Author Ras Vorbei

Should someone tell me that you shouldn't be influenced by packaging. If there had been a comic (Wimmel) picture by Tony McDermott on the album, I would have noticed this oeuvre much earlier. Unfortunately, on the present album, only a "Monchhichi"-like being with very red eyes is emblazoned in front of a sound system. I was way too old for Monchhichis in the early 80s. Today I stumbled across this completely overlooked album again because of the Welsh word 'Gweithredu' (action). As you can easily see above, we are talking about Ras Red I: Gweithredu Dub. If the creature depicted is to stylize Ras Red I (read "Red Eye"), then he obviously consumed finest sativa landrace that gave his creativity a real kick-start. Russell Squire, that's the name of the multi-instrumentalist, producer and Dubmaster from Taunton, a town in the county of Somerset in south-west England. With "Gweithredu Dub“ he has put together a retrospective that can undoubtedly be seen as a homage to the heyday of reggae in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Ras Red I is no stranger to England and his Dub-Workshops are no longer a secret in the county of Somerset. He is also committed to the survival of the oldest language spoken on the island, Welsh (Cymru > English Wales).
The present album is a mixture of own compositions that were recorded almost alone and remixed and some Ras Red I favorites that were created with other artists in their own studio over the past four years. I really like "Swine", a reference to George Orwell's Animal Farm, by One Style MDV (MDV = Many Different Variations). One Style MDV is a band of African origins from London with over 30 years of British Reggae roots and always reminds me slightly of Misty in Roots. At least in terms of their output, they are very similar to Misty in Roots.

With his own Dub-Tracks and the Dub-Remixes by some guest artists, this album shows Ras Red I as a promising grassroots-Dub Artist. For the very relaxed mix, the master preferred to have a bit of an indica variation, because "Gweithredu Dub' instead of 'action' exudes a cosily warm laid back feeling. Exactly what makes a relaxed evening.

I've been looking for almost an eternity to find a pretty rare album, which also navigates under false flags.
When we here in Dubblog of sound engineers, basically the same names always come up. One person who is always – and quite wrongly – forgotten in this happy dance is Sylvan Morris. He was at home in almost every studio in Jamaica. Morris began his work as a mixing/sound engineer at the tender age of 17 in the Dynamics Studio, where he stayed for about two years. After a short interlude in Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Studio, he hired Clement Dodd for six years in Studio One. where Sylvan Morris put his unmistakable stamp on the typical Studio One sound. He is still considered the best engineer to ever sit at the mixing desk at 13 Brentford Road (Studio One). According to his own statement, Sylvan Morris was all in one person during his time at CS Dodd: electrical engineer, consultant, arranger, sound engineer and mixer. CS Dodd was only personally responsible for the payment and it was precisely for this reason that Sylvan Morris left Studio One to take up his new workplace at Harry J on Roosevelt Avenue in Kingston. It was the mid 1970's and Harry J Studio was one of the main hubs for the best Jamaican artists around at the time. Well over a thousand songs, some of them incomparable, were created during Sylvan Morris' 16-year tenure at Harry J Studio. Just a few classics to remember: Bob Marley: "Natty Dread" and "Rastaman Vibration", The Heptones: "Cool Rasta", Augustus Pablo: "Ital Dub' and 'Earth Rightful Ruler', The Royal Rasses: 'Vortex Dub', Burning Spear: 'Dry & Heavy', 'Marcus' Children' and 'Man In The Hills'. Oh yes, while we're on the subject of Burning Spear, the original Living Dub Vol. 1 and Vol. 2" - two of my undisputed favorite records - and also "Dub D'sco Vol. 1 and Vol. 2" by Bunny Wailer were also gilded by Sylvan Morris and thus unforgettable.
Back to my opening sentence: When Sylvan Morris opened up at Harry J Studio in 1974, the "Dubthing" just really going on. Ergo, there are also a few lesser-known ones by Sylvan Morris Dub- Albums under his own name: "Morris On Dub"(1975),"reggae workshop' (1977) and 'Consulting Dub" published. Published in 1978, “Cultural DubI find the most varied of all three. It starts with the eight-minute “Neighbour Dub' with toastings from the uncredited Big Youth & Ras Midas. After the Big Youth Toast, the album transitions into a showcase mix, before ending with a Ras Midas toast. "Hearts Of Dub“ features the unforgettable and also unmentioned I Roy and the Harry J Allstars sound like the revolutionaries here. For the third track, the rocksteady evergreen "Rivers Of Babylon" was re-recorded with the melodians, which was again converted into a classic Dubpart to end with a delightful toast of the "mighty poet I Roy" (quote: LKJ). Showcase albums were really hot in the making of this album. Back in the early '70s, Harry J produced a version of Breakfast In Bed starring Sheila Hilton. Sylvan Morris quickly turned it into the “Breakdown Dub“. And the journey of discovery continues: “World Of Dub“ is originally called “What Kind Of World” and comes from the Cables from the old Studio One days. In "Undermind Dub' comes the voice of John Holt. Originally by Alton Ellis, Can I Change My Mind was produced by CS Dodd in 1968. The crowning, unfortunately far too brief conclusion of this retrospective is a Perryesque “Cultural Dub“ with Joe White on the melodica, fat fan and unusually many sound effects.

My conclusion: Whenever I listen to such albums again after many years, I realize that it is still this warm, organic music that always captivates and enchants me. There they are, those immortal basslines that are far too often missing from today's recordings and so sorely missed by us old hands. In retrospect, with “Cultural Dub" a creative cross section through the creative phases of Sylvan "The Genius" Morris. The deeper I dig into Sylvan Morris' work, the more obvious it becomes how immensely important this man behind the mixing desk was for the entire development of reggae and Dub was/is.

At high tide Dub-Albums to us Dub-Nerds overrun almost every day, treasures are often overlooked that deserve to be examined more closely. For this reason I like to go for a foray through my archive from time to time and usually find what I am looking for. This is what happened to "I Neurologici" one Dub-Collective from Rome, which since its founding in 1995 and phases of trying out, the cornerstones of their music, a melange of roots reggae, Dub with minor ethnic influences, created. The present album "I Neurologici“Was recorded in 1999 and brought to the people as a mini edition of 500 LPs in a timely manner. Sixteen years later "I Neurologici" was remastered and the album pimped up with some "alternate mixes".
Already the first track "440 Hz" is completely convincing and immediately hooked me with its rolling bassline. “SpaziAl Roots” starts spartan with bass and keyboard, until majestic flute sounds by Alessandro Mazzioti join in and create a hazy soundscape that is not entirely unlike some of Lee Perry's “far out moments”. Followed by “Boleto”, a variation on Maurice Ravel's “Bolero”, which briefly has a few punk rhythms in the middle that are reminiscent of the early Bad Brains. I could now discuss each track individually, because each has its own special charm, but that would go beyond the scope here. One more thing should be emphasized: Alessandro Mazziotti's transverse flute runs like a red thread through the recordings and the opulent use of DubEffects create a rich, bass-laden psychedelic.

In conclusion, it only remains to point out that the album “fer umme”, as the man from Palatinate says, is available for free. "I Neurologici" are still active today and worked with Zion Train last year.

If you are only a little interested in reggae, you cannot avoid typical Nyahbinghi chants. My first contacts with Nyahbinghi Songs were actually “Rastaman Chant” by Bob Marley & The Wailers, followed by Bunny Wailer's “This Train”, Cultures “So long Babylon a fool I”, IJahman's “Zion Hut”, Bob Marley's “Babylon System” and of course albums by Ras Michael (Dadawah) and the parade copy par excellence: Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari “Grounation”. Even Jimmy Cliff opened his 1980s concerts with the Nyahbinghi Chant "Bongo Man".
The style of music that Rasta and percussionist Oswald Williams alias Count Ossie, who died in 1976, created together with The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari from its early beginnings in the late 1950s to the groundbreaking milestone “Grounation” (1973) and beyond, that is still today The foundation of "Kings Music", i.e. roots reggae.
The Nyahbinghi seances, also called Reasonings or Grounations, exerted an enormous influence on almost all Jamaican musicians, from Prince Buster, Rico, Cedric "IM" Brooks, Tommy McCook to Bob Marley and many other Foundation Artists. Even Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, an outspoken reggae fan, is enthusiastic about the classic Nyahbinghi sound and therefore produced two albums for the Wingless Angels - a group around Justin Hinds - in the early 1990s. Almost every music lover in the world has known at least one Nyahbinghi song since 1993, namely "Oh Carolina" in the version of Shaggy. Produced by Prince Buster in 1958 with the Folkes Brothers and Count Ossies Afro combo, the original was released in 1960.

Nyahbinghi is derived from an East African territorial movement that opposed European imperialism and was active in various African states from 1850 to 1950. This movement also inspired many Jamaicans to oppose British colonialism in the 50s. This music then got its name from Jamaica and became the musical pillar of the Rasta religion and its followers.

Let's get to the actual project of "Tsadqan: Dub Meditation", the Dub-Album to "The Tsadiq Nyahbinghi". The current album takes us far back in time when the Nyahbinghi style was brought to life. The classical instrumentation: Thunder, Funde and Repeater or also called Kete, was combined to unique melodies by means of an electric bass, sparingly used guitar solos and keyboard interludes. This created a beautiful new mix in which tradition and modern times merge into a unique atmosphere. "Dub Meditation ”contains twelve tracks, two per track Dubs, in classic NyahbinghiDub-Style. The first ten tracks were discreet by Nick Manasseh, who is not unknown here, in his new London studio, that is to say: without major ones DubGimmicks, mixed. The last two tracks on the album are two unreleased bonus tracks from the opus "Shakaroot meets Tsadqan" and here Petah Sunday was allowed to show his mixing talent. The first ten tracks are unreleased Dub-Cuts from the 2020 album "Tsadqan - The Tsadiq Nyahbinghi", which have been withheld until now and only played in a few live performances.

Those who get involved in this typical, unadulterated sound will experience the meditative effect on their own body and rise into the air and glide like on the wings of an eagle. The sound is truly back to the Cradle of Roots Music made in Basel, Switzerland.

Already as a child he was crazy about music and as a teenager he was fascinated by the magical sound of reggae and ska. For this reason he flew to Jamaica to the roots of reggae at the age of twenty, where he lived for two years from 1989 to 1991, married a Jamaican woman and fathered a daughter. The 52-year-old Hendrik “Prince Hendrik” van Houten from Arnhem says about his time and life on the Caribbean island: “I was young and very receptive to everything. I lived in Rasta communes, learned a lot about Rasta philosophy and Nyahbinghi drumming. My stay there had a very positive impact on me. "
In the mid-1990s, Prince Hendrik arrived as a single father in the Arnhem artists' quarter Klarendal and built his “Kitchenrock home studio”, a multitrack recording and mixing studio, in his house. Since 2012, three albums have been released on CD under the name “Prince Hendrik and the Other Members of The Royal Family” and now “Aquarius / Aquadub“(A Sky High Underground Production) re-released in limited and numbered edition of 300 copies on vinyl.
“Two friends I have known all my life and with whom I used to be in bands play along. One on drums and bass, the other as guitarist and cellist. I take care of the vocals, keyboards and the recording process myself, ”says van Houten and continues:“ For me, sun and beach are not inextricably linked with reggae. I have nothing to do with the party variant of reggae and even less with dancehall and raggamuffin. The latter often glorifies aggression and hatred. ”So almost everything has been said about the reggae style of Prince Hendrik and his friends. We are offered a kind of relaxed, handmade “underground reggae” - as Prince Hendrik himself describes his style. I involuntarily associate “underground reggae” with the early, sometimes Spartan but always highly interesting ones Dub-Work of a Keith Hudson. “Aquadub“Both vocally and stylistically. On “Aquadub“There is no sound too much, every instrument and every small one Dub-Effect gets its space and enough time to develop in the ear. I especially liked the cello, which occasionally comes up with small but fine melodies surrounded by a beautiful guitar sound. A chance find of honest, handmade music that I would like to recommend to everyone.