums, the second chapter of which has just been released, are something like the manifestos of this sound. “Jahtarian Dubbers, Vol. 2 " (jahtari.org/) presents us now 13 tracks of fully synthetic "digital laptop reggaes", chased through several software echo chambers and enriched with space invaders sounds. Some pieces also offer rock-solid vocals such as z. B. “Puff That Weed”, on whose chattering bit sequences the virtuoso Soom T rides like on a speeding bobby car. In the mind's eye you can see cheap netbooks overheating and China iPhone clones vibrate. And this is exactly where the charm of this weird music lies: The (intentionally) primitive instruments really secrete genuine, real and true reggae tunes. Fat bass, stiff offbeat, solid drums and a groovy beat. The whole sound cosmos “Reggae” shrinks to its minimal, constructive elements - and sounds really good at the same time. Super Mario meets Basic Channel, reggaewise. Just an interesting experiment or good music that can survive even without the included theory? The answer is: 42!

Dub-Reworkings of popular pop songs are obviously in vogue. Easy Star Records has already taken on Pink Floyd, the Beatles and Radiohead, and Echo Beach has subjected The Police to a thorough reviewdubexercise and now it hits the former clash singer Joe Strummer with “Shatter The Hotel”. This wave was triggered by "Dub Side Of The Moon ”, an album that has sold an incredible 2003 copies since 90.000. The more stupid the concept, the more successful it seems. And since concepts of this kind are easy to think of, everyone tries their luck. These were roughly my thoughts when I was "Shatter The Hotel" (www.strummerville.com) got my hands on it. Almost reluctantly, I listened. OK, that was passable. After the second listening it was okay. When I heard it for the third time, I found myself singing along. Now - I have to admit - I'm very fond of Joe Strummers posthumously Dub-Tribute. The big plus of the album is, quite simply, the solid song base. These are real catchy tunes! Converted into clean, functional and calm Dub-Versions can't be said against it. Driven by the catchy melodies and more frequent vocal accompaniment, there is something like good popDub-Reggae originated. In contrast to the albums mentioned above, the pieces on “Shatter The Hotel” were not all recorded by a band, but were contributed by well-known and unknown producers from the international reggae scene. So does the infallible Dubmatix from Canada starts with “London Calling”, then from Dub Antenna, the Creation Rockers and the Dub Cats as well as a number of other unknown producers / bands followed. Sound and style are so similar, however, that everything merges into a homogeneous album - to put it positively. Incidentally, the sales proceeds go to the Joe Strummer Foundation, which supports young musicians.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Mafia and Fluxy released a series of albums under the title “Reggae Heights”, in which they copied old vocals onto newly recorded backings. One album in the series was dedicated to Barry Brown's oeuvre and featured seven Dubs as bonus material. If that wasn't enough for you, you now have the opportunity with the album "Barry Brown In Dub"which is only available as a digital release, another six Dubs to acquire. And since the two British Rhythm Brothers have really done rock-solid instrumental and mixing work, this acquisition is highly recommended. And who then even more Dub- You need fabric, he can come with it "Dub Anthems " grab the full boom right away. Mafia & Fluxy are offering 15 of their best Dubs from that time. Fat, fat, fat tracks whose massive basslines vibrate the plates off the table. There is no innovation award, but there is DubChamber of Crafts awards an award for outstanding workmanship (sponsored by the porcelain industry). Many an old, well-known and beloved riddim is brought to the fore here (“anthems”) like z. B. "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown", Marley's "Forever Loving Jah", "Open The Gate", "Warriors Charge" and of course "Realrock".

Before our enjoyable Dub-Hour comes to an end, we take another look at the revival selection and find here once again an ultra-rare album that (how could it be otherwise) the Pressure Sounds label dug up for us: "Prince Jammy Presents Strictly Dub" (www.pressure.co.uk). Recorded in the late 1970s and small editions published in New York in the early 1980s, it offers us a glimpse of Jammy's early work, which was created at Tubby's mixer on Dromilly Avenue. It was produced, arranged, mixed and remixed by the Prince himself, recorded by Jamaica's Cream, the session musicians of the time: Sly & Robbie, Ansel Collins, Gladstone Anderson, Bobby Ellis, Deadly Hedley, Sticky Thompson (among others). An illustrious combo that perform beautiful versions of classic rhythms such as "Baba Boom", Ali Baba "or" Shenk I Sheck ". The titles of the pieces are interesting: “Brookly Dub"," Bronx Fashion Dub", "Immigrant Dub"Or" 42nd Street Dub". Marketing jamaica-wise, because the album was finally planned for New York. And how does it sound? Well! Not spectacular, but very beautiful. Thanks to the classics, the basis is right and thanks to the brilliant musicians, the implementation is also right. Relaxed, uptempo played, airy sound, full arrangements with very, very nice percussion. Jammy's mix is ​​nice and appropriate. It gets really exciting with the two bonus tracks, which - according to press information - come from a "somewhat later period". They sound downright experimental compared to the rest. Heavier sound, a lot of pressure and a charming distortion effect that drives between the beats. Jammy has obviously learned a lot in a short time.