Category: Dub (Revolution

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).

With Dub from the USA it's always such a thing. Somehow the Americans (perhaps because of their distinctive rock history) don't get a really groovy one Dub-Tunes down. This also applies to the debut album in a very weaker form "Knives to the Treble" (Mars Records / Import) by Slade Anderson aka Burning Babylon from Boston, Massachusetts, but he more than makes up for this deficiency with other qualities. Anderson was a punk guitarist who got into reggae through The Clash. When he switched to bass in the '90s, he stumbled upon the Glen Brown/King Tubby album Termination Dub’ – which took him straight to the purely instrumental Dub brought. Anderson has been fiddling with the tunes for his current album in his small home studio for ten years now and has let himself go Dub-Influence acts like Dry and Heavy or Twilight Circus. The latter model in particular can be clearly felt, because like Ryan Moore, Anderson prefers analog recording equipment and very down-to-earth production methods. Maybe it's because his sound is rather light, open and hand-played. A certain rock appeal cannot be ignored. But unlike Moore, Anderson's pieces convince with wonderfully melodic bass lines and very varied arrangements. Above all, his preference for world music samples and interspersed ethno sounds greatly enrich his compositions. On top of that - unlike a lot of his UK peers - he takes a lot of care with the mixing and really interesting, complex ones Dub-Songs produced. For him is Dub a large field of experimentation, a free musical form whose possibilities must be exhausted. We forgive him generously that his pieces sometimes lack the last bit of groove.

After Dry & Heavy and Audioactive it should be clear that Dub is a hot topic in Japan. Provides further evidence of this Fire Blenderwho have sold thirty thousand of each of their five albums to date. This makes the band, founded in 1992 by art students, one of Tokyo's most popular club acts - which is hard to believe, given their new album "Little Tempo" (M Records/Import). Mainstream undoubtedly sounds different than these sometimes quite quirky, experimental tunes that sometimes remind of early On-U-Sound recordings (Playgroup or Starship Africa). It is not uncommon for the boundary between orderly rhythm and sound chaos to be explored here. But always just before the disharmony gets annoying, the warm beats roll in and soothe the auditory canals. If you need music for the background, you should stay away from Little Tempo. But if you want to enjoy exciting music to listen to, you will get a great inspired album here.

The catalog from BSI records are valid. The Americans have listed some rather straight-forward UK acts like Jah Warrior or Henry & Louise or Alpha & Omega, but also weird birds like Tone Scientist, Systemwide or Muzlimgauze. The best tunes of these and other label artists of the last five years are now on the anniversary album "Dub After Time: A Look Back at BSI Records "(BSI / Import) presents. The sampler is much more than a small label show. While he's with straight UKDubs begins, it is increasingly transformed into a journey to the limits of the Dub-Universum: To weird, experimental tracks in the crossover area to crackle electronics. From the simple to the complex, from the stomach to the head - with which the two virtues of Dub would be nice together!

Echo Beach also has progressives again Dub- Hear sounds. The album is there now "Heavy Heavy Monsters Dub"(Echo Beach / Indigo) from Dubble standard published. The title makes the claim of the album clear: it should be an ultra-fat thing. A huge amount of effort was put into this (with trips to Kingston, New York, London, Paris and Vienna) and countless collaborations were organized. Sly & Robbie recorded rhythms, mixed Mad Professor and Dreadzone, Manasseh, Sounds From The Ground and 7Dub remixed - not to mention the vocalists involved. It is hard to believe that there is still an orderly whole in the typical Dubblestandart sound came out - even if that sound is always a bit on Dub Syndicate remembers. However, measured against the monster claim, the album turned out to be surprisingly unspectacular. Perhaps this self-knowledge also contributed to one or the other slightly overproduced passage.

Finally, let's get to the real stuff: on Augustus Pablos own label "Rockers Production" (whoever runs it now) has just released a 3 CD box set with the demanding title "The Definitive Augustus Pablo" (Rockers Production/Import) appeared. While it's debatable whether Pablo's work can be condensed onto 3 CDs, there's no denying that this box set is probably the best approximation. Every track here is a Pablo classic, in flawless remastered quality. Not only the famous melodica instrumentals and -Dubs, but also some vocal recordings produced by Pablo with singers like Jacob Miller, Hugh Mundell, Horace Andy and others. The collection essentially focuses on the 70s and only makes a trip to the 80s on the last CD. If you have Pablo's big albums like "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown" or "East of River Nile" etc. in your collection, this box will offer nothing new - apart from a masterful compilation and a beautiful cover design. But for those who still want to get to know the master of the melodica, this is the portal to a universe of great music. 

It's hard to believe that unknown King Tubby recordings are still being discovered. With its first release, the Jamaican Recordings label has already committed itself to the “lost treasures” of the Dub-Dedicated to Masters. Now there is replenishment: "Dub Mix Up” (Jamaican Recordings/Import). Collected here are also rare and previously thought lost Dubs from 1975 to 1979, all based on productions by Tappa Zukie. The pieces fit seamlessly into the Tubby oeuvre of the 70s - there are no spectacular discoveries to be made here. Instead there are nice, classical rhythms like “Declaration of Rights” or “Shank I Sheck” to be heard and some vocal scraps from the largely unknown band Knowledge. The last track is really exciting "Dub Faith ”recorded by Sly & Robbie in the Black Ark studio. That sounds - typical for Black Ark - as if the record was being played in the neighboring apartment - as Dub-Connoisseurs are basically positive about sound experiments.

If the record industry is about to give up, this is of course largely due to the ubiquitous illegal copying, but it is also due to the fact that the classic CD for around 17 euros offers almost zero added value compared to a free MP3 collection. Only a few labels realize that they have to offer good packaging in addition to music - the record industry as a packaging industry, why not? If there is no booklet, no bonus DVD and no special edition box on offer, then the aura of the product should at least be conjured up through consistent retro charm. The Japanese - masters of packaging and great lovers of puristic design - have z. B. with their great cardboard slipcase edition of the legendary Blue Note albums showed how the aura of a classic can be captured with the simplest of means. All they had to do was offer the CD as a miniature version of the original album - in the miniaturized original cardboard cover, of course. Beat Inc., label and distributor from Tokyo, has the concept now at four early Hit- and On U soundTransfer releases. For these noble re-releases, the original recordings were remastered and enriched with up to six bonus tracks. Of course, the CDs are printed with the original label and are in small protective sleeves, which in turn are in beautiful reproductions of the original covers. In terms of design, these dimensions naturally lag behind the Blue Note works of art - but holding them in your hands in miniature format brings back pleasant memories. There are also liner notes and a greeting from Adrian Sherwood on a leaflet in Japanese!

Since the long-standing German distributor of On U-Sound, EFA-Medien, had to close its doors a few weeks ago, the On U boss is now re-importing the Japanese CDs and bringing them to German stores through the Indigo distributor. For this deal, he carefully selected four very old classics from his oeuvre: three times Creation Rebel with "Rebel Vibrations", "Dub From Creation "(both Hitrun) and "Starship Africa" as well as the debut album of New Age Steppers (both On-U-Sound). The two early Hitrun productions from 1978 and 1979 are among the first documents of Sherwood's production activities. While at first glance they appear to be "classic" rootsDub with sad melodica melodies by Dr. Pablo, the virtuosity of the can be seen on closer listening Dub-Meisters who often surpasses those of the great heroes King Tubby, Lee Perry or Errol Brown. Here, with the early albums, Sherwood's thirst for experimentation is still within respectable limits. The mix is ​​no more important than the beat, although it is a constant asset to him. In the following year the relationship was radically reversed in another Creation Rebel production: “Starship Africa” was by far the most experimental Dub-Album of its time, which caused Rodigan to say: "Adrian, what the hell do you think you are doing to reggae?" As early as 1977, the rhythms for "Starship-Africa" ​​by bassist Tony Henry and Charlie "Eskimo" Fox has been recorded. A year later, Sherwood Style got to know Scott, who played Eskimo's drums again in another recording session dubpracticed and gave them the necessary pressure in the first place. In 1979 there was finally enough studio time to tackle the final mix. For this purpose, all tracks were re-recorded continuously in reverse and provided with delay and reverb effects. Then the original and the "reverse copy" were mixed together - sometimes at random. A crazy but very successful experiment that still sounds fresh and innovative today. The New Age Steppers album, which, by the way, was also the first album on the new On U Sound label, is similarly experimental, but far more dissonant. It was recorded by musicians from the Pop Group, the Flying Lizards and Aswad. It celebrated its greatest successes in Japan, probably because of the singer Ariana Foster aka Ari Up, whose voice as bright as a bell can be heard on two cover versions: Junior Byles “Fade Away” and Bim Sherman's “Love Forever” - both of which she interprets in a very weird way . Anyone who collects On-U-Sound and just wants to save the beginnings of this legendary label into the digital age - possibly just to save the pieces as MP3 files on the iPod - these good-sounding and excellent-looking Japan imports are urgent recommended.

Lee Perry is often considered one of the originators of the Dub designated. On the one hand, this may be due to the fact that his eccentric mode of production likes to work with Dub is equated, on the other hand it may be because the Black Ark recordings are full Dub-Effects stuck and its sound good a lot of the depth and heaviness Dub-Tunes owns. But while Dub rather on a decomposition and reduction of the rhythms and their reconstruction by the Dub-Mix based, the exact opposite is actually the case with Perry's "layer" technique: He superimposes sound levels layer by layer until his typical, complex, impenetrable Black Ark sound is achieved.

From this point of view, very few of Perry's are real Dub-Albums out. Three of them, namely Blackboard Jungle Dub, Cloak & Dagger and Revolution Dub are now together on the double CD Lee Perry, "Dub-Triptych " (Trojan / Sanctuary / Roughtrade) available. The first part of the second CD is quite the best known Dub Work dedicated to Lee Perry, “Blackboard Jungle”, which, strictly speaking, isn't his, but King Tubby's Dub-Work is because he mixed it. The fame of this album is based in part on the fact that "Blackboard" was one of the first Dub-Albums at all. Even more decisive for the success and fame of the album was the selection of the great Perry rhythms of the early 70s. So you can find superb here Dub-Mixes of hits like “Fever” and “Place Called Africa” by Junior Byles or “Kaya”, “Dreamland” and “Keep On Mooving” by the Wailers. Also the Dub-Version of Dillinger's tribute to King Tubby, "Dub Organizer ”is included here. (Needless to say, King Tubby has these Dubs "organized" excellently!). In the second part of the second CD, the pieces from Perry's first are self-mixed Dub-Album, "Dub Revolution ”to be heard. It's hard to beat when it comes to eccentricity, Perry, the Madman himself, gave everything. "Revolution Dub“Was released in 1975 and already contained early Black Ark recordings. In addition to highlights like one Dub-Cut from Junior Byles "The Long Way" and a nice minimalist mix of Jimmy Riley's Bobby Womack cover "Woman's Gotta Have It", there are also some less inspired pieces to be heard, which are characterized by the recordings of a television sitcom . CD1 of the set is completely dedicated to the album "Cloak & Dagger", but it is more of an instrumental than a one DubAlbum is. Kindly enough this CD has three bonus tracks, one of which is the Dub-Plate version of the title track "Cloak & Dagger" (rhythm of the "Blackboard Jungle" known "Dub Organizers ”) is.

Interestingly, almost at the same time as this Trojan re-release, the album "Blackboard Jungle" is a second time on the Auralux label under the title "Upsetters 14 Dub Blackboard Jungle " (Auralux / Indigo) including four bonus tracks released. The latter are three very unusual, completely unmixed rhythm tracks and a normal instrumental. If you are not a fanatical collector, you should be better off with the double CD from Trojan.

Let's stay with the classics: Augustus Pablos classic "King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown" (Shanachie / Just Records) has just been released by Shanachie Records. Paplo was one of the first producers that King Tubby started with Dub-Mixes of their productions. "King Tubby's Meets Rockers Uptown" was the first joint album by Pablo and Tubby and is now one of the essentials of every sophisticated reggae collection. Everything comes together here, what a good one Dub-Piece is necessary: ​​strong, melodically rolling basslines, clever arrangements, beautiful melodies and of course an inspired mix that reduces the pieces to their base, the interplay of drum and bass, and then reassembles them from there. Tubby has seldom mastered this art better than here. It's a pleasure to hear how he controls the dynamics of the rhythms and gives each beat its own little dramaturgy. The power of the pieces is simply extraordinary. Even if they sound a little historical today, their musical quality is unbroken. So a masterpiece; The label makers at Shanachie were also aware of this and have enriched their “Deluxe Edition” with four bonus tracks that present four alternative mixes. These are not mandatory, but there is nothing against them.

I still have one classic: "Riddim - The Best Of Sly & Robbie In Dub 1978 to 1985 " (Trojan / Sanctuary / Roughtrade). On this double CD there are 40 instrumental and Dub-Versions compiled from the Trojan archive in which Sly & Robbie operate drum and bass. In this respect, the title “The Best Of…” is clearly too high, because measured against the total output of the Rhythm Twins, the bundle at Trojan's home is only a tiny part. In addition, the pieces on this CD are not Sly & Robbie productions, but were mainly created under the direction of Bunny Lee, Linval Thompson and Jah Thomas. Which of course does not mean that inferior material is gathered here. Not at all! Sly & Robbie can't be bad at all and Sly's double-drumming is always a pleasure. The CD also offers an intensive course in Channel One sound.

Ryan Moore is a real one Dub-Nerd. For 20 years he has been sitting alone in his small home studio on a Persian carpet, fiddling with controls and slides and publishing under the name Twilight Circus sometimes Dub-Plates. He plays all the instruments needed for his pieces himself and mixes his own Dubs live in the old fashion. A real traditionalist, whose music sounds exactly like that. It actually lives exclusively from the warm, analogue sound and the deep bass hum. In terms of composition, they usually have less to offer, which means that his albums always tend to be a bit boring. (This is one of the reasons why he has recently made a vocal album.) His latest and 11th album is a compilation for the American label Roir under the title "Dub From The Secret Vaults " (Roir / Import). To do this, he dug deep into his archives and lifted previously unpublished material from 20 years of creativity. Now, of course, the legitimate question arises as to whether the lack of quality was the reason that these pieces have not yet been released. Because the best material shouldn't be left to waste in the archive for years. Bingo! The Secret Vaults contained a lot, including an almost 20 year old production on cassette - but nothing really exciting. Aside from maybe three okay pieces, the rest of it remains pretty uninspired. Too bad.

The same applies to that Dub-Flash album "AB-10 Meets Uptown Selector" (www.dubflash.com). AB-10 is a Dub-Duo from Helsinki who are already on the Dubhead sampler "Dub Solidarity 1 ”could be heard. Uptown Selector is a DJ, also from Helsinki. After the fantastic record of the Finnish Lightman (see last issue) there were several reasons for this DubAlbum from Helsinki to be excited. But the disillusionment is all the greater when "AB-10 Meets Uptown Selector" proves itself to be a largely conventional neoDub turns out.

How more contemporary Dub can sound, proves the Berlin mini label Meteosound once again with the new EP by Lars Fenin: "Sustain EP" (Meteosound / Indigo). Known for its fusion sounds between techno and Dub Meteosound stands alongside Echo Beach (which cooperate with each other) and Basic Channel in Germany for a progressive, open-minded idea of Dubwho think outside the box of classic reggaeDub looks out. It is almost unbelievable how perfect and absolutely stepless minimal techno beats and Dub-Grooves can be combined with each other and what enrichment this combination represents for both genres. Lars Fenin demonstrates this again with flying colors; unfortunately only on 6 tracks and unfortunately only on vinyl. But good music can take any format!

After busy rerelease labels like Pressure Sounds, Blood and Fire or Heartbeat have been pressing Jamaica's musical heritage onto CD for over a decade, it is astonishing that there are still unknown treasures to be found. Moll-Selekta has found one: Dub- Recordings by producer Roguel "Blackbeard" Sinclair and his studio tape "The Ringkraft Posse" and this now under the title "St. Catherine In Dub 1972 - 1984 " (Moll-Selekta / Indigo) republished. Sinclair, brother of Tappa Zukie, was Bunny Lee's right-hand man for many years and currently owns King Tubby's old studio. In the 70s he began producing his own tracks with a studio band that he put together from the usual suspects for this purpose: Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespear, Ansel Collins, Lloyd Parks, Tommy McCook, Dean Frazer, Willie Lindo - just to name a few to name from the ever-changing line-up. The fact that these musicians knew how tight rhythms are brought in is unmistakable: the tracks, superbly remastered, pop out of the speakers, crisp and straightforward. When Dub Ruddy "Jah" Thomas was responsible for the mixer - which suggests that some tracks were recorded in Joe Gibbs' studio. Many of the pieces are so well known that you inevitably begin to sing along to the original in your head. "West Bay" for example is that Dub Version of "King Tubby the Dub Organizer ". Horace Andy's “Every Tongue Shall Tell”, Delroy Wilson's “Have Some Mercy” or George Faith's “To Be A Lover” are other classics in the Dub-Format. Incidentally, at Blackbeard's request, all the tracks on the album were named after the districts of Portmore in the St. Catherine district - as a lesson in acoustic geography. 

As is known, the Basic Channel Crew from Berlin works the wackies-Archives on. The Bronx-based producer's latest rerelease is "Creation Dub" (Indigo) from 1977. You can hear some very minimalist ones here Dubs and a vocal version by John Clarke. The sound changes seamlessly from super dry mixes to typically soft Wackies Lovers melodies - but everything is embedded as usual in the warm sound of the Wackie studio. The Dubs come from the well-known Wackies productions of the time, including pieces by the Chosen Brothers, Joe Auxumite and KC White. The last tune of the album is also a nice wind instrumental version of Jo Jo Bennett's “Leaving Rome”.

With "Dubz From De Higher Regionz " (Dubhead / Indigo) the Iration steppas back from the north of England. It has been eight years for Mark Iration and Dennis Rootical since their debut album. A long time in which the world of Dub has developed rapidly. Not so the two Dub-Fundamentalists. They pick up where they left off in 1996: powerful steppers beats, rumbling basslines and synth offbeats - classic UKDub so. As dusty as this sound, unfortunately, the 15 tracks on the album are also uninspired. With a few exceptions, the basslines are simply boring, the mixes irrelevant and the arrangements anything but imaginative. Short live recordings of performances are sampled between the tracks. Probably a desperate attempt to add variety to the album. On the other hand, it would have brought real variety to descend from the higher regions and listen to what dubis currently moderately popular in Birmingham, London or Paris ...

Undoubtedly the most beautiful Dub-Album from the last few months comes from Helsinki. - You read that right: from Finland! It has the appropriate title "Spring Time" (Semi Sounds / Import) and comes from an artist named light man. What he presents here is incredible: Dub-Instrumentals full of warmth, absolutely relaxed and at the same time extremely groovy. Garnished with wonderful melodies that are played on a melodica in the style of Augustus Pablo. Simply fantastic. Each instrument on the album is played by Lightman himself and arranged into sensitive compositions that are permeated with a melancholy poetry that fits perfectly with Scandinavia. It evokes images of rain-soaked forests in which the sun sparkles through the leaves, or of warm days that are spent on the terrace of a lonely hut ... The incidental title names like "Meanwhile In The City", "Empty Street" or simply "Raining" “Do the rest. Of course, Lightman stands on Augustus Pablo's shoulders, but he's far from being his epigone. Lightman has an original quality that even surpasses Pablo. Absurdly, this album is only available via import - but, as is so often the case, the good thing lies beyond the mainstream.

Already in October last year, the new album by Dubphonic, "Smoke Signals" (Hammerbass / Import) published. The trio, consisting of Stefane Goldman, Alexis Mauri and Sylvain Mosca, is known not least for its collaboration with Richard Dorfmeister (Tosca) and for the "Select Cuts From Blood And Fire 2" sampler, for which they came to during a night train ride from Vienna Hamburg remixed the Linval Thompson classic "Jah Jah Is A Guiding Star". Now is her debut with the renowned Parisian DubLabel appeared. It has become an experimental album that would have fit perfectly into the catalog of the Echo Beach label. Characterized by an open Dub- Understanding, it takes on influences of electronic music without cutting off the roots in reggae. Warm beats and medium tempos determine the pieces, placed in club-compatible arrangements and enriched with electronic gadgets - Dorfmeister was a good teacher. More of it please!

Finally, another album from the Hammerbass label: Manasseh, "Dub Plate Style Vol. 2 " (Hammer bass / import). 15 tracks from Manasseh's oeuvre over the past 13 years are gathered here. Unfortunately, the most exciting pieces are already on "Dub Plate Style Vol. 1 “was used, so that this selection has slight lengths in places. Since Nick Manasseh is always well above the UK averageDub composed and produced, even this somewhat unfortunate selection is well worth listening to. (Maybe his superb productions for the Cool Hipnoise album (Select Cuts) just raised expectations too high). Groovy flowing beats with a distant funk influence determine the overall impression of "Dub Plate Style Vol.2 “- a specialty of Manasseh since time immemorial. The vocal mixes with Earl 16 and Ras I stand out in particular. A piece from 1991 that seems to have been programmed entirely on King Jammy's Sleng-Teng-Casio is also surprising, the beat sounds so synthetic. But Manasseh already documented here that he was ahead of his time: between the primitive computer sounds, the heavy steppers beat of later years can already be clearly recognized.

What a dream team! Everyone dreamed of this die-hard DubEnthusiast - now it's a reality: Sly & Robbie and the crazy professor dubbing out crazy! For three days in April of last year they sat together in the Ariwa studio in South London and turned the hands of the clock back to the 70s, the golden age of the rocker sound and the Dub-Music and recorded the album "Sly & Robbie meet the Mad Professor: Dub Revolutionaries " (RAS / Sanctuary / Zomba). Mad Professor, an avid fan of this sound, took the opportunity to have its inventor, Sly Dunbar, in the studio: “I wanted to revive this sound from Joe Gibbs and Channel One, with hand-played drum & bass. The record should sound like it was recorded in 1978, ”explains Neal Fraser. He chose a few for this Dub-Tracks from his legendary "Dub Me Crazy ”series and had Sly, Robbie, Sky Juice, Bubbler and other members of the taxi gang re-record it in rockers-style. “He wanted“ four to the floor ”and the typical rockers rim shot,” recalls Sly, “I had a lot of fun playing this style again. There were no restrictions - we just go for it! ”. About a week after this session, Dean Fraser came into the studio and also refined the recordings with his beautiful, sensitive saxophone playing. Originally a whole horn section was supposed to compete, but Dean Fraser reserved the right to play all the wind instruments himself and later to copy them over each other. The result is a great, tough one Dub-Album without being overly intrusive Dub-Effects in which Slys Rockers drumming is brought back to life and merges congenially with the typical Ariwa sound. An album that has its place in the Dub-History will take.

After two and a half years, Style Scott is back with the Dub Syndicate has now been completely taken over by Adrian Sherwood. "No Bed Of Roses" (EFA) is the name of the new work of the syndicate, which was completely recorded in the Jamaican Tuff Gong studio - but in London by Adrian Sherwood for reasons of sound consistencydubbt was. He did his job so thoroughly, however, that a fantastically inspired, thoroughly British-sounding one Dub-Sound was created. But Mr. Scott didn't want it with an instrumental, however exciting Dub-Album and asked different vocalists like Cederic Myton (Congos), Cornell Campbell or even Gregory Isaacs to contribute a few lyrics. With the grandiose rhythm tracks they couldn't help but deliver their best performance. One album now combines what clever producers usually make two albums out of: Solid, highly inspired Dub-Tracks with wonderful songs as encores. A milestone!

In the highly acclaimed "Hi-Fidelity Dub Sessions "Series of the American label Guidance is just the "5. Chapter "(Import?) published. Unlike the previous albums, which are more focused on the British Dub-Sound concentrated, "Chapter 5" makes a U-turn towards classic-looking up-tempo beats with a clear vocal component. Apart from the G Corp remix of the Thievery Corporation track "Richest Man In Babylon", the track listing has no names known to the reggae geek. Perhaps the house label Guidance has stepped up this time in the familiar waters of house and club for interesting Dub-Remixing wanted. What they found there is not uninteresting, but it cannot keep up with the level that they have come to expect from the Hi-Fidelity series. 

Inspired by the "Wild-Dub“Compilation, the Hamburg Echo Beach label is now providing "Modern Wild Dub"(Echo Beach / Indigo) in front. Subtitled with “Dread meets Disco Punk Rocker Downtown”, the new compilation offers various remixes of contemporary dance floor formations such as Playgroup, Chicken Lips, Radio 4, LCD Soundsystem, Kid Loco or Colder. The whole thing can perhaps best be described as a punk disco tripdub where “punk” stands less for rock and more for sound anarchy. It goes without saying that this sampler is not Dub-Purists aimed. The dance floor avant-garde, however, and very open minded Dubheads should have a lot of fun getting the tracks beaten in the face.

Back to the pure Dub-Sound. With "Dub Em Zukie "(Indigo?) represents the Jamaican Recordings label a classic 70s DubAlbum by Tapa Zukie in front. All together here are Zukie-produced Dubs from 1976 to 1979 such as z. B. Johnny Clarke's version of “Ballistic Affair” or Horace Andy “Natty Dead Ah Wey She Want”. And so it is less that Dub-Mixes that are more fun on this album than the wonderful classic rhythms that are presented here with beautiful melodic interpretations (not heard for a long time: “My Conversation” or “Hypocite”). Sly Dunbar's rockers style is something of a bonus.

Muzique decoder is a project by DJ Javier Verdes and graphic designer and VJ Giovanni Jubert. Inspired by the city of Barcelona, ​​they have one Dub-Compilation, named “Barcelona In Dub"(Indigo?) with lavish cover artwork, a video film on DVD and a live project. The compilation is particularly interesting because, contrary to expectations, by no means the local ones Dub-Acts are presented, but on which international artists such as Up, Bustle & Out, Sugar Minott (Wackies), Playgroup, International Observer or Don Air are represented. Artfully mixed together, the selected pieces convey a dark, melancholy mood that suits the early hours of the morning in a club. Incredibly sensitively put together with a lot of surprising tracks, “Barcelona In Dub“The most interesting one at the moment Dub-Compilation. 

With "Combat Dub II "(hammer bass / import) presents the French Dub Projects Brain Damage a second series of Dub-Remixing her album "Always Greener". Alpha & Omega, Manutension, Mossman Vs Mr. Tsunami and Vibronics are represented here. Despite the different origins of the protagonists, “Combat Dub II "a through and through typical UKDub-Album with massive rolling steppas rhythms and loads of reverb in all corners and awesome cover artwork. Very nice that something like this still exists! It is a shame, however, that there is still no distribution for it in Germany!

I heard them for the first time in 1992 Alpha & Omega-Debut albums "Daniel In The Lions Den" and "King And Queen". They were a revelation at a time when reggae was determined by “Computerized Rhythms” and Dub ceased to exist in Jamaica. I had never heard such a deep, grumpy, extremely warm bass in any reggae recording. The early 80ies I loved because of their deep soundDub-Tracks of the Roots Radics sounded as light as a feather in contrast. If there was any comparison to A&O, it was Lee Perry in his prime with Black Ark. The mystical-spiritual atmosphere of his recordings pointed the way, which A&O continued almost two decades later (and which is currently ending in the productions of Rhythm & Sound). South London bassist Christine Woodbridge and her partner John Spronsen make no secret of who their role models are: “Lee Perry, Augustus Pablo and Yabby You”. As for the music of these three Dub-Artists is less of the refined Dub-Mix (like for example with King Tubby) than their dense, atmospheric sound. Woodbridge and Spronsen have condensed, reduced and radicalized this sound again. He is unique and among all UKDub- Recordings clearly identifiable. In addition to Christine Woodbridge's deep, deep bass hum, the melodies of which are barely identifiable, and the stoic steppers drumbeat, it is above all spherical swelling and swelling background noises with massive reverbs that conjure up the acoustic impression of a jungle and make A&O pieces unmistakable . Acoustic sounds such as the reverberation of huge gongs, briefly played harpsichord chords, explosive melodica or percussions are also typical. What is astonishing is that the tracks, which are remembered as infinitely sluggish rolling rhythms, often turn out to be up-tempo pieces when listened to, which seem to advance with an unstoppable urge. It's great that A&O does not have the fate of many UKDub-Bands of the 90s share and have disappeared into oblivion. After listening to remixes of their old repertoire for many years, completely new pieces are now coming from the home studio in London. The new album "Spirit Of The Ancients" (Greensleeves / Zomba) share the two with Jonah Dan and shine here with great new tracks and wonderful vocal /Dub-Combinations. Jonah Dan, who produced and recorded the other half of the album, fits perfectly into the A&O concept. Although his style is cleaner and the tracks are structured more clearly, the two sounds complement each other to form a round UKDub-Album, as it has been heard far too seldom in recent years. Let's hope that some of this will stimulate the UKDub- Go out scene and motivate them to renew their vigor.

True Dub-Heads will not have remained hidden that the summer months were lacking in supplies. The only interesting material I could find is an album of the Dubwise prayers with the title: "The Dubplate Series ". (Realeyes / Import). This is a very small edition with a hand-burned CD and a laser-copied cover (of particular ugliness). Very, very skeptical, I put the CD (bought for 16 euros) into the player - and was pleasantly surprised. Classic UKDub was heard, not particularly innovative, but solid and astonishingly varied. The spectrum ranges from very nice, straightforward steppers beats to more experimental mixes and growling synth sounds. You can hear on many tracks that Alpha & Omega were the inspiration behind this. On the other hand, the pieces on which the violin playing of a certain J. Bloom can be heard are very independent - infinitely melancholy and very mystical. It is difficult to classify the pieces chronologically, because you can hear sounds from the 80s as well as the 90s - and who knows whether eclectic comrades of postmodernism were at work here and indiscriminately in reggae and Dub-History or whether we are simply dealing with old recordings? The whole thing is mysterious!

Since we have so much space this time (to interpret the lack of material positively), I want to take the opportunity to think a little outside the box of typical reggaeDubs to look out and, dear raggae fans, suggest an album that you can get from your house and techno dealer (e.g. www.kompakt.net): "Rocket In Dub: If Music Could Talk “(Italic / Compact). Irrespective of the reggae scene Dub has secured a permanent place in the world of minimal electronic music in recent years. In the beginning, the driving force was undoubtedly the Berlin Basic Channel label, from which z. B. Rhythm & Sound also emerged and their makers are currently responsible for the re-publication of the Wackies back catalog. The artists of the Cologne compact label have their own minimal style Dub-Music developed for which this “Rocket In Dub“Album is a good example. Hypnotic, powerfully syncopated shuffel beats with lots of little click & cut effects and full reverb and echo. The already quite slimmed-down one can be minimal Dub-Don't understand music. Everything superfluous has been eliminated - the core of the Dub-Sounds lies bare. Like in a laboratory experiment, neatly dissected, analyzed and recombined. If music could talk, it would tell us how it is in the subatomic world of Dub looks like, would tell us whether the microcosm of sound resembles the computer simulation that Rocket In Dub presents. I am willing to believe in it.

Finally, two short messages for Dub-Geeks: The “Culture in.” Produced by Sonja Pottinger and mixed by Errol Brown has just finished Dub“1978 album under the title "Rare and Unreleased Dub"(Revolver / import) Released as a South African import. Unfortunately mastered from pretty crisp vinyl. Was also published again Burning Spears “Living Dub Vol.1 "- but in contrast to the Heartbeat Rerelease from 1992 now under the title: "Original Living Dub Vol. 1 "(Burning Spear / Import). While the Heartbeat version presented the album in a new mix by Barry O'Hare and Nelson Miller, "Original Living ..." offers the original, better mix by Karl Pitterson and Benji Armbrister.

Pressure Sounds, next to Blood & Fire the noblest British reggae retro label, has, instead of looking for treasures of reggae history in distant Jamaica, simply looked in front of their own door. Whoever label maker Pete Holdsworth & Co found there was one of the most important protagonists of British reggae in the 70s and 80s: Dennis Bovell. In 1971 he founded the band Matumbi, which five years later had their first hits in the UK reggae charts. At the same time, Bovell established himself as a successful producer and talent scout. Almost single-handedly, he invented lovers rock - a commercial success story without equal. In the mid-70s he became the first British reggae musician to join Dub to experiment, to which he soon devoted himself entirely. Besides own DubHe also recorded all of Linton Kwesi Johnson's albums and developed his own, often very melodious and sometimes unrestrainedly experimental Dub-Style that can easily keep up with some Perry or Tubby tracks. In recent years, Bovell has largely been forgotten, which makes it all the more gratifying that Pressure Sounds has remembered him and now presents us with an excerpt from the most fruitful phase of his work. 16 pieces are on "Decibel - More Cuts And Dubs 1976-1983 " (Pressure Sounds / Zomba) gathered, almost exclusively Dubs. Powerful roots tracks stand back to back with lovely lovers rock arrangements and crazy perryesques DubExperiments. All tracks are precisely and imaginatively mixed, full of surprising details and beautiful melodies. Sometimes boldly arranged with a complete brass section (incl. Rico Rodriguez), sometimes reduced to the pure, minimal beat, sometimes full of reverb and echoes, then again bone dry - every track is a new surprise. Maybe Bovell will surprise us with new productions soon - that would be something ...

That Dub Every reggae geek knows that the reggae beat has long since transcended. So why not think outside the box in this column? With "Tino's Dub Select "(Tino Corp / EFA) It's very easy, because only gradually - and supported by many reggae vocal samples, Tino leads us from the land of the syncopated 4/4 beat into the realm of crashing breakbeats. Big Beat meets Reggae in the House of Dub could be the mixture served by Jack Danergs (Meat Beat Manifesto), Ben Strokes (DHS) and Mike Powell. Dominated by tricky drum beats and rolling basslines and peppered with 1001 samples from all times and styles of reggae, the recordings explore this Dub-Concept down to its last corner. Funky, dubBy, weired and, above all, very exciting, the breakbeat journey runs through different tempos and styles. A great album that shows the universality of the Dub impressively and radically proves. It cannot go unnoticed in the world of reggae!

An album that, at first glance, shows even more outside the box, and also goes a completely different path than Tino is "Rocket In Dub: If Music Could Talk “(Italic / Compact). The keyword “compact” makes it unmistakably clear to those in the know what we are dealing with here: minimal techno. Irrespective of the reggae scene Dub has secured a permanent place in the world of minimal electronic music in recent years. In the beginning, the driving force was undoubtedly the Berlin Basic Channel label, from which z. B. Rhythm & Sound also emerged and their makers are currently responsible for the re-publication of the Wackies back catalog. The artists of the Cologne compact label have their own minimal style Dub-Music developed for which this “Rocket In Dub“Album is a good example. Hypnotic, powerfully syncopated shuffel beats with lots of little click & cut effects and full reverb and echo. The already quite slimmed-down one can be minimal Dub-Don't understand music. Everything superfluous has been eliminated - the core of the Dub-Sounds lies bare. Like in a laboratory experiment, neatly dissected, analyzed and recombined. If music could talk, it would tell us how it is in the subatomic world of Dub looks like, would tell us whether the microcosm of sound resembles the computer simulation that Rocket In Dub presents. I am willing to believe in it.

Where guys like the Italic protagonists or basic channel makers like Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus get their inspiration from becomes clear when we look at the Wackies album they have just re-released "African Roots Act 1" (Wackies / Indigo) Listen. Produced by Wackie's studio musician Clive Hunt, it offers a dark, multi-dimensional sound that is occasionally reminiscent of Lee Perry's Black Ark. Especially the first track “Addis Ababa Dub“, In which a drum machine is used, should have been the wow experience of the minimal technician. Even today recordings like this still sound fresh and shine full of magic. Since the year it was created, “African Roots Act 1” has been the masterpiece of the Dub - and when you listen again it is all too easy to understand why. It is hard to believe what innovative strength was at the end of the 70s in the small studio deep in New York's Bronx. unfolded. It was just magic.

Another recently published work from Wackie's archive sounds less magical, a bit more conventional and also not as innovative: "Roots Underground: Tribesman Assault" (Wackies / Indigo). Released in the early 80s, it offers the typical Wackies qualities such as the dark atmosphere, the warm sound and the tight rhythms. A nice, exciting album, which just can't keep up with “African Roots Act 1”, but which in itself is well above the Jamaican average of the 70s.

Before we leave the revival selection, let's have a nice double CD sampler with a total of 35 Dub Tracks mentioned: "Dub Sessions ”(Union Square). It is part of the well-known session samplers that have already dedicated themselves to musical styles such as soul, funk, blues, hip hop, drum 'n' bass or Latin. If you look at the track listing, you get the impression of having a Best Of Blood & Fire in front of your nose, because almost 2/3 of the songs were licensed there. This also makes it clear that the stylistic focus of the album is on Dub the 70s. Only the three mixed-up UK- Dub-Tracks. It might have made more sense, the story that Dub to be traced chronologically and to the newDub to give more space to the 90s and the present. Nevertheless, the sampler is a nice all-round hit in old school and a commendable attempt to bring the roots of this fascinating music closer to the mainstream audience.

Sub-Oslo are an 8-headed Dub-Band from Texas (yes, it has been laughed a lot about) and present (after an EP) with "The Rites Of Dub"(Glitterhouse / Indigo) her first full-fledged album. There are trippy, hand-played ones on it Dub- To hear tracks in excess length - very hypnotic, very meditative. Occasionally reminiscent of early Sherwood productions or faintly the Suns Of Arqa. However, that seem Dub-Mix and the restrained effects instead of actually being recorded live here, as is usually the case on the studio mixer. A nice concept that certainly knows how to captivate on stage. What is amazing, however, is the idea that there are eight musicians behind these cautious, minimal sounds - what are they doing? 

The DubAlbum by Nucleus Roots, “In Dub" (Westbury / Import), also hand-played, is of a completely different caliber. Here there is full dynamism in the songs, and the Dub-Mix is ​​a product of classic post-production. Great, the distorted bass on Long Road Dub"Or the subsonic low frequencies on" Tuned In Dub". The album dates back to 2001 but is now being offered as an import for the first time. 

The highlight of the contemporary Dub however comes from Urban Dub, "Featuring Fairshare Unity Sound" (Dubhead / indigo). Urban Dub aka. Roop (rhythms and production), Marjorie Paris (saxophone) and Hieronymous (vocals and mixing) have teamed up with Unruly Julian from the Fairshare Unity sound system and together they have an extraordinarily beautiful and extremely varied one Dub-Album produced. A total of 26 tracks can be heard on the double CD, which are bursting with energy and inventiveness. Solid, uptempo beats form the basis for crazy instrumentation (often with Marjorie's saxophone), for twisted ones Dub-Mixes, ingenious catchy melodies and above all for unusual, fat sounds. "Dub-Playground “would be a congenial title, because the four musicians understand this album as nothing else. They don't care about rules, commercialism or image. Anything that is fun is allowed. While the album with some beautiful, melodic Dubs begins, it develops more and more obliquely in the further course until it finally comes to some totally weird avant-gardeDubs ends. A roller coaster ride through the land of subsonic beats! More of that!

The times when new Dub-Samplers on a weekly basis that filled reggae dealers' shelves are long gone. The new school of Dub has done its job and Dub-Sounds established as ubiquitous part of modern pop music. Dub in its pure form has been reduced to a minimum size and now exists in the music underground with a clearly defined fan base (such as Ska or Jungle). Only the most prominent Dub-Sampler series have survived this development, including King Size Dub, that excellent compilation series by the Hamburg label Echo Beach. Chapter Nine came out a few weeks ago: "King size Dub Chapter Nine " (Echo Beach / Indigo). An album that is ingenuity and trendsetting Dub-Sounds just brimming with it. As is tradition at Echo Beach, a modern one is maintained here Dub- Understanding whose foundation is firmly anchored in the reggae groove, but sound-technically ventures far towards the dance floor. Names like Coldcut, Groove Corporation, Dreadzone or Richard Dorfmeister make it clear where the journey is headed. It's a journey that challenges experiments, for example when the Algerian Rai singer Khaled and Bomb The Bass mastermind Tim Simenon meet, or the Dub-Conference between the Portuguese Cool Hipnoise, the British Nick Manasseh and the Last Poets! But it is also a journey that shows how universal Dub is and how elementary its influence is on pop music. Compared to the previous episodes, Chapter Nine dares the most beyond the traditional in this respect Dub-And it may open doors to musical universes that a reggae purist has never seen before.

With Dub Selector 2 (Quango / Zomba) is another Dub-Sampler appeared, which is a bit more conservative, but basically points in the same direction as King Size Dub. Electronics protagonists like Submission or Noiseshaper stand here alongside downtempo activists like Thievery Corporation or remix virtuosos like Groove Corporation or Richard Dorfmeister. That sounds good - but the disadvantage of this sampler is that it does not collect exclusive and sometimes even very old material. The Nick Holder number can already be found on a high-fidelityDub-Sampler, Big Youths Waterhouse Rock on a Select Cuts sampler and the track from Submission as well as the track from Noiseshaper on King Size Dub-Samplers. Compiler Bruno Guez has made it somewhat easy for himself, which is understandable when you know that the guy is responsible for an entire sampler series on Quango, which is dedicated to topics as diverse as Afro beats and Scandinavian Nu Jazz.

Let's turn to something solid: Gregory Isaacs In Dub, "Dub A De Number One "(Heartbeat / EFA). The album offers Dub-Versions of Gregory pieces that he recorded for producer Alvin GG Ranglin in the 70s. It is largely the B-side of the album "I Found Love", which Heartbeat released about half a year ago. All tracks were recorded in the Channel One studio and mixed by Ernest Hoo Kim and Maxie McKenzie. What the two have delivered is solid craftsmanship - but unfortunately not anymore, because after all, only B-sides had to be filled. A vacuum now remains where Gregory's voice was. Neither the mix nor the bassline or any other instrument fill this space. On the contrary: the briefly faded in song fragments only make this deficiency stand out all the more clearly. The brass parts typical of Gregory can only be heard occasionally. Too bad. Label boss Chris Wilson could have saved himself this album.

At the same time as the Gregory Dubs, Chris Wilson brings a second Dub-Album with recordings from the 70s: Niney The Observer Presents King Tubby In Dub, “Bring The Dub Come "(Heartbeat / EFA). Most of the recordings are previously unreleased King Tubby mixes that Niney simply forgot about King Tubby in the 70s and only rediscovered them after his death. Ten tracks of the 22 on the CD were as Dub-Album and appear here under the title "The Lost Album". Some tracks are easy to identify, such as “Bring The Kutchie Come” or “Tenement Yard”, but even Niney can no longer identify others. In contrast to the GregoryDubs, there are interesting arrangements and idiosyncratic mixes, rich bass lines and melodic brass sections. Some of the remaining 12 tracks are alternative mixes of well-known Niney-Dubs, like "Westbound Train", which Tubby made for use in his own sound system. Maybe these are even the “more original” mixes that are here for the first time on record?

Easy Star label boss Lem Oppenheimer has taken on an extremely risky one Dub-Experiment dared: Easy Star All-Stars, "Dub Side Of The Moon "(Easy Star / EFA) is a reggae remake of the Pink Floyd album "Dark Side Of The Moon" from 1973! Yes, you read that right: Pink Floyd! The fact that they have as much to do with reggae as Madonna does with Stockhausen is something that Oppenheimer apparently sees as a challenge rather than a warning. Undeterred, he and his musician colleagues Michael G and Ticklah set out to chase various reggae styles such as Rockers, Nyabingi or One Drop through the echo box. Without further ado, he replaces the rock-typical guitars with reggae-typical brass instruments, while he apparently considers the psychedelic Floyd synths to be reggae-compatible and keeps them. But the Easy Star crew did not rely on a purely instrumental (and assessable risk) Dub-Version want to restrict, but has reggae singer Frankie Paul, Dr. Israel and Gary Pine, blues singer Corey Harris and old-school Deejay Ranking Joe were invited to take over the vocal parts. They try really hard to make the rock songs sound like reggae - but (to put it simply) they fail. Your singing flows seamlessly into the instrumentaldubbig all-over of the tracks that are not separated from each other, which indeed suggests the psychedelic atmosphere of the original, but doesn’t want to harmonize in the least with the reggae rhythms. The only exception is Ranking Joe's deejaying, which fits perfectly with reggae with its bouncing rhythm - and thus emphasizes the incompatibility of the other songs all the more. It's a shame, you have to say that a lot of energy and an even greater amount of innovation was wasted on the wrong project. Perhaps it had to be tried in order to be able to tick off the topic - because failure also offers the chance to gain knowledge. 

"Reggae music is the weapon of the future" quotes Moss Raxlen aka Mossman Peter Tosh and hits 12 heavy Dub World Bank tracks on the roof. Mossman vs. The World Bank (Dispensation / Import) is the name of the Canadian's debut album, which was released in 2001, but is only now available in Germany via import. It's an absolute low-budget production (you could almost think that the CD was self-made!). The tracks were recorded by a live band and have a nice, warm, relaxed flow. Nothing spectacular, just a few solid ones Dub-Tracks - and a terrific cover on which the Mossman monster tears down the World Bank building in the middle of an inferno. Mossman also sees his music as a “soundtrack” to the protest movement of the NGOs in their fight against globalization. Nice that he ended up with reggae with this attitude! Named on his second album "Mossman vs. Tsunami" (dispensation / import) (with Godzilla cover), Mossman has replaced all musicians on the first album with Mr. Tsunami and is now mixing digitally produced tracks. Again, the Jamaican one Dub 70s direct inspiration. As with the first album, the production is awkward and rough - 100% low budget. But somehow there is a special attraction in that. Or maybe it is just the idealism of the lonely Dub-Producers in wide Canada are so personable.

1969, the year King Tubby denied Dub invented, a keyboard player named Horace Swaby walked into a studio for the first time. When "Augustus Pablo“He made his debut there for producer Herman Chin Loy. Just three years later, Pablo was a producer himself and owned his own Rockers label. Here he established his "Far East Style", so called because Pablo built his melodies essentially from minor chords, which made them sound "oriental". He preferred to play these melodies on the melodica, an instrument that was considered a better toy for children. As an instrumentalist, Pablo was very enthusiastic about the work of King Tubby and had almost all of his pieces remixed in the master's studio (by Tubby himself, Prince Jammy or Phillip Smart). A showcase of the collaboration between the instrumentalist / producer and Dub-Mixer offers the album "In Fine Style 1973-1979" (Pressure Sounds / Zomba). In the best showcase tradition, several mixes of different Pablo instrumentals from 1973 to 1979 are gathered here. It starts with four cuts from "Far East" from 1975. The sound is unmistakable: heavy, drum & bass driven rhythms - dry mixed and sparingly instrumented. Above that, the cutting, melancholy sound of the melodica. There is no doubt that one instrumental is followed by three DubVersions of the same rhythm is a real reggae hardcore pack. But it is precisely this minimalism that enables an experience that has become rare in pop music: to really experience music through pure, concentrated listening. The three versions of “Cool Shade Dub“Offer the best opportunity for this; or the three versions of "Up Warika Hill" from 1974. The album also features more playful tracks like the three Pablo versions of "Real Rock" with a toasting Hugh Mundell as Jah Levi. Augustus Pablo in fine style - says it all!

Also on the Blood And Fire label is a nice one Dub-Retrospective published: Ja-Man All Stars, “In The Dub Zone" (Indigo). Although almost from the same time as Augustus Pablo's tracks (see above), there is a completely different sound to be heard here. The producer is the little-known Dudley "Manzie" Swaby, who in 1977 and 1980 had two Dub-Albums released ("Ja-Man Dub"And" King's Dub"), Which are summarized here on one CD. Both albums were recorded in the Channel One studio, which is the reason for their distinctive sound. Compared to Pablo's dry minimal sound, we are dealing here with rolling basslines, fluid arrangements - and last but not least with Sly Dunbar's concise drum style. This is where Dancehall cast its shadow as early as 1977. As you are used to from Channel One, you will also be with these Dubs plentifully supplied with recuts from Studio One-Rhythms, mixed slickly by Crucial Bunny, Maxie, Soljie, Ernest Hookim or Swaby himself. In 1980, Dancehall had finally fully arrived and the unmistakable Channel One sound dominated reggae. Tracks 14-23 of the CD are from this time; they ideally embody this era - and the final bloom of the Jamaican Dub before its decline in the mid-80s. Many of these tracks could already be heard on General Echo's debut album “Rocking & Swing” from the same year. Dancehall Lives!

Let's take a leap into the present: "Roots of Dub Funk 3 - The Dub Adventure " (Tanty /?) - and again we hear a completely different sound. It's the sound of the newDub as shaped by Jah Shaka, Alpha & Omega, The Disciples and many others in England in the 90s. "Melody lines and harmonies combined with warm horns sounds, vocal echoes, heavyweight kick drums and dirty basslines by the truckload," is how the album compiler Kelvin R. describes this sound very aptly. The biggest difference to the classic tubby mix is ​​that the rhythm is usually much slower, the bass drum, on the other hand, “marches” with four beats through the 4/4 time and the sound is more important than the mix. In addition, the Dub completely digital today. Anyone who would like to review this statement will find in “Roots of Dub Funk 3 “ideal study material: 12 superb Dub-Tracks by producers from England, France, Germany and the USA. Also included are Alpha & Omega, Jah Warrior and Vibronics.

While “Roots Of…” is more of a classic form of Dub presented, we have it at Cool Hipnoise, "Showcase & More" (Select Cuts / Indigo) to do with an excellently successful crossover experiment. Dub forms the basis for a fascinating musical mix, in which sounds from Brazil, Cuba and Portugal, under the direction of Nick Manasseh, combine to create fresh, unheard grooves. Cool hip noises are Joao Gomes, Francisco Rebelo and Tiago Santos from Lisbon, who combined hip hop with jazz, soul, reggae and Brazilian beats in the 90s. Dub- Producer Nicholas Raphael aka Nick Manasseh, who produced the band's last two albums, has consistently got their sound on Dub polarized. The result is great proof of the universality of Dub. He succeeded perfectly in using the stylistic devices of the Dub to merge inseparably with those of other musical genres. The Dub gets something of the lightness and elegance of Brazilian music while the Latin American sounds come through Dub Gaining groundedness and dynamism.

Also with his new "own" album, Manasseh Meets The Equalizer, "Step Like Pepper" (Select Cuts / Indigo) Nick Raphael treads crossover paths. Here he consistently builds on the first Manasseh Meets The Equalizer album from 1994 and mixes heavy ones Dub-Sounds with cool jazz flavors. If St. Germain hadn't existed in the meantime, “Step Like Pepper” would be called a sensation. So you have to try not to constantly compare the album with St. Germain. Once this step is done, you will hear some very beautiful, excitingly arranged tracks with a variety of samples, ranging from old Lee Perry productions to Blue Note. As usual with Manasseh, everything is based on solid beats that are always varied and interesting. With him you can really speak of "composition" (while others Dub-Producers are only too happy to “save as…” their tracks).

Let's stay with the Select Cuts label and focus our interest on an unusual sampler: "Babylon Is Ours - The USA In Dub" (Select Cuts / Indigo). The really wonderfully self-deprecating title makes the concept clear: the compilation throws a spotlight on the criminally underexposed from a European perspective DubScene of North America. A few names from this scene are of course known in this country: Systemwide, Dr. Israel, Avatars Of Dub and maybe one or the other Act from the Guidance-Dub-Samplers. Otherwise we know little. But when you listen to “Babylon Is Ours”, you get the impression that there is a good reason for this! Real discoveries cannot be made here. OK, the US combos can keep up with average European productions - but is this statement worth a sampler called “Babylon Is Ours”? One would have expected a little more innovative power here.

In Riddim # 2, Loud & Lone, one of them, was mentioned for the first time Dub-Duo from Spain. The two, Borja Juanco and Roberto Sanchez, have now dealt with the musicians of the Basque Dub Foundation teamed up and released a showcase album entitled "BDF Meets Loud & Lone" (A-Lone / Import) added. 18 tracks can be found here, with vocal track and Dub- Alternate version. All instruments are hand played, which fits the overall very classic impression of the album. The album could easily have come from Jamaica in the 70s (apart from the better sound) - it is mixed here in the old masterly manner. So it's all the more astonishing that the album actually comes from Spain. Maybe a couple of American ones should Dubjust go on vacation there ...

Let's get to the final highlight: "Richard Dorfmeister Presents A Different Drummer Selection" (Different Drummer / EFA). The two boys from Birmingham, Glynn Bush and Richard Wittingham, who operated as “Rockers HiFi” until the second half of the 90s, founded the “Different Drummer” label in 1992 as the home of their own as well as those of like-minded people Dubmore creative. From the beginning, the name of the label stood for innovative music, the various musical influences under the umbrella of Dub united. None of the innumerable Dub-Acts of the 90s has expanded the spectrum as sustainably as Rockers HiFi and their label. Last year, Different Drummer turned ten - an occasion for Richard Dorfmeister to combine the best tracks of different drumbeat on one album. Also part of the party are Noiseshaper with heavy reggae beats, G-Corp with two grandiose heavyweight steppers, Phase 5 and International Observer with rather trippy groves, Rockers HiFi with a nice, house-influenced one Dub and of course the in-house overproof sound system with their unbelievable "Watch What You Put Inna". Let's hope that the “Different Drumbeat” continues - in all directions, because the label is as open minded as the genre it stands for.

Up, Bustle & Out - an unknown name for reggae fans - and yet the name stands for one of the most interesting reggae /Dub-Albums from the past year. In the past, Rudi & Ein, the two makers of Up, Bustle & Out, alternately devoted themselves to different ethno sounds, which they imported into the trip hop universe and processed there into fascinating downtempo grooves. After an Indian and a Cuban album, they now took off with their new work "Urban Evacuation" (Unique / Indigo) of Reggae of the 70s. The album, which was created entirely in the spirit of King Tubby, pays homage to this sound. But it wouldn't be worthy of this review if it had been content with it. On the contrary: Rudi & Ein go far beyond the Tubby model. Perhaps it is her non-reggae background that allows her to mix styles in such an undogmatic manner and create sounds so adventurous: Ska, Flamenco, Breakbeats, Trip Hop, Latin, Arabic, Indian ... everything plays along during Reggae and Dub form the solid basis. The stylistic diversity is also evident in the names of the guests: Ras Jabulani, from the Black Roots, who voiced two tracks in the unmistakable Linton Kwesi Johnson style, or MC Nicky Blaze, singer with Roni Size, or Nitin Sawhney and Jim Barr ( Portishead), who play the double bass here, or Andy Hague with some very nice trumpet solos, or Senora Eugenia Ledesma on the percussions, or…. The list of contributors is long. It is therefore all the more astonishing that the album sounds like a piece and the pieces follow one another in perfect flow. The result is an almost cinematic atmosphere that seems to carry the listener through different worlds and repeatedly creates new images in front of his inner eye.

Let's jump right into the center of Dub: Jah Works, "Messages From The Seventh Sense" (Jah Works / Import) ideally embodies what is known today in the reggae community as New Dub What is understood is: powerful roots rhythms, massive basslines, loads of reverb and echo and, last but not least, a warm, relaxed and latently mystical atmosphere. Jah Rej invites us to a nice label tour, where we meet a lot of completely unknown artists and we meet some great ones Dub-Tracks will be heard. No experiments await us here, and once or twice we have to press the skip button, but overall it's one Dub-Journey, which hardly any other label can offer at this level at the moment. Producer (and esoteric) Jah Rej was probably inspired by the Zion Train dedication of his label in the form of the sampler "The Inspirational Sounds Of ...", released a few months ago, and unpacked even more treasures. He only doubled the “Quick March” of the Roots Crusaders - which he would gladly forgive on such a perfect track.

Auch Ryan Moore retrieves treasures from his archive: Twilight circuit Dub Sound system: "The Essential Collection" (M-Records / Import) gathers - as the title undoubtedly makes clear - the best tracks of its previous Dub-Creation (which includes 9 albums since 1995). At a Dub-Artist of as unbelievably consistent continuity as Moore, it goes without saying that the Essential Collection cannot come up with surprises. It is not even possible to hear a stylistic development of Moore over the past 7 years. Experiments? No thanks! Dub is best pure, thought the master and fabricated some of the deepest reggae grooves that the Dub-The world ever vibrated. Recorded live by the master himself and then chased through all the echo chambers that the studio provided. Can be more essential Dub not be: The Essential Collection Of Essential Dub!

There have been many re-releases of King Tubby-Tracks from the 70s and 80s are given - which is no wonder, because in the age of the total remix you inevitably remember its inventor and creator. Since Tubby chased gigantic amounts of tracks through his echo chamber, every reissue could draw on the full potential and select tracks at will. It is all the more astonishing that reggae fans had to wait until the end of 2002 to hear about it "100% of Dub" (Select Cuts / Indigo) to receive such a broad collection of masterpieces by the King. The spectrum ranges from uptempo Bunny Lee productions of the mid-70s (Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy etc.) to the gloomy soundscapes of a Fatman from the late 70s and early 80s. While Tubby mixed the early pieces with unbelievable virtuosity and completely rearranged them with the help of his mixer, the late tracks are dominated by the pure sound in all its sluggish heaviness and dark depth. Of course he has Dub-Enthusiast all recordings already scattered in his collection - there is news on "100% Dub“Not to be discovered. But rediscovering the old in this beautiful combination is a lot of fun.

How one hundred percent Dub today sounds, however, let on "Dub Clash " (Dubhead / EFA). Much doesn’t seem to have changed since Tubby’s Fatman Mixes, but on the other hand it’s amazing how powerful this minimalist genre is, because, despite all its limitations, it can be more pure Dub still be exciting and sound good. As in this case: Dub Clash delivers the typical Dub-Minimalism: deep rumbling bass lines, sparse instrumentation, rolling beats and tons of reverb and echo. And still, somehow it's good: warm bass sound that you can feel in the pit of your stomach! No more and no less.

The fourth episode of the "Hi-Fidelity Dub Sessions " (Guidance / EFA) to work. It starts with a Japanese one Dub the Reggae Disco Rockers with vocal by Horace Andy, followed by the incredible track “Why Not Tonight” by See-I, which was recorded by Desmond Williams. Further tracks by Ticklah, Roots Combination, Richard Dorfmeister, Groove Armada and Smith & Mighty keep the level at the highest level. Only the last two pieces by Tosca fall off a bit. Thanks to Guidance for regularly bringing out such outstanding state of the art samplers without blinkers.

That too Dub- Syndicate has with "Murder Tone " (On-U-Sound / EFA) put together a sampler - but only with their own material from the "Dub Syndicate-Classic Collection ". Especially in comparison with the others discussed here Dub-Albums, it becomes abundantly clear again how independent and concise the music produced by Adrian Sherwood is. Its sounds, its arrangements, its melodies are unique. With “Murder Tone” he is delivering something like a retrospective of the last twenty years, and at the same time relaunching his somewhat neglected On-U-Sound label.

But there is also new material from Adrian Sherwood to listen: "Never Trust A Hippy" (Realworld / Virgin). Officially his first album under his own name, if you will, his "Debut". In view of its gigantic back catalog, a more than ironic phrase that the Virgin marketing team uses. It also seems ironic that his “debut album” does NOT appear on his own label. This is due to the fact that Peter Gabriel, label boss of Realworld, asked him to make a pure remix album from the label's back catalog. But Sherwood wanted to record new pieces rather than just recycle old ones and so went into the studio with musicians like Sly & Robby or Lenky (creators of the Diwali rhythm) and recorded new backings, over which he then played various realworld samples. The result is a very atypical Sherwood album that leaves the limits of reggae far behind. Whether it always succeeded is another question. Some songs sound a little uninspired, others not consistent enough. Often one gets the impression that Sherwood wanted too much: Dancehall, Dub, World music and sample experiments - compressed together in one song it often borders on overproduction. Sometimes this diversity is combined in a congenial way. No profit without risk.

On the French hammer bassDub-Label (which should get a proper German distribution soon) is an album by Paris Yard, with the title "Dubvisions " (Hammerbass / Import) released, which is not unlike the Sherwood work. Here, too, there are many world music samples and a clear affinity for dancehall. But unlike Sherwood, the construction of the pieces here is much simpler, but also more powerful. Here you can find z. B. also uncompromising electricalDub-Tracks whose massive steppers rhythms do not allow experiments. Then again there is traditional African music that comes with Dub-Sounds is fused, followed by an up-tempo dancehall-Dub. Confusing conceptless, but precisely because of that exciting and entertaining.

The album, also released on Hammerbass, is in a dance context - if not pop "Peace, Unity, Love, Having Fun And Computers" (Hammerbass / Import) by Batam batam anchored. The sound can best be compared to Dreadzone, even if Batam Batam still uses carefree pop melodies and doesn't care in the least about reggae credibility. The “Having Fun” in the title hits the core of the album concept: Everything that is fun - be it 60s pop or disco choirs - becomes alcohol-free here Dub-Cocktail mixed. The reggae beat remains a solid base, but with the lush pop arrangement above it, it is hardly perceived as such. This is not a criticism! What should be wrong with “Having Fun”? Dub doesn't have to be head music, even if many think so.

They seem a little different Trance Vision Steppers with her new album, "Tvs.2" (Forty-five / Indigo) to see. Minimalistic electronic sounds à la “Space Night meets Dub, weightlessly flowing, meditative. The addressee here is more the head than the stomach. There is no stranger behind this sound: Felix Wolter, mastermind of the reggae band “Visions” and various other projects such as “Pre Fade Listening” - and more avant-garde Dub-Producer from Hanover. To what extent the sound of TVS still has something to do with reggae cannot be clearly determined. Proven reggae beats can hardly be heard, and yet the reggae vibe resonates in every note. Dub is universal.

It drives even more minimalist Mapstation (featuring Ras Donovan) with "Version Train" (Dusty Gold / Indigo). Stefan Schneider remixes the tracks from his previous electronic album "A Way To Find The Day" in reggae style. Nobody should expect to find fat one-drop rhythms here. On the contrary, the tracks are pure minimal electro-plucker-click-Dub-Soundscapes whose sound and instrumentation have absolutely nothing to do with reggae. But there is this strange syncopation of the beats that has something to do with reggae in a very associative way. If the reggae vocals by Ras Donovan, which are strongly reminiscent of Tikiman, are added, then the album has undoubtedly earned its place in this column. I find this approach to reggae absolutely refreshing, exciting and also really beautiful. Of course, the tracks are often brittle and a little “cerebral” - but it doesn't always have to be “Jump & Shout”. Here, at the boundaries of the genre, more interesting things often happen than in its center. Unfortunately, Stefan Schneider takes his minimalism principle too literally: just under 30 minutes for the price of a "normal" album is simply too short (and by no means manifests an alleged "artistic claim").