Author Rene Wynands

Actually, the Trojan-Back catalog of Perry recordings is well known. Therefore the 3-album double CD "Dub-Tryptich ”from last year actually doesn't pull anyone out from behind the stove. According to the same concept, so three Lee Perry-Albums on a double CD will now appear "Dubstrumentals " (Trojan / Rough Trade) and combines three albums that are much more interesting because they are seldom heard: 1. "Kung Fu Meets The Dragon", "Return Of The Wax" and "Musical Bones". At the end of 1973 Perry had completed his legendary Black Ark studio - albeit with minimal equipment - and began producing his first pieces there. 1973 was also the year in which Bruce Lee released his film "Enter The Dragon" and thus spread the Kung Fu pandemic in the West. Perry, who had a lot of fun with good films anyway - just think of his musical homage to the spaghetti westerns - had the chance to write an album with weird Kung Fu sounds, mystical Pablo Far East melodies and, of course, Bruce Lee's signature songs Do not let squeaks pass unused. And this is how instrumental pieces were created that, thanks to the sound effects and the inspired - albeit subdued - mix were definitely considered Dubs may be designated. Compared to later Black Ark productions, the beats are still relatively up-tempo with a strongly emphasized offbeat and peppered with Perry's Bruce Lee imitations. The way to new sounds can be clearly heard here, but Perry has not yet emancipated himself from his late 60s sound. The second album "The Return Of Wax", on the other hand, sounds much darker and deeper and was only released as a white label pressing in England in 1975. Here Perry worked with minimal instrumentation and radically slimmed down the mix. Often there is not much more to be heard than drum & bass, dry and puristic. Even if, as on “Big Boss”, the track begins cautiously melodic with offbeat and trumpet, Perry switches off all instruments after the fourth bar at the latest and lets the pure rhythm continue, only to experiment with the volume level later. In some ways, "Return" is reminiscent of the radical album "Dub Revolution". The third album, "Musical Bones" sounds completely different again. Like “Return…” it only came to England as a white label, but unlike its minimalist predecessor, “Musical Bones” is a true spawn of musicality and enthusiasm, because Perry didn't experiment here, but rather the trombonist Vin Gordon let's do it. He took the chance and delivered a beautiful, melodic instrumental album that uses many classic reggae riddims and does not shy away from interspersed jazz structures that like to transition into disco quotes after a hard break and then back to calm reggae -Beat to make room. Unfortunately, far too few copies of this album were pressed, so that it was quickly forgotten and later also overlooked by Perry in the flood of fresh Black Ark material. Now it can be heard again in brilliant quality - and there are two bonus albums on top of that.

Auralux has made an excellent name for itself among the reissue labels in the two years of its existence. It's also nice that the label's reggae historians also have a vein for Dub-Classics have, as they are now with the re-release of Fatman Dub Contest from 1979 prove again. The album is official "Fatman Presents Prince Jammy vs. Crucial Bunny: Dub Contest "(Auralux) titled and is one of my personal favorites from that golden one Dub-Era. Fatman was a British sound system operator who worked on Prince Jammy until the early 1980s.Dubs imported and distributed in the UK. In the case of "Dub Contest ”- which by the way has not been re-released since its appearance in 1979 - the then Prince mixed the first page of the album, while Channel One in-house engineer Crucial Bunny aka Bunny Tom Tom mixed the second page too much. Of course, the tracks on both sides come from different recording sessions, of which Jammy got the more exciting one. His tracks sound mystical and dark, which is enhanced by Jammy's echo-dominant mix. Jammy was able to draw on excellent material such as Johnnie Clarke's "Play Fool Fe Catch Wise", Black Uhuru's post-rockers version of the Wailers classic "Sun Is Shining" and Johnny Clarke's and I Roy's great re-working of "Satta". Bunny's side can't quite keep up with their lighter Revolutionaries-Rockers sound. By the way, both sides have been supplemented with two bonus tracks each for the CD release.

Most of the tracks are from the same era ScientistAlbums "Dubs From The Ghetto "(RAS / Roughtrade). Compiled by John Masouri, the album offers a small but very interesting look at Scientists' work. Scientists are gathered hereDubs for producers Jah Thomas, Bunny Lee, Linval Thompson and Barrington Levy. Masouri picked out the best productions here; each piece is a little masterpiece, both in terms of the rhythms and the mix. The music flows with calm serenity and the basslines unfold in all warmth. "Heavenless" and "Shank I Sheck" sound in wonderful versions and Scientists' restrained mix allows them to come into their own. With “Baltimore” there is even a production by Scientist from 2003 among the last tracks - astonishingly good by the way.

Now a little jump into New York in the 70s. Here originated "Bullwackiess All Stars: Dub Unlimited "(Wackies / Indigo) a classic one Dub-Album from the early days of Lloyd Bullwackie Barnes New York label. The Bronx studio was so new that Barnes, Prince Douglas and Jah Upton hadn't found time to record when they did a first Dub-Album released. They simply imported the recordings in Treasure Isle Studio and had King Tubby mix them - which explains why the typical Wackies sound cannot be heard here yet. However, Barnes had probably directed in Tubby's studio and was inspired by a variety of things Dubs that are clearly different from Tubby's mass production of this time.

A few years ago St. Germain showed how house can be combined with jazz in an extremely elegant way. Patrick Bylebyl and Guillaume Metenier, also from Paris, applied his method of housing to reggae and suddenly created such an immensely soulful variant of houseDub (Not Dub-House!) That their project name is "Seven Dub" deep in memory more open-minded Dub-Enthusiasts anchored. Their tune "Rock it Tonight" was the initial spark, which was followed by two albums. Now lies with "Dub Club Edition: Rock With Me Sessions " (Echo Beach / Indigo) album No. 3 and fits perfectly into the series. Wonderfully grooving tunes, crowned by the warm voices of great vocalists like Angelique (she sang “Rock it Tonight”), Paul St. Hilaire, Zakeya and DJ veteran Lone Ranger. Beat-technically, Bylebyl and Metenier orientate themselves on the narrow border path between house and reggae, but allow themselves sometimes quite extensive excursions on both sides - without, however, the typical for them Dub-Groove, which runs through the whole album like a red thread, to tear. A good example of this technique is the congenial cover version of Gregory's “My Only Lover”: A very open and easily played one-drop rhythm forms the basis here. Soft synth chords, interspersed guitar picks and restrained jazzy piano sounds and, of course, Angelique's enchanting voice lay over them as if in transparent layers and thus create an extremely fascinating, multi-layered sound - at the same time full of dynamism and relaxed serenity. Very very nice. Here are seven Dub in their element. There is no need to squint for a follow-up hit "Rock Me Tonight", as the title track "Rock With Me" tries to be. This only creates latent déjà vu effects that give the impression that Bylebyl and Metenier are treading on the spot. So the supposedly strongest track on the album actually becomes its weakest. 

At the beginning of last year Ryan Moore surprised us with a vocal artist album from his for pure Dub-Workouts known house "Twilight Circus". This was followed by an excellent solo album by Michael Rose, to which Moore now - how could it be otherwise - under the title "African Dub"(M Records / Import) the fitting DubAlbum submitted. Yet the problem with the Twilight Circus has always been his Dubs lacked that certain flavor - which is why Moore's decision to choose his Dubs to let the lyrics of great foundation artists flourish was exactly the idea that was still missing for the big hit. Inevitably the opposite way leads, namely singing for them Dub-To delete version again, to the old problem: good hard work, but not really exciting in the result. On top of that, Moores Dubs are so present on Michael Rose's album that the Dub-Album is actually obsolete. Anyone who has heard the songs a few times will be on this one Dub-Album didn't discover much new - except for Manasseh's mix of “No Burial”, which has a nice synthetic sounding computer bass under it.

One more word about "computer bass": If you are into it, you will find the ultimate computer bass tune on the Kankal-Album "Don't stop Dub"(Hammer bass / import). After an exciting intro and the well-known Fuzzy Jones announcement, an unbelievable bassline pops out, which lives up to the label name. In general, Monsieur Kanka has an extremely remarkable one here Dub-Album that's so full of energy that you can almost burn your fingers on it. Here it says: "Four To The Floor" in for Dub maximum permitted speed. Like Kong Kong through the streets of New York, Kanka's drum machine stomps through the beats and lets it rattle and thunder all around. So that the bass has a chance, however, it piles up in a veritable thunderstorm of frequencies that effortlessly vibrates the neighbors from across the street to sleep. So, Dubheads, it's worth doing some import research here - this album is a killer!

Let's see if that Bush Chemists with her new work "Raw Raw Dub"(Roir / Import) can hold back. It starts at the very beginning with “New Beginning”. But what is so promising here turns out to be home-style as usual. neo-Dub, or UK-Dub, in its purest form, no more and no less. The next track “Speaker Rocker” builds up a bit more tempo and one more track, in the Love Grocer remix “East Of Jaro” there is a little melody added. No, they do against Kanka DubVeterans are not a very good figure, but the longer you listen to them, get involved with their music, the more the comparison fades and the album unfolds its qualities - and these consist in the fact that it meets the limited possibilities of neoDub (its rhythm, its arrangements and its instrumentation) somehow still finds mostly interesting tunes. 

Let's listen to the original, let's hear how it all began ... 1991 took place Zion Train the debut album "A Passage To Indica" on, a good, unspectacular album that is now together with its successor "Natural Wonders of the World in Dub"(Universal Egg / Import) - a neo-Dub-Milestone - freshly remastered is re-released. Especially “Natural Wonders” is still very worth listening to. The liaison typical of Zion Train between digitalDub and fast acid house rhythms. The album is full of groundbreaking ideas, each track is independent and rhythmic as well as melodious so concise that the Dubs can almost be called “songs”, like z. B. especially on the last track “Zion Canyon” with its gentle catchy piano melody over the inevitably hypnotizing bassline. In retrospect, the album shows itself to be a first manifesto of the new possibilities of the new Dub.

Finally, a historical look at the Jamaican Dub. The American label "Silver Kamel Audio" is dedicated to the oeuvre of Deejay and producers Yeah Thomas. The last releases are the sampler "Big Dance A Keep" and that Dub-pendant "Big Dance a Dub"(Silver Camel / Import). Recorded by the Roots Radics, Mafia and Fluxy as well as the Firehouse Crew at Tuff Gong and Black Scorpio studios, the album offers 14 freshly recorded tracks that sound like they came from the 80s and 90s. The album wouldn't be worth a special mention if it weren't for all the beautiful Studio One riddims that can be heard here in a crisp, pure version. A bow to Nkrumah Thomas' great legacy Studio Ones? Or sheer lack of imagination? Anyway, these riddims are fun and carry any album.

Steve Barrow - tireless reggae historian and reissue pope - is now responsible for a new label alongside Blood & Fire: “Hot Pot”, located in the house of Cooking Vinyl (how fitting!). After “Earthquake Dub“, Which was published in March, is now coming "Leggo Dub" (Hot Pot / Indigo), both works by the producer Oswald "Ossie" Hibbert. "Leggo Dub“Is a beautiful, rough and energetic one DubAlbum that is relentlessly whipped through 16 tracks by Sly Dunbar's drums. It is essentially based on Gregory Isaac's album “Mr. Isaacs ”and offers Dub-Versions of such glorious hits as "Smile", "Storm", Sacrifice "or" The Winner ". But Barrow wouldn't be Barrow if he had left it at that, and so he has added six bonus tracks from Ossie's archive: including "Lion Fence Version", a Ranking Trevor B-side or "Special Version" and "Loving Version" , both U. Brown B-sides. But the Gregory rhythms cannot be topped. Bone dry and powerful, the beats storm on, garnished by beautiful Gregory melodies played by the brass section and then fade away to let drum & bass take precedence. Occasionally Hibbert, who was also a sound engineer here, mixed in sound samples such as dog barking or telephone bells. He probably copied from Errol T., sounds like "Leggo Dub“But rather out of place. Otherwise, Hibbert can't deny his closeness to King Tubby - which is not least due to the sound of the backing band (Revolutionaries / Soul Syndicate / Aggrovators), who have recorded countless rhythm tracks for Bunny Lee. So whoever does the Blood & FireDub Rereleases will be sent to Leggo Dub have his pleasure.

My dear record dealer from Münster has an interesting French one Dub-Label with the grandiose name "Sounds Around" unearthed, which is somewhere in the spectrum between neo-Dub, Electronics, techno and drum 'n' bass. With "Dub Excursion "(Pias / Import) The label presented a sampler - as a founding manifesto, so to speak - with names like Manutension, Tomaski, Brain Damage, Hybrid Sound System, but also acts like Elastik, Uzina that were completely unknown to me Dub or Heckel & Jeckel are gathered. The basic tenor of the sampler is determined by massive neo Dubs with heavy bass lines and stoic tapping drum beats. But everything sounds a little more experimental, electronic and playful. What the laptop has to offer is played undogmatically here - and in the case of Rawa Dub it's a rumbling bassline that is second to none. A real one Dub-Thunderstorm! Heckel & Jeckel, who put a UB 40 sample through the meat grinder, are also fantastic. The listener is dismissed from Elastik, who apparently had a lack of trouble. Weird and beautiful.

Another album on Sounds Around is "Dub Strike "(Pias / Import) from Sism-Xthat's kind of like a hardcore version of Seven Dub sound. Powerful RootsDub without frills. Powerful and uncompromising. Completely redundant, one title actually “Stepper Dub“- nothing else does the whole album with flying colors.

The Hybrid sound system - already represented with a title on the sampler - is taking part "Synchronous" (Pias / Import) also present a full album on Sounds Around. It's more experimental here. Many of the massive ones Dubs are woven around oriental harmonies and Arabic vowel samples. The track L'Uzure begins like an Arabic folk song, then gradually turns into a powerful stepperDub to transform. “Nordick”, on the other hand, begins like a slow, sluggish one Dubto become a brutal drum 'n' bass piece over the course of the track. The ears are blown free for a long time!

On the other hand, it is comfortingly traditional on the vibronics-Album "Heavyweigt Scoops Selection" (Pias / Import) zu, which was also published on Sounds Around. Apparently vocal pieces are gathered here Dub-Versions of various Vibronics productions - a Vibronics label portrait, so to speak. According to the fresh French Dubthe typical UKDub-Synthetic sounds of the vibronics kind of stale, although the vocalists contribute some nice melodies. Above all, Madus' “Book Of Revelation” is a brilliant song, which is also supported by a beautifully powerful rhythm.

Let's stay a little longer in France and listen to an album whose title sounds very promising: "Night of the Living Dread". (Import) Originator of this horror Dub-Albums - on the cover of which there are dreadlocked giant robots fighting against zombies in blue banker suits Sonarcotic from Marseille. Dub-Avantgarde shouldn't be expected here, but a very nice, interesting and quite varied one Dub-Album that is by no means to be feared. On the contrary: calm, relaxed, but excitingly pulsating beats determine the sound. The arrangements are full of little ideas and ensure that every song has its own individuality and conciseness. Contrary to all expectations, the listener is not annoyed with stupid samples from horror films - the title seems (luckily) just a nice play on words. 

There is a new one Scientist-Plate! "Nightshade meets Scientist" (Organized Elements / Import) is the name of the part and offers 13 Dub-Mixes of a - not yet released - album by the American band Nightshades. It was mixed by Hopeton Brown aka Scientist in Hollywood. The tracks are all played by hand and sound like that - typical American reggae: traditional, rootsy, latently dry. Scientist does a solid job: traditional, rootsy, latently dry. More exciting rhythm tracks would probably have lured him a little more from his reserve. But an album without ups and downs also has strengths: It is ideally suited as background music in the office, as a kind of stress absorber.

After the big one last year Jah wobble-Werkschau has been released in the form of a 3-CD box, Wobble is now daring to present an album with current works. To give it an appropriate meaning, it has the title "Mu" (Trojan / Rough Trade) chosen what, according to his own statement, comes from Chinese and means nothing less than “God” or “origin”. So it should be clear that Mr. Wobble's esoteric trip is still going on. This time he takes us via India to the Far East, on a spherical one Dubs and warm bass runs paved path. His sound collages of Asian harmonies, breakbeats, samples, keyboard areas and, of course, subsonic bass frequencies have nothing to do with reggae, but all the more with it Dub, ZenDub, to be exact. Each track consists of a number of sound levels that cannot be precisely defined, which overlap transparently and from which individual instruments or voices emerge again and again and start a small melody or contribute syncopated beats. (By the way, Mark Lusardi is responsible for this fascinating sound, who has also made The Orb, Duran Duran and David Bowie sound good). Wobbles songs are full of ideas and do not allow an overly simple classification. So is "Kojak-Dub"For example a funky up-tempo track and" Love Comes / Love Goes "is flawless pop. But that's not a contradiction in terms, because everything comes from the great "Mu" as we know.

Mad Professor is one of my heroes. His "Dub Me Crazy ”albums came like a revelation to me in the early 1980s. As if I had suspected that there had to be a deeper dimension in reggae, I heard its metallic thunderous beats with open ears, head and mouth. His DubIt was exactly the right mix of powerful, deeply sounding beats and a highly creative mix. In contrast to his colleague Adrian Sherwood, he always succeeded in lending his musical experiments grounded and breathing soul into his pieces. In an interview he once told me that he was happy to be making music in England and not in Jamaica, because here he was exposed to more diverse influences that inspire and motivate him again and again. This speaks of a complete devotion to music. It is not the search for a commercially exploitable “style” that drives him, but the exploration of the still hidden possibilities of Dub. How far he has come with exploring this potential is documented by his double CD anniversary compilation "Method To The Madness" (Trojan / Sanctuary), which presents a cross-section of the professor's 25 years of production activity. While the second CD is mainly devoted to his remix work (for Massive Attack, Jamiroquai, etc.), the first CD shows the professor's real great deeds. Largely chronologically, the arc is spanned from 1979 (“Kunta Kinte Dub") To 2004 (" Ariwa Dub Rock “- with Sly & Robbie). It is downright terrifying how modern his productions from the early 80s sound. Such sophisticated, cleverly arranged and high-quality produced rhythms are still rare today. The professor used them for his great ones Dubs, but also as the basis for many vocal productions with British artists such as Pato Banton, Ranking Ann, Sandra Cross or of course Macka B, all of whom are represented here with their most important pieces. But venerable Foundation artists have always been interested in Mad Professor and so there are wonderful recordings with Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy and Max Romeo to be heard. All in all, a multi-layered and essential retrospective of the crazy professor - one that drives you crazy for more.

Since Trojan was swallowed by Sanctuary, the label's gigantic catalog has been evaluated again to the best of its ability. Any compilation idea is of course welcome. The latest idea from Trojan: the classic DJ compilation, in which a well-known record player can pack his favorite tracks from the pool onto a sampler. That worked out well with DJ Shortkut. Now it is the turn of the BBC radio DJ Chris Coco and presents his Dub Club: "Peace & Love & Dub"(Sanctuary). For this he made use of a number of tracks already on thousands of other samplers such as “King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown” or “Cocain In My Brain” (not only Dubs) but also real new discoveries like Dawn Penn's “Love Dub”, Gregory's“ African Woman Version ”, Bobby Ellis“ Shuntin ”or Lee Perry's self-sung (and slightly rewritten) version of Marley's“ One Drop ”packed onto the turntable. All of this is not really mandatory, but it is fun and especially good on Sunday mornings.

But that's not all, because with that "Trojan Dub Rarities Box Set "(Sanctuary), the Sanctury compilers added one more: fifty Dub-Tunes from the 1970s and early 1980s on three CDs. Fortunately, instead of the usual suspects, rarer pieces are gathered here. However, these are often only alternative mixes, which of course reduces the novelty value. But there are also small, sparkling ones Dub-Beads used in the historiography of Dub were overlooked like z. B. "Dub In Love "by The In Crowd with early synth melodies, or Niney's" Iron Fist "an earlier" computerized " Dub. But given the fact that there are seventiesDub-Samplers are not lacking at the moment, the question arises whether these "rarities" must be included in the DubCollection include.

In each DubCollection includes these two albums: "Dub Massive Chapter 1 " and "2" (Sanctuary). Two CDs with 18 tracks each, none less than Bill Laswell stole from the Trojan archives. But the master of the bass doesn't just have his favorites heredubs compiled the Seventies, but has also subjected them to a gentle remix that respects the original. "Placed By Bill Laswell" is therefore also the name of the cover (which, by the way, consists of a cardboard box and the interested listener owes further information), which Laswell obviously means mainly subtle changes to the sound (z. B. amplified bass lines, distortion, etc.), occasional sound samples and sophisticated transitions between the mixed pieces. Each album thus presents itself as a seventy-minute, continuous one Dub-Mix in which the beats of different producers and different epochs into one fascinating Dub- Merge all over. What purists see as sacrilege, Laswell understands as "interpretation". That actually hits the point quite well, because instead of making them sound new and different, he rather works out the strengths and characteristics of the originals and subjects them to a gentle sound-technical “rebrush”. Anyone who thinks this is sacrilege should definitely listen to the albums, because they will probably rediscover their favorite pieces here.

That's enough of Trojan releases. Let's move on to another favorite label of mine: Echo Beach. Always looking for interesting things DubManifestations, the label boss is now on DubAlbum by the American ska band The Slackers, with the title "An Afternoon In Dub"(Echo Beach / Indigo), bumped. Developed after rehearsal sessions in which the recording tape was played, the tunes sound very relaxed and inspired - and not at all like ska. Slow reggae one-drop beats dominate here - only occasionally a ska shuffle creeps in, which is then very refreshing. Of course, the typical Ska winds and the rough, hand-played sound are particularly beautiful. Less convincing, however, are the riddims and the sometimes somewhat pressureless way of playing. In general, the album sounds more like an instrumental than a thoroughbred DubAlbum, although the Dub-Mix is ​​unmistakable. 

This is a little bit with the new album by Burning Babylon, "Stereo Mash Up" (I-Tones / Import) the case. Again, the hand-played sound is sometimes a bit dry and the timing is not always perfect. On the other hand, there are also super tight pieces like “Midnight To Six” or “Heavy Dread (a Stalag version), which, when heard at full volume, are quite able to cover the roof. It is these surprises that make the album interesting. Instead of a monotonous standard sound, there are a lot of ideas in every piece - the joy of playing and mixing is unmistakable.

Let's stay in America and move from Massachusetts to Brooklyn, to the Trumystic sound system. They just have their double album "Dub Power" published that, contrary to the title, contains mostly vocal numbers. The DubVersions can then be found on CD 2. Also hand-played, these tunes also have a rather dry, analogue sound, above which the bright, powerful voice of the singer Kirsty Rock hovers. All songs were produced by Keith Clifton from the Wordsound environment, which initially set off all alarm bells, as well as the information that Trumystic was already on the Pink Floyd homage album “The Dub Side Of The Moon ”. And indeed: a certain intellectual closeness to rock can sometimes not be completely ignored. On the other hand, there are also very nice, powerful reggae rhythms - but the album doesn't really convince me. Dub is electronic music in the broadest sense. In order to be able to convince with a hand-played, rocking sound, you have to do your job really well (like z. B. Taj Dub Trio). But that doesn't really work out here yet. Trumystik's strengths, however, lie in the vocal pieces, where a coherent song structure is more important than sound and precision.

Sound completely different Dub Resistance on their album "World Receiver" (www.maxelect.com). This is about house, lounge and dope beats under the big principle Dub. The sounds are therefore more electronic, relaxed and flowing. Music that fits well into the background, it fills the room with atmosphere and warmth. It is hardly possible to listen carefully. Again and again the thoughts drift away - nothing keeps them with the pieces. There is a lack of rough edges, strength and energy. With the Cool Hipnoise album (on Echo Beach), Nick Manasseh showed how loungeDub can be implemented with character. Thereof Dub Resistance unfortunately still far away. A little less modesty and more self-confidence would certainly help.

Let us now come to a work that, for better or worse, belongs in this column: "The Dub Tribute To U2 "(www.vitaminrecords.com/Imp.) from WideAwake. Maybe I've always been a despiser of rock music, but maybe you have to know the U2 originals to enjoy this album. In any case, I don't even begin to succeed. OK, what the producers did there is without a doubt DubThat means: there are a lot of sound effects here, many (too many!) breaks, reverb and echo and whatever else goes with it. But unfortunately the basslines were forgotten. Or is it part of the rock tribute that the bass cannot be heard? The fact that guitars are used instead of bass only makes matters worse. It remains to be noted: powerful rhythms, the conditio sine qua non of every ordinary one Dubs, does not exist! But I don't want to deny that the producers really go out of their way and incorporate many well-intentioned ideas into their arrangements. But if the bas (s) is not right, then unfortunately you can forget the rest. Incidentally, a visit to the Vitaminrecords website is quite enlightening, because the label has specialized entirely in tribute albums. There are tributes to Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein or Bon Jovi. However, they are not Dub- Remixes, but mostly classically orchestrated reinterpretations, some of which are really exciting (MP3s can be heard as a sample). For example, a classic string quartet interprets the music of Sonic Youth in the minimal style of Steve Reich or Philipp Glass. The same quartet has also undertaken a baroque reinterpretation of AC / DC !?

Let's conclude the dance with the new album by Gabriel Le Mar: “Le Mar In Dub". Gabriel Le Mar is in Dub-, ambient, downbeat, trance and techno realms have been a very present figure since the 1990s. Usually it is hidden behind project or label names such as Aural Float, Saafi Brothers or Banned X. I first noticed it around ten years ago with its Serious Dropout samplers, which with their technoDub-Crossovers were way ahead of their time. This was followed by the Auralux samplers, which increasingly left the reggae beat in the direction of ambient and electronics. With “Le Mar In Dub“He's back on the track again. Here again powerful offbeats pulsate with a clear shot of techno. The sound could be classified somewhere between Dreadzone and Compact - with a clear tendency towards the former. There's a lot of pressure and drive in the beats. The mixes are almost a minor matter, although they are very inspired and varied. The same applies to the track selection. So there are heavily grooving up-tempo pieces, but also slower, loungy ones Dubs with flowing basslines and smooth sounds. At the beginning of the album there are even two dancehall numbers, which are quite out of the ordinary and actually haven't lost much on the album. Le Mar has found a nice name for the last track, whose rhetorical question we are only too happy to answer in the affirmative: “All of them Dubbed? ".

I still have one: They come from Lyon high tones, With the "Wave Digger" (Jarring Effects / Pias) presented a rather experimental and equally dissonant and kicking album. Dub works here essentially in the form of deep, rolling basslines over which all sorts of chaos is played. Sometimes level-headed offbeats, sometimes hectic drumming & bass, sometimes hip hop and sometimes absurd samples. A comparison to the Asian Dub Foundation almost imposes itself, although the Hightones weave significantly less ethnic elements into their confused sound patterns. The whole thing is very, very exciting, even if you shouldn't necessarily use it as background music when working in the office - if you like peace with your colleagues.

Phenin

Grounded

Shit catapult / compact / alive

Dub is at home in many styles. After its resurrection as a Steppers variant in the 90s, the Dub-Virus underwent many mutations and infected the most diverse musical styles one after the other. Lately I especially like a typically German variant that nests itself in minimal techno and house pieces, whose shuffle rhythms, which are already very susceptible, add a few offbeats and occasionally switch on the echo chamber. One of the masters of these techno-affiliates Dubs is Lars Fenin. Inspired by Adrian Sherwood and Audio Active (but also Burning Spear) concerts, he turned to reggae in the mid-90s. His move from Hamburg to Berlin placed him in the middle of the electronic music capital, which was not without consequences. And so Fenin began in 1999 with the production of warm, groovy, clearly technoid tones Dub-Do it. In the years that followed, a whole series of 12 ”and EPs were released on labels such as Meteosound, Hör Zu and Shitkatapult - but he still owes his debut album. Here it is now: "Grounded" (Shitkatapult / Compact / Alive). It spans the whole spectrum of his art, from the techno hardliner “Konstrukt” to compact compatible ones like “Stony Road” to reggae songs like “No CIA” or “Thrill”. It all fits together wonderfully and there is not a weak piece among them. Subtle and intricate yet dynamically flowing rhythms shape every single tune. So Fenin offers exactly what I do Dub love: Music that withstands attentive and analytical listening and at the same time has a strong emotional and physical impact. In Fenins Dub- Understanding therefore has a lot of potential - which, by the way, also applies to other protagonists in this scene (z. B. for the label Meteosound). And of course I don't mean that just in terms of Dub and reggae, but above all with regard to electronic music Made in Germany.

The Canadian's new work belongs in the same area of ​​tension between reggae and techno Deadbeat (aka Scott Monteith): "New World Observer" (~ scape / Indigo). However, the offbeats and the repetitive minimal beats take a back seat to the broad ambient atmosphere. The rhythms are no less elegantly constructed than with Fenin, it is only the dynamics that largely give way to the surface and thus partly take away the groove from the pieces. Typical for Scape, not only the beats of Deadbeat's pieces are tricky, but the whole track. This of course offers more space for artistic expression, and so it is not surprising that the press release “New World Observer” assumes a political statement - which is made for you Dub-Album naturally only via the title (z. B. "Abu Ghraib" or "Texas Tea") and possibly vocal samples. The question that arises here is whether the symbolic power of reggae (and with it Dub) as resistance music can be so easily absorbed. I'm not sure because Dub is based on a very formalistic understanding of music. Dub was created by removing the text message from a piece of music on the mixer and replacing it with a purely aesthetic reinterpretation. More contemporary Dub As is well known, it even comes about without a preceding vocal version. Dub is abstract music, for the most part it doesn't even have a memorable, and thus “figurative” melody. And this is exactly where the sound cosmos of Deadbeat fits: into the great abstraction of synthetic beats and complex compositions.

Another crossover album deserves a brief mention here, but it sits between the chairs much more consistently than Fenin or Deadbeat: "Sports" (Stadler & Waldorf / Alive) by the two Danes Rasmus Möbius and Anders Christophersen aka Melk Abbey. They split their album into Dub- and hip-hop pieces that take turns. It goes together amazingly well because they too Dubs are characterized by clear breakbeats - without losing their warmth. 

My secret favorite is a record from Poland, which I could hardly find out anything about, as both the booklet and the website were written exclusively in Polish. How good that music is a universal language, because what you can hear is easy to describe: Bhangra, Quawwala, Drum 'n' Bass, Arabesque and Asian Underground united under the all-encompassing principle of Dub. The title of the album is therefore logical "Masala" (Home Appliance / Import) - the name of an Indian mixture of spices. A rather sharp mixture of spices, which makes it clear that we are not dealing with spherical sitar sounds, but with a high-energy mix of exotic dance beats, with the reggae offbeat always calming the chaos in order. The comparison to Asian Dub Foundation urges itself, with ADF going more aggressively and in favor of Dub and Drum 'n' Bass further move away from the original ethnic sounds. The Masala sound system however, he recorded his pieces in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Poland and therefore places much more emphasis on the authentic music of these cultures. This is then by no means eclectic under-sampled and appropriated as a mere sound quotation, but it essentially carries the pieces and gives each one its unmistakable identity. Very fascinating! (The album can be obtained from Irie Records in Münster).

If you are interested in world music, you cannot ignore Phil Stanton's World Music Network label. The “Rough Guide” series in particular is very well known. After the "Rough Guide To Reggae" was published a few years ago, it is now fresh "Rough Guide To Dub" (World Music Network). Both samplers were put together by reggae historian and Blood & Fire co-operator Steve Barrow. However, this has to be with the guide Dub limited to titles from the Blood & Fire catalog with just one exception, which also explains why the guide does not get past the 1970s. King Tubby alone mixed 10 of the 20 tracks. The rest is shared by Prince Jammy, Errol Thompson, Lee Perry and Joe Joe Hookim. This would bring the most important Jamaican masters - with the exception of Scientist - all together, the Jamaican Dub So represented in the most excellent way and an aesthetically very satisfying album was created. But what use is a guide if he falls halfway?

The sampler comes from Echo Beach "King size Dub 11 "(Echo Beach / Indigo). For ten years now, Mr. Beverungen has been documenting with his King Size Dub-Series (the first sampler appeared in 1995) the “Logical Dubgression ”and as usual there are the finest again Dub- Delicacies gathered between reggae, soul, pop, dancehall, world, trip hop and dope beats. Anyone who - like me - is an avid collector of Echo Beach's artist albums will buy around a third of the pieces (Noiseshaper, Kalahari Surfers, Dubblestandart et al.) already know. But especially among the new material there are some extremely interesting ones Dubs. There is, for example, Math Doly, a singer and songwriter from the Ivory Coast, whose griot singing here by producer Simon Grab in a meditative way Dub-Piece was transformed. There would also be the Alpsdub to call a Dub-Mixer from Canada who loves Dubs to mix based on German alpine music. And finally I mentioned salt from Cologne, with one Dub-House remix of the label anthem "Echo Beach" by Martha & The Muffins.

One of the pieces on king size Dub 11 is from the album "Dub Guerilla "(Rent a Dog / Soulfood) from Dub guerrilla, aka Tom Bennecke, the longtime guitarist of bands like Space Guerilla and Jazzkantine. It goes without saying that this has to be about jazz. And when it comes to reggae and jazz, ska is not far away - any more than the brass section. And in fact stand by Dub Guerrilla the three trombonists Nils Wogram (leading jazz trombonist), Uwe Granitza (Phil Collins, Tom Jones) and of course Dr. Ring thing in the center of the action. But the record would be wrong in my column if the three gentlemen only garnished ska pieces with their brass sections. What makes this project so unusual are the truly extraordinary DubPieces. Already the first track, “The Curse”, welcomes the listener as the reincarnation of a King Tubby Dub-Mix in the style of classic Flying Cymbal Bunny Lee productions. "Dub is the ideal form of expression for me, ”says Bennecke,“ it contains everything I love: powerful riddims, naive melodies and also space for spacey-jazzy descents, ”and thus aptly describes the sound cosmos of the album - apart from perhaps powerful ones Rhythms (which jazz musicians of the post-swing era have never really gotten to). In addition to the pieces based on drum loops, there are also real, hand-played band tracks that enrich the album with the sound of a large rhythm group.

Who today for Dub committed, be it as a musician / producer or label operator, he does this out of pure idealism, because money can hardly be earned with it. Ralf Wunderlich is both a musician and a label owner, Dub A wholehearted aficionado and an unconditional idealist. He runs the from his hometown Berlin Dub-Info website www.dubflash.com as well as the label of the same name, on which 12 "s appear in small editions and recently also albums in CD form. While he's only there so far Dub-Works befriended sound tinkerer and Dub-Musician introduced, he is now under the name Dub Arrogant with its own album, called "Dreams Of A Lost Soul" (Dubflash), at the beginning. Wunderlich produced it entirely on his home PC, "without any professional skills", as he apologetically writes, and completely without a budget. He can allow himself a little more self-confidence, because it is a very beautiful, calm and meditative one Dub-Become a work that is full of good ideas and beautiful melodies. Created as a concept album, it provides the soundtrack to a dream about a stolen melody and the question: "What is reality?" An interesting concept, because this topic in the back of the mind actually changes the perception of the music. When listening, images inevitably arise in the head, which combine in a chain of associations to form a story. Why aren't there others already? Dub-Producer figured it out?

What else on Dubflash can be heard, Wunderlich has now on the sampler "Dub Royal - Best Of Dub Flash "(Dubflash) gathered. Heavy steppers beats predominate here, occasionally garnished with vocals. Typical UKDub-Mid 90ies sound. Here, too, there are some nice ideas, but it will probably not get an innovation award. The arrangement and instrumentation of the individual tracks should also be a bit more inventive. 

Let us now come to a work that, for better or worse, belongs in this column: "The Dub Tribute To U2 "(www.vitaminrecords.com/Import) from WideAwake. Maybe I've always been a contempt for rock music, but maybe you have to know the U2 originals to enjoy this album. In any case, I don't even begin to succeed. OK, what the producers did there is without a doubt DubThat means: there are a lot of sound effects here, many (too many!) breaks, reverb and echo and whatever else goes with it. But unfortunately the basslines were forgotten. Or is it part of the rock tribute that the bass cannot be heard? The fact that guitars are used instead of bass only makes matters worse. It remains to be noted: powerful rhythms, the conditio sine qua non of every ordinary one Dubs, does not exist! But I don't want to deny that the producers really try and put many well-intentioned ideas into their arrangements. But if the bas (s) is not right, then you can forget the rest. Incidentally, a visit to the Vitaminrecords website is quite enlightening, because the label has specialized entirely in tribute albums. There are tributes to Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein or Bon Jovi. However, they are not Dub- Remixes, but mostly classically orchestrated reinterpretations, some of which are really exciting (MP3s can be tried out). For example, a classic string quartet interprets the music of Sonic Youth in the minimal style of Steve Reich or Philipp Glass. The same quartet has also undertaken a baroque reinterpretation of AC / DC !?

That Poland is a country with liveliness DubScene is, due to the two PolandDub- Guess samplers that I discussed in the last issue. Now a couple of respectable solo albums have "come over", first and foremost Activator with "Mario Dziurex Remixy" (www.independent.pl/Import). You can hear it here Dub- Remixes of some tracks by Zion Train, Rootsman, Nucleus Roots, Maka B and various Polish acts. That worked out pretty well. The Maka B remix is ​​bursting with energy and is already tending towards techno-Dub. Other pieces sound no less progressive and also captivate with wonderfully catchy melodies and varied instrumentation. It's really fun to hear. If you want to get the album via import, you should ask here: www.irie-records.de.

Next comes 12rael (I don't know how to say that) with his simply titled album "In Dub"(Www.wmoichoczach.com.pl/Import). He offers us rock-solid steppersDub with an acceptable level of inspiration. The artist with the unpronounceable name has invested a lot of effort in his mixes. His basslines are rolling and the drum loops are partly like on “Freedomic Dub“, A little unusual. But to be honest, I still can't think of a real argument why one should invest in imports from Poland.

The new work of another artist with an unpronounceable name is very interesting: Wszystkie Wschody Slonca. The album is titled a little more simply: "Luv Etno Logic Dub"(Www.independent.pl/Import). Instead of stoic steppers beats, complex arrangements with breaks, samples and some folk-inspired harmony are served here. There are always small catchy tunes that lead like a red thread through the respective track. Occasionally, however, you have to endure a guitar solo or listen to someone speak Polish. In general, there is a certain proximity to the rougher Adrian Sherwood productions. This is at the expense of warm bass vibes, but you get head food - hot onions, as shown on the cover.

So much for the Poland selection. Now we come to a couple of rather obscure productions. First, there is Justin DeHart from Sacramento on the American West Coast, who goes by the name Doctor Echo since the early 90s Dub produced. The ones on his album "Steady Ups vs. Doctor Echo: Dub Disaster "(www.doctorecho.com/Import) The pieces presented were recorded live between 1995 and 2000 and are now closed Dubs mixed. That doesn't sound particularly exciting and it isn't. Unfortunately the Steady Ups had no idea how to get groovy rhythms. And no matter how hard the doctor tries with his mix, good guys Dubs sound different.

King earthquake sets with his album "Earthquake Dub-Plates "(King Earthquake / Import) other plans. Hard-hitting steppers beats in the purest UKDub-Style let the window panes rattle (with which the king of the earthquakes is probably trying to live up to his name). But apart from the fact that the King has nothing to add to the mid-90ies sound, he produced for his Dubplates the most boring basslines I've ever heard.

The I-sticals from France are with their self-burned CD "Verse-Ital" (www.irie-records) slightly better. However, the singing, which fortunately only started sporadically, is so bad that everyone meant well Dubs down with it - so that they rest in peace.

After the pans, now a really nice revival album: Dub Roots (Wackies / Indigo) from Prince Douglas. Originally released in the early 80s, the album was one of the ultra-rare Wackies collectibles (which recently sold for over $ 200 in an internet auction). It may be that the buyer will be really annoyed about the rerelease, all other lovers of good reggae music will undoubtedly be very happy, because Dub Roots is one of the most beautiful Dub-Albums of the label. Even if it is rather reserved in terms of the mix, the rhythms are simply breathtaking. The melodic basslines roll through wonderfully "warm" Wackies tunes full of atmosphere at a pleasantly relaxed pace. Allegedly the pieces are copies of rhythms that Sly and Robbie brought back from Jamaica. One of the nicest tunes, “March Down Babylon” is definitely a copy of Steel Pulse's “Handsworth Revolution”, with Bullwackie himself on the microphone.

Nikolai Beverungen, owner of the Hamburg Echo Beach label, is always looking for interesting ones DubManifestations. He is increasingly finding what he is looking for in the most remote corners of the world. Just in time for the last edition of Riddim, he presented his “South Africa in Dub“-Sampler, so he now serves us "The Sound Of Dub - New Zealand in Dub" (Echo Beach / Indigo) freshness Dub-Tunes from New Zealand. The crazy thing is that no matter where they are from Dubs come from, be it from France, Brazil, England, the USA, Germany or even from Kiwi country, they are always highly interesting music experiments that, surprisingly, hardly have any regional characteristics. It almost seems as if they would Dub-Plant, no matter where they sprout from the ground, always from the same one that pervades the entire globe, Dub-Rhizome nourished. Dub is not folk music, but studio music, so it is not surprising that the 15 tracks on “New Zealand in Dub“Don't sound like Shire or Mordor, but like London, Paris or Hamburg. It's “The Sound Of Dub“, As it logically emblazoned on the Echo Beach samplers. In New Zealand, this sound is in full bloom and is cherished by the local label "Loop". For three years, Mr. Beverungen viewed material and has now imported the 15 best tracks to Europe. Although the pieces of 12 different Dub-Producers, the sampler is very closed and stringent. All tracks are based on solid, warm reggae beats and from there explore the world of urban sounds such as drum 'n' bass, electronics, downbeat and melodic pop. The names of the artists include Confucius, The Black Seeds, 50Hz, Pitch Black or Rhombus - complete nobodies at international level Dub-Parquet, very wrongly, because hers Dub-Tunes undoubtedly belong in the first division. Especially the Black Seeds should have real hit potential in Europe with their pop melodies. Lee Tui is of a completely different caliber. In an angry rap - over a stoic, bass-driven beat - he demands social and ecological responsibility. The perfectly arranged one is also outstanding Dub “Winds” by Rhombus, crowned by the bewitching voice of Raashi Malik. Very, very nice, the whole thing. Let's hope that DubImporter from Hamburg still has many interesting flowers of the Dub-Rhizomes will be able to track down. Here's a first suggestion: How about Japan?

Poland is also an undiscovered one Dub-Country. The two samplers are currently available again "Dub Out Of Poland Part 1 " and "Part 2" (both import) from 2001 and 2002, on which the Polish DubScene presents. Even if some tracks are not yet properly modeled on the UKDub of the 90s, so is the quality of the one presented here Dubs extremely good. Especially on “Part 2” there are a few first-class productions, such as z. B. Dj Ridm feat. Roots Temper with “Zion”, a nice uptempo rockers track. Or even better: "ViolinDub“From the Crazy Sound System, on which a violin strikes melancholy Polish folk tunes. Memories of the Trebunja family are awakened!

Also Alpha & Omega speak up again, in the truest sense of the word, because their new album "Trample the Eagle and the Dragon and the Bear" (Greensleeves / Rough Trade) is a showcase album with guest vocalists. Probably inspired by Rootsman and Twilight Circus, who launched similar projects last year, Mrs. Woodbridge and Mr. Spronsen also felt like a little company in the studio. Among other things, they have invited a special star guest that nobody expected: Gregory Isaacs! A little desperate he sings against the A&O rhythm. The idea is good, but Gregory's voice needs space that this typically overcrowded rhythm doesn't give it. And so the master sounds pretty lost in the sound jungle from London. Even more striking is the disparity between voice and sound allover in the title track, on which Reuben Master desperately tries to be heard. Maybe Woodbridge and Spronsen didn't trust their concept for the final mix after all and turned the voices down to the level of the instruments. Only on the first track of the album is the ratio correct, and this was typically mixed by Mad Professor. With this vocalist in particular, it almost didn't matter whether you understood him or not, because nobody else produces as much verbal nonsense as he does: Lee Perry. The professor has succeeded in mixing the A&O rhythm in such a way that it sounds like an original Black-Ark-Ryhthm, to which Perry fits absolutely ingeniously with his minimal melody. Hands down the best tune on the album. In addition to Perry and Gregory, there are also Bunny Lie Lie, Horace Martin, Addis Youth and Reuben Master on the album, although the latter is absolutely not convincing. Unfortunately he just voiced three tracks ...

It is a very nice, experimental album "Conversations" (Suite Inc./Import) by Dubital. Behind this name are two Italians called Raffaele Ferro and Matteo Magni, who obviously love to play distorted voices and crazy sounds to solid, bass-grounded rhythms. That fits together wonderfully, because while the rhythm conveys security and structure, the effects constantly counteract this hold and thus create a very strange tension of concentration and confusion. Completely fascinating is the piece "Mama Don't Cry", which runs over a stoic-brazen computer bass and is accompanied by sugar-sweet, strange organ sounds and reverberating vocals.

“As a child, I was given cough syrup containing codeine and then watched the world around me in slow motion. I tried to convey this feeling in the sound of the Codeine tracks and songs, ”says Digital jockeywhat to him with his album “Codeine Dub" (Poets Club / Soul Seduction) succeeded in an excellent way. Especially “Opium Dub“, The album's 9-minute penultimate track is a study of slowness. Even Ernestus and von Oswald should take off their hats here. The fact that digital jockey, who is half of the computer jockeys from Cologne, has his roots in electronic music, can hardly be overheard. His tracks are extremely minimalistic and almost rationally constructed. Often it's just a jazzy piano solo that brings a certain unpredictability and organic movement to the tune, sometimes it's the voice of Terry Armstrong. Then the structures dissolve again in a complete noise all-over, only to be replaced by an old-fashioned song with piano accompaniment. Very fascinating.

Now we come to the revival selection. The two most important reissue labels, Pressure Sounds and Blood and Fire, have announced their new albums. The latter celebrates its tenth anniversary "Run It Red" (Blood And Fire / Indigo), a selection from their own pool, put together by Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall - which is also pretty obvious, since Hucknall is one of the founders of Blood And Fire alongside Steve Barrow and Bob Harding. Amazingly, Hucknall has predominantly for his birthday serenade Dub- Pieces selected by King Tubby and his protégé Prince Jammy. All pieces are from the 70s, most of them from the first half. A solid selection, the real one Dub-Friends won't be knocked off their feet either, because the Dubs of the classic Bunny Lee productions are well known. Actually, it's the mixture with the vocal pieces that makes the anniversary album interesting. Tunes by Gregory Isaacs, Big Youth, Prince Alla, the Congos and others are interspersed here with regularity - whenever it just starts to get a bit boring.

Stylistically, the Pressure Sounds album is not too far removed from this "Down Santic Way" (Pressure Sounds / Rough Trade) with productions by Leonard Chin from 1973 to 1975. There are also some vocal tracks here, z. B. by Freddie McKay, I Roy or by a certain William Shakespeare, who turns out to be Gregory Isaacs. The sound of the productions is - in keeping with the style of the time - bone dry, brittle and at the same time rough. Even when Tubby occasionally turns in a little reverb or Augustus Pablo thinks about his melodica, the groove doesn't want to flow. Rough and unpolished, the minimalist rhythms stumble on, driven by the dryly struck snarre and tight guitar riffs. Even if the Pressure Sounds people leave no doubt that they have unearthed a real treasure here, the keterrian remark that this treasure requires a certain capacity for suffering in the listener is allowed.

How much the sound has changed with the appearance of the Revolutionaries (with Sly & Robbie) can be seen "Earthquake Dub" (Hot Pot / Indigo) by Ossie Hibbert Listen. The beats roll like clockwork here, driven by Sly's unmistakable rockers drumming. Four to the floor it goes here with a dynamic through the rhythms that one can only be amazed. Hibbert, who mixed the album at record speed, may have benefited from this, because it sounds particularly exciting Dub-Mix not. But what the tracks lack in an interesting mix, the superbly rehearsed rhythms like "Pick Up The Pieces", "Declaration Of Right" or "So Jah Say" more than make up for it.

This is followed by the album "Leroy Smart In Dub" (Jamaican Recordings). Here the beats sound even rounder and the bass warmer. Tubby wasn't exactly exhausted with the mixes (how could he, with an average of 200 Bunny Lee rhythms per week) and delivered a routine minimal mix. Sly Dunbar also seems to have calmed down a little more here. He and Santa Davis hit the snarre more sparingly, but no less impulsively, while Robbie plays gently grooving basslines. Occasionally a well-known bassline like "My Conversation" or "Zion Gate" sounds. Everything was very relaxed and peppered with scattered Leroy Smart snippets. Not sensational, but very pleasant - ideal after a long day full of nerve-wracking experimentalDubs ...

Dub is defined by the sound and not by a special rhythm pattern like almost all other music styles. Dub is like a free radical - ready at any time to react with other elements and produce new syntheses. The exciting thing is that the outcome of the reaction is never completely predictable. Something new always arises that cannot be calculated or described, but can only be experienced by hearing. It is, so to speak, “musique pure”, the abstract essence of a piece of music - only exists at the moment of listening. To Dub-Letting in music always requires curiosity, open-mindedness and attention. In Germany there is probably no label that combines these three virtues better than Echo Beach (also the home of Select Cuts) from Hamburg. “Open Mindness” is the guiding principle here and that's how Echo Beach has had us over the years Dub-Sounds of the most diverse styles and locations conjured up on the turntable. The latter in particular is likely to be unique internationally, because Echo Beach already has some pretty interesting ones Dub-Showcases from the most diverse corners of the world, z. B. from France, the USA, Brazil, Germany, India and now: South Africa!

In cooperation with the South African label "African Dope", 16 Dub-Pearls from the Cape of Good Hope to Germany, here to the extremely interesting Dub-Album "The Sound Of Dub (South Africa In Dub) " (Echo Beach / Indigo) to be threaded. Anyone expecting township music here is completely wrong. The Dub from South Africa is an absolutely urban sound - bass driven, electronic and of great stylistic openness. Important protagonists of the South African electronics scene are the Kalahari surfers, of whom several songs can be found in the track listing, under their own names or as producers of ghetto muffins. They recorded electronic music as early as the apartheid era, which was regularly banned by the regime. Their sound is a bit reminiscent of Leftfield and mostly doesn't run over a reggae beat. The sound of DJ Dope and Juan Thyme is completely different, with almost the current UKDub to be confused is nice deep and groovy. Felix Laband is also really good with a fat, melodious one Dubwhose heart is a wonderfully distorted bassline. Prankster, Ghettomuffin and the Chronic Clan bring a little dancehall flair, which does exactly what its name suggests - and sounds a little American at the same time. It all adds up to a very interesting excursion into the Dub-Underground of southern Africa, which - and this is a real surprise - doesn't sound particularly African. But that's the way it is in a globalized world. Let's see what the sounds from New Zealand sound like, which the next Echo Beach release will be dedicated to.

The album comes from the same label, Echo Beach "Africa Unite In Dub" (Echo Beach / Indigo) from the Italian of the same name Dub-Combo. Named after a song by Bob Marley, their repertoire consists partly of Marley covers, of which “This Is Love” opens the album. This is followed by thirteen heavy-dutyDubs, nine of them mixed by none other than the popular Mad Professor from the Ariwa-Dub-Asylum. Only at the end there is another Marley song, as it were as a reverential ritual to the holy Bob, followed by a liveDub. Here the professor delivers good, inspired craft and mixes Dubs of very different moods. Sometimes with driving drum & bass drums, sometimes with strong, warm tones and sometimes with dry sounds, as if they had come out of the Tuff Gong studio. Most astonishing, however, is that the DubIt doesn't sound like a Mad Professor in the least. Either the source material was already extremely concise, or the professor had his intern mixed up. In the latter case, the internship should definitely turn into a permanent position!

Let's stick with it a little longer Mad Professor, On "Mishka In Dub" (Sony / Import) it also has a Dub- Mercenaries hired. I don't know who Mishka is, his music doesn't sound particularly exciting. The tiny, im Dub-Mix leftover vocal snippets suggest a terrifying vocal album.

That sounds more interesting on your own Mad Professor resulting new work entitled "Crazy Caribs - Dancehall Dub" (Ariwa / Sanctuary / Rough Trade). Here has the Dub-Master dared to dancehall rhythms, played among others by Mafia & Fluxy and Sly & Robbie. With that he comes somewhat close to the current dancehall sounds, but there is scope for one of them Dub-Mix hardly remains. Also, with the typical interruptus rhythms, there is no real groove - which is also the case with most dancehall B-sides. Obviously, the dancehall backings only work properly with Deejay. So far the professor has created good material for a few hardcore dancehall albums from Ariwa, for one Dub-Album, on the other hand, is, let's say: suboptimal.

Another highlight: "Dub It " (Nature Sounds / Import) by Earl "Chinna" Smith. This is the Dub-Version of Mutabaruka's debut album "Check It" from 1982. Produced by Chinna Smith, it became a classic of the Dub-Poetry. Muta's very present voice and lyrics dominated the album so much that the music never got the attention it deserves. That is why Chinna Smith has now, 22 years later, decided to mix the then mixed by Errol Brown and Stephen Steward and previously only published on a few B-sides DubTo re-release s in album form, "because I don't hear anything else better" says Chinna in the liner notes - and he is not entirely wrong. The craftsmanship of this album is really extraordinary - which the mix takes advantage of by concentrating on very few instruments that can be heard at the same time, revealing the precision of their playing. Recorded in the Tuff Gong studio, it sounds incredibly crisp and dynamic. Augustus Pablo was on the keyboards for most of the songs, Chinna played the lead guitar and Sydney Wolfe contributed fantastic percussions. Drum and bass were played differently, including Carlton Barret and Leroy Wallace. Unfortunately, “Check It” was the only collaboration between Mutabaruka and Chinna Smith. If you listen to the recordings again today, you ask yourself why.

Reggae is mainstream in France. Happy country! And hardly anyone suspects that it is Serge Gainsbourg who had made a significant contribution to this when he went to Jamaica in 1979 to work with the I-Threes, Sly & Robbie and Revolutionaries under the title "Aux armes et caetera" (Mercury) to record an authentic roots reggae album in French. Back in France, the album, which was produced in just one week, was a gigantic success for Gainsbourg - not least because his version of the French national anthem caused a serious scandal (the title alone is awesome). Bruno Blum now thought that the old recordings would be a great basis for a few spectacular ones Dub-Mixes would be. So he brought the old tapes to Jamaica and Dub-Veteran Soljie Hamilton brought into the studio to give him ten Dub-To mix versions. That was a good idea because the revolutionaries are playing their hearts out here. You have seldom heard such powerful rockers rhythms. Soljies Dub-Versions you can hear that he was completely in his element here. He mixed beautiful old-schoolDubs as if they were recorded in 1979. A real déjà vu! This one DubThe s, which form the heart of the new edition of “Aus armes et caetera”, were, in addition to the original album, also, as it were, as “bonus tracks”, reinterpretations of the backings by Jamaican artists - of which Big Youth, King Stitt and Lone Ranger are the best known are - added. But these pieces are largely disappointing. Only King Stitt's “The Original Ugly Man” is funny. Probably his first tune in 40 years!

Last but not least, the rerelease of "Ranking Dread In Dub" (Silver Kamel / Import) mentioned, originally in 1982 as DubVersion of "Fattie Boom Boom" came out. The first half of the tracks were recorded by Sly & Robbie and mixed by King Tubby, the second half by the Roots Radics, mixed by Scientist. The tracks are correspondingly of high quality. It is particularly interesting to compare the sound of the Rhythm Twins with that of the Radics and analyze Scientists' style in comparison to Tubby. Overall, a beautiful work from the golden age of Dubthat deserves its re-release.

The name "Dub Funk Association " is cleverly chosen, as it leaves an interest group with many influential members to promote Dub- and suspect funk music. The spearhead of a movement that Dub proclaimed the universal principle of modern dance music and promotes the merging of the two styles. None of this is true. The "Dub Funk Association “actually consists of only one man, Kelvin Richards, who, while in fact, is his idea of ​​contemporary Dub-Music that doesn't have much to do with funk. Since the 90s he has been producing (in addition to his own productions) Dub-Compilations together that showcase his take on the genre. Now his point of view is by far not as progressive as he himself assumed, but what the quality of his “Roots Of Dub Funk “albums doesn't do any harm. Nothing more and nothing less than simply really good are gathered here Dub-Tunes that Richards brings together from around the world. For "Roots Of Dub Radio 4 " (Tanty / Rough Trade), which has just been released, he has 14 pieces out of around 125 Dub-Albums selected - and not made a single mistake. Because in addition to fat basslines and inspired mixes, it is above all melodies that Richards cites as a quality criterion. And how much we, enlightened beat junkies who we are, love harmonies and beautiful melodies is amazing. And believe it or not: Dub offers plenty of space for melodies. Be it the bassline, be it brass samples or well-placed keyboard chords - there is actually no excuse to forego melodies in the polyrhythmic of the beats, as Mr. Richard proves once again.

Harry Mudie - Jamaica's veteran producer, from whom z. B. the legendary Dub-Conferences originating with King Tubby is obviously still active. A new episode of his "In Dub Conference“Series came out, which was no longer held in the presence of King Tubby, but a certain one in his place I-Tek Paul (Moodisc / Import) sat down at the conference table or mixer. In complete contrast to the rather questionable quality of his name, I-Tek Paul shows some dexterity at the mixer and delivers a consistently interesting, very active and inspired mix DubAlbum off. His mix material, however, is not about classic Mudie productions, but new, digitally recorded rhythm tracks - even if they like to reanimate one or the other Mudie bassline. The album is only available in Germany through Irie Records in Münster (www.irierecords.de).

Dubmatix is called Jesse King, sound freak from Toronto, who is now with "Champion Sound Clash" (MPLA / Import) presents his debut album. Its title is to be taken literally, because different people meet on this album Dub-Sounds on each other. Be like that z. B. pure steppers Dubs in the style of the UK school, contrasted with heavily dancehall-influenced up-tempo pieces. But also melodic rootsDubYou can find s with sung hooklines up to sugar-sweet lovers backings here. Mr. King is not so confident in all "sounds", but it is fun to see him on his way through the Dub-To accompany the universe - one can only argue about his sporadic singing skills.

The album sounds completely different "Conquering Dub"(Reggae Retro / Import) from alien dreads (a name unknown to me about which nothing can be found out). The beats flow calmly and calmly, place themselves modestly in the background and seem to have no more in mind than wanting to fill the room with warm vibes. I often heard the album while working - as an anti-stress agent, so to speak. It worked wonderfully. However, the album does not stand up to conscious listening. On the other hand, the pieces may be uniform and uninspired.

Sound empire is also one of those previously unknown Dub-Projects that is now coming to the public for the first time with an album. There are three Minneapolis names behind the Sound Imperium: Paul Harding, Dave Park and Aaron Bellamy. For years they have worked on their album with various artists from Jamaica, Cuba, Sierra Leone, Costa Rica and the USA "Pre-Emptive Dub Attack "(Revolucion Disks / Import) worked. Correspondingly many influences can also be heard on the album, with the cumbia track “Mi Gente” in particular standing out positively. This Latin American orientation, in combination with song titles such as "Dub Annihilation (State Terror Mix) ”,“ CIA ”, or“ No Dub for Babylon “the political message of the sound empire clearly: With drum & bass it goes against neo-conservative America under the Bush administration. Since this message hardly deals with exclusively instrumental Dub-Music can convey, the Dub-Excursions supplemented by four vocal pieces. Stylistically, the album can hardly be grasped due to its diverse influences. Dub seems to have been the lowest common denominator here. Therefore, the individual pieces are often quite disparate. In terms of sound, too, little goes together here. In that sense, we are dealing with a bad album, but a good compilation that brings together interesting but very different pieces. But no concept is also a concept.

Now we come to a very simple, but absolutely effective concept: Live Dubs. We're talking about three American musicians, DP Holmes (guitar and keyboards), Stu Brooks (bass and keyboards), and Joe Tomino (drums and melodica) who go by the name Dub trio on their album "Exploring The Dangers Of" (ROIR / Import) want to print their individual DubPlay in completely analogue and live in real time. Even the effects like reverb and echo are produced live. This concept represents the production method of Dub on the head. Defined as pure studio music that reworks previously recorded material Dub the exact opposite of a live gig like him Dub Trio practiced. According to this definition, the pieces of the Dub Trios no Dub. From a purely phenomenological point of view, however, they are, because they are damn good Dub-Tunes sound. The whole concept of the live game wouldn't be worth mentioning if the resulting music didn't have a very unique quality. A very interesting one: the music sounds rough and coarse, powerful and direct and it breathes a real live atmosphere by listening to the room in which it was played. This becomes particularly clear with the three concert recordings, where the response of the audience was captured. Through the applause, the extraordinary virtuosity of the musicians suddenly becomes very noticeable. What sounds like a wall of sound are just three musicians! A fascinating album, then, which in the end is unfortunately only the "documentation" of the live action, which this is actually about.

Albums produced by Dennis Brown are a rarity. On "Dennis Brown Presents Prince Jammy" (Umoja / 20th Century Dub/ Blood And Fire / Indigo) there are two of them on one CD. Little is known that Dennis Brown was a producer at all. I don't know at all whether he produced the original recordings of the two albums himself, or just that Dub- Funded rework from borrowed tapes. That is a question that is not particularly relevant, given that the actual star of this Dub- The name of the albums is Prince Jammy, who at the time of recording, 1978-79, had become chief engineer at King Tubby's studio. Young and highly motivated, he gave his best and recorded a rather complex mix compared to Tubby's handwriting. The first album "Umoja Love & Unity" came out in 1978 on Brown's own DEB label and offers versions of Dennis Brown songs such as “The Half”, “Troubled World” or “Children of Israel” as well as recordings by other artists, such as Lennox Brown's recut of the Studio One classic “Frozen Soul "(" Love Won't Come Easy "), which opens the album very impressively. But while “Umoja” was not selling well, it was the second album on this CD "20th Century DEB-Wise" quite a success - which is hard to explain, as both albums are very similar in terms of style, mix and sound. Maybe the rhythms on DEB-Wise tend to be a bit better and the mix a bit more King Tubby-typical. Be that as it may: Both albums feature the superb drums of Sly Dunbar and the bass of Lloyd Parks and Robbie Shakespeare. They recorded nice tight rhythms that were remastered for the rerelease in London. Even if these two albums are not really compelling, they combine very beautiful (and rare) material, which unfolds its qualities more impressively with each concentrated listening. 

The other Dub-Highlight of the last two months comes from the Pressure Sounds label: "Dubbing with the Royals "(Pressure Sounds / Rough Trade). It presents 14 produced by Roy Cousins Dub-Tracks, an instrumental by Gladstone Anderson and four DJ versions. The starting point for researching the oeuvre of the Royals is their song “Pick Up the Pieces”, which has a central place on the album in the form of three versions. Especially the version mixed by Tubby and Lee Perry under the title "Llongo" is one Dub-Milestone. The track “Monkey Fashion” with I-Roy's voice-over is also a collaboration between the two of them - but in this case also remixed by Errol T.! The entire Who Is Who of those times Dub-Mixing Elite contributed to the recordings collected here: Prince Jammy, Scientist, Soljie Hamilton and Ernest Hookim; and it's really exciting to compare the pieces and those Dubs to be assigned to their creators. The four DJ versions of I-Roy and Prince Far I, which are loosely below the, provide very entertaining anchor points in the flow of the rhythms Dubs were mixed. Especially “Negusa Nagast” with Prince Far I, who opens the album, stands out. Far Is thunderous vocals, embedded in a sea of ​​echoes, sound like Jah's words from beyond, pitched down to a deep murmur and in perfect synchronicity with the sharp attack of the snarre.

A few years further towards dancehall lead us to one DubAlbum by Don Carlos, “Inna Dub Style "(Jamaican Recordings), with 14 Bunny Lee productions from 1979-80. Recorded in the Channel One studio, we can already hear the fat rhythms of Sly & Robbie and the Roots Radics. As usual from that time, you will find mainly reworks of classic rhythms like "Real Rock", "Queen Of The Ghetto", "I'm Just A Guy", My Conversation "or" Satta Massa Gana ", which undoubtedly are excellent foundation for a DubAlbum is. But unfortunately the unknown one goes Dub-Mixer (maybe Soljie, or Ernest Hookim?) Not equally inspired to work with every tune. So is z. B. "Conscious Rasta Dub"Over a moderately interesting Johnny Clarke rhythm really exciting, while" Booming Dub"On" I'm Just A Guy "can almost pass as a B-side version - which in this case is not so bad, because the rhythm is just great (which the Dub-Mixer probably thought too). All DubIt is crowned by Don Carlos' inimitable hooklines that have a lasting impact on the whole tune. Even if they have faded away, you inevitably keep singing them in your head and build your own version. On the other hand, one would like to have almost the entire vocal album here ...

"Liquid Bass" (Silver Camel), produced by Yeah Thomas, is a classic wind instrumental album that is strongly reminiscent of recordings by Roland Alphonso or Tommy McCook from the 60s - if the rhythms weren't completely digital. But as if he wanted to forget this flaw, Mr. Thomas only used old Studio One rhythms such as “Heavenless”, “Love Me Forever” or “Swing Easy” and with “Econium for Coxsone” then also showed the master his reference. Mafia & Fluxy, Sly & Robbie and the Roots Radics are responsible for the powerful new interpretations, while the brass solos were recorded by David Madden and Matthieu Bost. Their melodic variations always revolve around the original melodies of the rhythms - for which one cannot thank them enough, the original hooklines are among the most beautiful that Studio One has produced. But despite all the praise, the album also seems a bit carelessly "down-produced" in places - not to mention the catastrophic cover. Maybe Jah Thomas will decide one day Dub-Reworking. It could give the recordings the complexity they need.

The question what Jah wobblewho these days his official anthology "I Could Have Been A Contender" (Trojan / Roughtrade) has submitted to look in a reggae column is not unjustified. There are a few hints as to the reasons: First there is the name, which obviously refers to the reggae universe, then the record label is meaningful: Trojan and thirdly, Mr. Wobble is bassist and thus plays it for (classical! ) Reggae main instrument. If you now listen to his three-CD anthology in full, you will rarely come across real reggae offbeats. But what you can hear in abundance in return are fat basslines - which could have sprung directly from reggae - and massive dubgood atmosphere. John Wardle (as his mother called her boy) came as a member of Public Image Ltd. from punk to reggae, which greatly inspired his bass playing. After the end of punk, Wobble began to produce his own material, which is stylistically very disparate and alternates between punk, rock, funk, world music, ambient and reggae. But whichever influences and stylistic devices Wobble used, one constant pervades his entire work: the powerful bass lines around which all songs are built. CD 1 and CD 3 in particular offer impressive examples of this: while the former brings together pieces that are influenced by world music, some of which are extremely melodic, the latter includes extensive ambient excursions to Indian and Far Eastern regions. Both very much dubbig and close to the material that is also known from Bill Laswell (the two have also worked extensively together). CD 2 on the other hand offers harder, punk-compatible material. What is really fascinating about the anthology is that the artistic personality Jah Wobble is very present in all the pieces. Here is someone who has made "his" music all his life, beyond all financial interests and independent of current tastes (unfortunately an attitude that is unfortunately rather underrepresented in reggae).