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Five Star

Stand High Patrol: Skanking & Jacking

Stand High Patrol from Rennes have been among the most reliable forces in France for over twenty years. Dub-scene. The self-proclaimed “Dubadub Musketeerz – Rootystep, Mac Gyver, MC Pupajim and trumpeter Merry – have developed a unique aesthetic with their own label Stand High Records and a consistent refusal to be pigeonholed, marking them as one of the most interesting crews in Europe. Skanking & Jacking They are now presenting what is perhaps their most ambitious album to date.
The concept is as simple as it is far-reaching: Dub and house music. Two aesthetics that seem worlds apart—yet share the same history. Stand High Patrol make this connection audible, and they convincingly explain it: From the Jamaican dancehall sessions of the late sixties to Chicago's Warehouse and the early New York house music of the eighties, a common thread runs through their sound: resistance, community, sound systems, and the direct connection between studio and dance floor. Both genres were born on the margins of society, both revolved around dance and minorities, both thrived on collective action and the courage to be independent. This isn't an academic thesis. On this album, it sounds as if it could never have been any other way.
“Skanking & Jacking” goes beyond the minimal scheme of Dub far beyond. Instead of standard rhythms spruced up with studio effects, we're dealing here with veritable Dub-Songs to do – intricately composed, highly inspired, and complexly structured. Twelve expansive tracks, built on immersive loops and interwoven with micro-variations that give the whole an organic texture. The music arises – as Stand High Patrol themselves put it – "from the interaction between man and machine." Are the French artists hinting here that they developed their tracks with AI as a sparring partner? More likely, they mean drum machines and house synths, certainly "machines" that contribute to the album's house sound. But the reggae offbeat is also tight. It's embedded in structures that incorporate house loops, dense melodic layers, and dub-combining typical spatial depth. This doesn't sound like an experiment testing whether two genres fit together. But it does sound like music that knows exactly where it comes from.
The international lineup is the most extensive Stand High Patrol has ever assembled on an album. Joe Yorke from England contributes one of the album's strongest vocal tracks on "Too Much Noise." The sadly much too early departed Nazamba from Switzerland appears twice—on "Dem Try" and "This is Music"—with each appearance accentuating the project's contours differently. Marina P lends "In & Out" a light-footed elegance. And then there's "LSD Explosion" with Jamaican deejay veteran Jah Thomas—a man whose voice we recognize from the shout-outs on the Revolutionaries' album "Black Ash." Dub“know them well, and he presents an almost literal copy of them here. “Waterhouse Club” and “Shaka” – two tracks without guests – reference Kingston and the British sound system pioneer Jah Shaka in their titles. These are also not random choices.”
That in the end Mad Professor would release this track "LSD Explosion" again as DubThis reinterpreted mix is ​​more than just a remix: it's a historical arc spanning King Tubby's legacy to the present day. Added to this are reinterpretations by Jeanville and Androo, which open the album in its final movement rather than closing it. "Never fixed, always in motion"—as Stand High Patrol themselves write about the album. And it's true.
This lineup inevitably raises the question: Is this even still relevant? DubWhat if there's a voice on almost every track? The answer is a resounding yes – because the voices here hardly fulfill the function they have in classic songs (think Joe Yorke and Marina P). They're used sparingly, appearing and disappearing, integrating themselves sonically into the music instead of dominating it. Nazamba and Jah Thomas, in particular, function less as singers in the conventional sense and more like instruments in the mix – layers of sound that come and go like echo effects, like a horn section running into delay. The vocals here underscore the Dub-Principle more than undermining it.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Five Star Review

Captain Yossarian: Fela Kuti in Dub

Dub is the only music genre that is both style and method – and therein lies a possibility that always fascinates me: Dub It can be applied to any style of music without the result sounding like reggae for even a second. If Afrobeat the DubUnder this treatment, Afrobeat remains Afrobeat – but it becomes more spatial, deeper, analytically deconstructed and reassembled at the mixing console. This isn't a stylistic costume thrown onto a song. It's a production principle that intervenes in the music, rebuilding it from within. And that's precisely what Captain Yossarian achieves. Fela Kuti in Dub (Agogo Records) with four classics by the Nigerian grandmaster.
Who exactly is Captain Yossarian? Behind the name – borrowed from Joseph Heller's absurd war novel "Catch-22" – is Manuel da Coll, drummer, producer, and Dub-An enthusiast from Munich. His studio, Katzlbaum, is located in the working-class district of Untergiesing and, as befits its location, is a vibrant crossroads: Krautrock pioneers like Embryo work here, Poets of Rhythm mastermind Jan Weissenfeldt has his headquarters here, Franz Ferdinand's guitarist Nick McCarthy meets here with local brass bands, touring bands play impromptu concerts and sleep on the sofa. Not a sterile production space, but a small microcosm of music history. Live, Coll plays drums for LaBrassBanda, FEH, and Pollyester; he also runs the Dubtrain.one, a self-built, battery-powered mobile sound system. Dub For him, it's not a niche, but a way of life.
Im DubCaptain Yossarian became known to those in certain circles through "Bob Marley in..." Dub“(2021, Echo Beach), which Don Letts presented on BBC 6 Music at the time. “Fela Kuti in Dub“ is the logical next step – with even greater conceptual boldness.
Because what Coll is tackling here is anything but obvious. Fela Kuti's music is the exact opposite of that minimalist structure based on just a few elements, from which classical music derives its foundation. Dub its power derives from this. Kuti's Afrobeat – which he developed in the early seventies together with drummer Tony Allen – is polyphonic, multi-layered, carried by a large band, and rhythmically meticulously interwoven. It is precisely this complexity that makes the experiment so appealing: Can music that is simultaneously organized into dense layers by twenty musicians be analytically dissected, reassembled, and analyzed in the Dub-Space catapulting – without tearing the tissue?
The answer, which “Fela Kuti in Dub“There is a resounding yes. But you have to listen closely to how Coll does it. It would be insufficient to simply add reverb and echo to Kuti's tracks. What Captain Yossarian does is true deconstruction: He tears open the complexity, makes layers disappear and reappear, works with the gaps that arise when a brass section suddenly drops out of the mix.”dubThe concept is based on the Jamaican disco mix – the format that begins a song as an instrumental and then develops it into a full-length version. Dub-Version transferred.
This works so well also because Afrobeat and Dub They are not such dissimilar siblings as they initially appear. The repetitive, pattern-based structure of Kuti's music is a precursor to modern production techniques like techno and house – precisely that hypnotic, cyclical quality shared by both styles is what defines "Fela Kuti in Dub“its internal coherence.”
This becomes particularly clear in the specific sonic choices Captain Yossarian made for the four Kuti classics. On "Water No Get Enemy," thunderous spring reverb units and percussion imitate torrential rain—the song title becomes a sonic sculpture. "Zombie" features marching soldiers and shotgun-like bursts of sound: Kuti's political message remains audible even where no words are sung. "Expensive Shit" includes a cash register, a clever dramatic device that carries on the satirical content of the original without lyrics. And "Everything Scatter" sends out sounds played live on a Korg MS10. Dub-Sirens through the mix. This attention to detail makes it clear: Here, someone isn't just using effects, but is thinking about music.
The fact that only analog instruments, sounds, and effects were used is immediately apparent on the album, without needing to be explained. Mix and live-DubCaptain Yossarian and engineer Seb-I (Sebastian Kellig) took over at Sausage Studios in London: everything in real time, faders and effects at their fingertips. That is Dub in its purest form.
The lineup that da Coll assembled for the recordings is consistent. Prince Tempopolice – a committed Afrobeat fan who has toured the world with highlife legends like Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas, and most recently with Ghana's Santrofi – plays on "Zombie in Dub“Drums. Jan Weissenfeldt, known from Poets of Rhythm and the Whitefield Brothers, can be heard on “Water No Get Enemy.” And Jimi Tenor, who recorded the album “Inspiration, Information” together with Tony Allen – Fela Kuti’s drummer – delivers on “Expensive Shit in Dub“His saxophone. This is not a randomly assembled lineup, but a biographical consequence.”
One final, almost unparalleled touch in the production story: For the premaster, Captain Yossarian asked Sodi Marciszewer of Zarma Studio in Paris—who has produced, among others, Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, and Damian Marley—to record the mix on the very original Decca mixing console that Fela Kuti had worked on in Lagos. A mixing console as a historical witness, as a physical point of contact between the legacy and its reinvention. This is either very romantic fetishism or very profound respect. I tend to think it's both.
“Fela Kuti in Dub“ is what such encounters can be at their best: not a homage, not a remix, not an adaptation in the trivial sense – but an independent work that distills a third language from two strong musical traditions.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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Five Star Review

The Alien Dub Orchestra: Play the Breadminster Songbook

It doesn't happen often that you get a DubListening to the album, one immediately realizes: A door is opening here that one didn't even know existed until just now.The Alien Dub Orchestra Plays the Breadminster Songbook“(Alien Transistor) is exactly that kind of moment. For me, it’s the strangest, most unusual, and probably most innovative.” Dub-publication of recent years – and an impressive testament to how far Dub This is possible if one frees oneself from traditions, production dogmas, and expectations.
The project itself is already extraordinary. The alien Dub Orchestra is a mixed group of Bavarian musicians – including some from the circles of The Notwist and G.Rag y los hermanos Patchekos. Their approach: the songs of British Dub-to record Elijah Minnelli's eccentric songs from his so-called Breadminster Songbook with a full band. Minnelli, who otherwise – by his own account – assembles his "frayed, melancholic hymns to his homeland" on his computer in a damp basement, was himself taken aback by the idea. "Real professionals playing something you've pieced together yourself – it's overwhelming," he says. And indeed: His quirky music suddenly sounds as he perhaps always intended it to.
The album works its way through Minnelli's cumbia-infused DubReggae – but instead of digital loops and a rough-mix atmosphere, there's a fully instrumented, almost anarchically colorful band lineup: guiro, accordion, melodica, sousaphone, trumpet, and all sorts of percussion. It sounds as if a Munich backyard collective rediscovered old Studio One recordings, European folk tradition, and South American rhythms simultaneously and simply mashed them together. Weird? Yes. But above all, mind-blowing.
Tracks like "Vine and Fig Tree" demonstrate what happens when you suddenly shape Minnelli's enigmatically beautiful melodies from wood and metal instead of bits and bytes: The harmonies become tangible, the bass (this time as a wailing sousaphone line!) gains that physical warmth that only real air columns and real hands can produce. With other tracks—such as "Slats"—you almost wonder if Minnelli's original wasn't subconsciously intended for this band. It sounds so natural, so unique, so complete.
And then comes the second part of the album – the real mindfuck: the Dub-Versions! A circular metamorphosis that finally places the project in the experimental realm beyond... Dub-conventions catapulted. For these DubMinnelli brought in sound artist Raimund Wong, who works with an anarchic setup of tape machines and effects chains. Everything was mixed in one take: Minnelli on the faders, Wong with filters and effects that Dub break down, distort, liquefy.
"Pundit Dub“ is perhaps the best example – a hypnotic, droning trip that dissolves into psychedelic wisps and sounds as if the entire album is gliding through a portal into another dimension. It's not a classic Dub and nobody wants to be one. It is Dub as an idea, as a collapse, as a radical opening of form.
Ultimately, "Play the Breadminster Songbook" is nothing less than a love letter to Dub as a living principle. Folk, Cumbia, DubAvant-garde – everything collides, overlaps, and merges without ever becoming arbitrary. The music feels like a constant transformation, an open dialogue between Minnelli's digital intimacy and the analog exuberance of a band that clearly revels in disregarding the rules.
I would conclude: This album shows how far Dub Since King Tubby arrived – and that it's still possible to stretch and bend him, yet still let his core shine through. "Play the Breadminster Songbook" is quirky, bold, playful, and visionary. For me, the most innovative DubA project of recent years. A masterpiece of the unconventional.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Five Star Review

Soul Sugar Meets Dub Shepherds: Blue House Rockin'

What a wonderfully grounded album!Blue House Rockin'“from Soul Sugar meets Dub Shepherds (GEE Recordings) is far more than just another beautiful autumn release for me – it's one of those albums that you know is going to be good even before you hear the first note! It's brimming with passion, warmth, dedication, skill, and above all: genuine craftsmanship. While so much music today sounds sanitized and algorithmically bland, this album stands in stark contrast – one that not only listens well but also feels absolutely right.
The combination of Soul Sugar (Guillaume Metenier) and the Dub Shepherds (Jolly Joseph, Dr. Charty, Jahno) seems like a happy accident of music history. All four share this deep affection for the analog soundscape and Jamaican studio spirit. The production method alone is an homage to the golden age: recorded live over two days at Blue House Studio, using tube and ribbon microphones from the 50s and 60s, directly onto 24-track tape, and later mixed analog at Bat Records. No artificial bombast, no digital bubble wrap – just music, pure and direct. Every note has meaning, every pause significance, every echo a function.
The album doesn't fit into any one stylistic category, but rather blends seamlessly between roots reggae, soul, funk and Dub Wandering is what makes it so appealing. Right from the start: Curtis Mayfield's "Give Me Your Love." A quiet statement. Soulful, warm, with Jolly Joseph's falsetto perfectly overlaying the groove. Equally touching: Aaron Frazer's "My God Has a Telephone"—here in a reggae guise that preserves the soul of the original while adding a completely new dimension. "Hold My Hand"—created during the session—fits so naturally into the overall picture, as if the song had always existed. A touch of lovers rock, but without kitsch, instead full of feeling and warmth. And then: "Family Affair." Shniece McMenamin transforms the track into a vibrant reggae hybrid full of attitude and soul. A highlight.
Guillaume Metenier on the Hammond organ – that's practically a guarantee of magic anyway. And so it is here: The instrumentals "Disco Jack," "Choice of Music," and "Drum Song" pay deep homage to Jackie Mittoo, and not just formally. They groove, they float, they live – and show how much soul instrumentals can hold when played with talent and passion. And as a final farewell from the studio: "Blue House Rock." A spontaneous jam, raw, funky, imbued with the spirit of Studio One. A small miracle to end the evening.
Why does it all work so well? Because it's honest. Because this album isn't trying to be anything – it's simply a confident statement. Not a retro show, but a genuine homage to musical roots. Analog production, but no dusty nostalgia. Blue House Rockin' really touches me because it's simply beautiful music in the classic sense. This is how my reggae albums sounded when I first started to love this music. I think these memories fill me with a lot of nostalgic sentimentality, which makes it impossible for me to judge objectively. One thing is clear, though: For me, "Blue House Rockin'" is one of the best releases of 2025.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Five Star Review

JEFF the Brotherhood meets Blanc du Blanc: Magick Songs In Dub

Those who exclusively Dub If you like this in combination with reggae riddims, you shouldn't read any further at this point, because "JEFF the Brotherhood meets Blanc du Blanc: Magick Songs In Dub“(Soul Selects Records) is completely different. It may even be in Dubblog nothing lost, because…

Nevertheless, it is an extremely captivating development in Dub-genre. I can't help it, the album "Magick Songs In Dub“It really hit me like a bolt from the blue two days ago. To put it simply: I've been longing for albums like this, and I can tell you why. "JEFF The Brotherhood Meets Blanc Du Blanc: Magick Songs In Dub“ directly addresses my musical background (psychedelic, krautrock, jazz, Dub and more).

Nashville brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall have continuously evolved since their formation in 2001, and after their brilliant, chaotic grunge sound and various rock 'n' roll subgenres, they have now arrived in the realm of jazz-influenced art rock. With their 2018 double album "Magick Songs," Jake and Jamin delved into psychedelic dimensions, blending intoxicating stoner grooves with atmospheric soundscapes. It was a natural step to contact the mystical sound artists Blanc du Blanc to collaborate on the intergalactic mini-album "Magick Songs." Dub“to create. Unfortunately, only four tracks have a Dub-transformation. However, these four pieces are enough for me to crave more. Blanc du Blanc have their enchanting Dub-Art wonderfully woven into the already compelling compositions.

The EP begins with percussive sounds and with "Wasted Land". Dub“The journey into other sonic dimensions begins. This is followed by “Celebration” Dub“And the alchemical gate is opened. Deep bass lines and tribal percussion lend the piece a hypnotically danceable element. With the 7-minute “Many Moods Dub“—a whole side on the original album—we approach the levels of the subconscious. The sound becomes hypnotic, with many ethereal noises, until the dissonant guitar chaos kicks in and sends shivers down my spine. Now the sound transports me directly to the time of the “Cosmic Couriers” and all the sonic experiments of Krautrock. A languidly flowing “Singing Garden” follows as a beautiful conclusion and gentle landing.” Dub"with sounds that are partly reminiscent of Asia and a pleasantly warm saxophone."

As already mentioned: “Magick Songs in Dub"It's currently on repeat, and I can really only recommend that everyone take the time to listen to it. It's incredibly good!"

Rating: 5 out of 5.
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Five Star Review

Dub Spencer & Trance Hill: Synchronos

Dub Spencer & Trance Hill have a musical vision: the perfect hybrid of Dub and trance – recorded analogue and sound-wise at its finest. With "Synchronos“ (Echo Beach) the band has achieved a perfect landing.

The Swiss musicians also use musical elements on their new album – DubTrance, dance, techno, rock, and jazz—all together in a new and unexpected way: experimental, multifaceted, and always full of surprises. It comes out of the speakers as a heavy bass avalanche, danceable, or quite trippy. 

In contrast to the digital ethno, downtempo and trance scene, the four Lucerne natives rely exclusively on analogue instruments: drums, bass, guitar, keyboards – refined with numerous Dubeffects and sound gimmicks. Synchronos continues unabated on the path that Dub Spencer & Trance Hill embarked on the same path with their previous album, "Imago Cells": Leaving traditional song structures increasingly behind, they focus on catchy, hypnotically repetitive grooves, further emphasizing the trance element in their music. For suitable devices, "Synchronos" is also available as a Dolby Atmos mix, allowing the listener to experience the echoes and beats in three dimensions.

Dub Spencer & Trance Hill will present Synchronos on an extensive club tour in 2025/26 – with Umberto Echo, who will be mixing live in surround sound for the first time at selected venues. Go, listen, be amazed – or enjoy the fine album with headphones and immerse yourself completely in the soundscapes of Dub Spencer & Trance Hill. Anyone who doesn't say "wow" probably has broken ears.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Five Star Review

Sheriff Lindo And The Hammer: 10 Dubs That Shook The World [2025 Edition]

Another album from Down Under that once passed me by completely and undiscovered. Fortunately, we now get the 2025 edition of "Sheriff Lindo And The Hammer: 10 Dubs That Shook the World [2025 Edition]” (EM Records). Why actually 10 Dubs? The LP features eight tracks, and the CD includes five bonus tracks. Regardless, it's the legendary first album by Anthony Maher, a member of the Australian experimental music ensemble "Loop Orchestra," who, under the name "Sheriff Lindo and the Hammer," produced just 250 copies with the help of band members from "Severed Heads." Reggae maniac Anthony Maher's experimental spirit in the mixes went far beyond King Tubby's. Dubideas, also penetrating the realms of post-punk and British experimental avant-garde artists such as David Cunningham and David Toop. Since the recordings for “Ten DubSince the tracks "S That Shook The World" date from 1981 to 1988, it can also be assumed that the experimental On-U Sound albums of Adrian Sherwood also strongly influenced this compilation of tape experiments. Or is Anthony Maher even the Australian answer to Adrian Sherwood?


These eight fat Dubs (LP) are definitely characterized by the dexterity and fader-flicking timing of Anthony Maher, aka Sheriff Lindo. He uses his skills for concisely placed effects and sound effects with remarkable confidence. As the creator of "Ten Dubs…” Maher is known for his combination of Jamaican Dub and British Industrial and Post-Punk as an antipodal outlier of the Dub-music. He strays far from its origins, but always maintains a firm understanding of its fantastic, dematerialized dynamics.
What else can I say? For me, there are a few albums a year that are simply different and very exciting. This now includes the milestone with cult status, "10 Dubs That Shook The World", which has risen from the depths of the Australian underground after 37 years to finally stay on the surface. These eight or 13 DubThey are less a time capsule than a signal that continues to have an impact today with undiminished power and dynamism.

Rating: 5 out of 5.
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Five Star Review

The Breadwinners: Return to the Bakery

Thirteen years. An eternity in the fast-moving world of digital sound aesthetics, but a blink of an eye in the cosmos of Dub, where time dissolves into endless echoes and reverbs anyway. The Breadwinners, under the leadership of the notoriously reserved studio wizard Al Breadwinner, are back for the first time since this time with a new Dub-Album back: “Return to the Bakery” – and it's as if time has stood still. From the first bass line on, it's unmistakably clear: "Return to the Bakery" is not a nostalgic experiment, but a devoted homage to the golden age of reggae and DubProduced and mixed in the in-house Bakery Studio, Breadwinner remains true to its ethical code: analogue tape machines, vintage outboard gear, and a recording process that literally imprints the live feeling on the magnetic tracks. Nothing sounds dusty or museum-like – quite the opposite. Dubs roll warm, organically, with a depth of sound and dynamics that is only possible with today's recording and mastering techniques. Every delay, every spring reverb is not just an effect, but an instrument in its own right, with a soul and a life of its own. The guest list reads like a who's who of the reggae underground. Nat Birchall and Stally let their tenor saxophones ring out, while the living legends Vin Gordon (trombone) and KT Lowry (trumpet) contribute fine brass sections that seem to come straight from the golden era of Studio One. Alrick Chambers lends the whole thing an almost ethereal quality with his flute playing. But the true star remains Al Breadwinner himself. Dub-Mixes are not simple "versions," but artistic deconstructions. Like a sculptor, he carves a new, unique reality from each session. The tracks are fragmented, reassembled, shifted in space – a game with the laws of physics and psychoacoustics. At times, one imagines oneself in the Black Ark Studio during its heyday. Not because of crude copying, but because the spirit of Lee Perry is truly evoked: the playfulness, the unexpected, the charming impurities that are so sorely lacking in digital productions today. Of course, the heretical question arises: Do we need historicizing music? Isn't it superfluous to Dub of the 70s down to the smallest detail? The answer is provided by the album itself – with a relaxed, self-confident smile: No, not at all! Because this isn't simply a copy of past sounds. Rather, this music is a homage to craftsmanship, a sensual experience that deliberately eludes quick consumption and perfectly calculated streaming playlists. It demands our attention – and rewards us with intense and deeply satisfying listening experiences. And even if critics might argue that it's "redundant," it remains one thing above all: pure pleasure – and that alone is more than enough to justify its existence.

"Return to the Bakery" is not an album for casual consumption, and certainly not a background soundtrack. It is an acoustic work of art, crafted with dedication and craftsmanship. Those who take the time to immerse themselves in this world of sound will not only be greeted by warm, pulsating bass lines and artfully applied delays, but will also experience a musical depth that leads directly to the spiritual roots of the Dub It is music that does not run behind time, but rather transcends it.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Five Star Review

Zion train: Dubs of Perception

The start of "Dubs of Perception", the new album by Zion Train, is a calculated shock: archaic-sounding tribal chants echo out of nowhere, raw, untuned, like an incantation around a campfire. No sooner have you embarked on this pseudo-ethnographic trip than a monotonous sub-bass surges in, so thick and stoic that it almost swallows the voices. Over the next minute, these two poles clash repeatedly—a ceremonial echo and a low-frequency force that shouldn't really work together. Then a break. Sound layers interlock, and the actual Dub begins, which seeks neither to serve roots tradition nor club formula. It is at this very moment that the game being played becomes clear: create expectation, shatter expectation, maximize contrast, and then place everything in a new context.

"I deliberately chose a different approach this time," explains Neil Perch, producer and driving force behind Zion Train. "In the studio, I planned to combine new technologies with old, almost forgotten methods. I wanted to go back to the roots of live?Dub"Mixings – with a 40-year-old, restored 32-channel analog console. This console has a rich history; it was used, for example, in the legendary Music Works Studios in Jamaica."

Nevertheless, the album doesn't sound museum-like at all, but surprisingly contemporary. "At the same time, I've integrated modern effects, like the Zen Delay and a new version of the Roland TB 303 – the classic acid house bass machine. This combination of old and new defines the album's sound." Thus, the past hums in the low frequencies, while the "here and now" shimmers above, supported by Cara Jane Murphy's (very sporadic) vocal lines, Roger Robinson's spoken word accents, and the energetic Zion Train brass section. Guest musicians like Paolo Baldini and veterans Trinny Fingers and Blacka Wilson fill the sound with a self-awareness that only arises when studio sessions still involve genuine collaboration.

The central principle of the album, however, remains unpredictability: "With analog mixing, everything is impulsive," says Neil. "I roughly set the mix, choose the effects – but from the moment I press play, it's pure improvisation. You can't plan anything out. You simply follow the vibe, and that brings out aspects of my artistic character that would never appear in fully thought-out productions. That's exactly what makes the work exciting. Even after more than 35 years, this process still surprises me." This attitude can be felt in every piece. For example, in "Travelling," which begins with a Burning Spear sample and then becomes a 303 thunderstorm, as if the machine wanted to test the foundations of the subwoofer. Then a lovely flute melody joins in – it couldn't be any weirder. Dubs hardly compose. Neil confirms that this aesthetic ties in seamlessly with "Siren": "There is a clear connection to my early work. Back in the 90s, I worked a lot with acid house machines. I last used them on the album "Siren". Now I've gone back in that direction with my equipment. Mainly because I love that sound - but also because what I've done in the last five to eight years in the Dub?scene was quite boring. Originally, I liked Dubbecause it was exciting compared to reggae. Reggae, in my opinion, had already become boring in the 1990s and still is today. So I turned Dub because it was still exciting in the eighties and nineties: new ideas, new technology, many new groups. But while the Dub?Virus spread?–?which is great on the one hand, because now the whole world Dub listens?–?at some point, music became boring for me too." Neil describes his musical development. "Technologically, I always try to develop, adapt, and innovate when making music. What motivates me most is to create sounds that are not constantly Duband reggae? language – because I find it completely predictable, commercial, and uninspiring. Too much music sounds exactly the same, is full of clichés, cultural appropriation, and misunderstood concepts – I consistently avoid all of that."

With "Dubs?of?Perception“ he now provides material that Dub-Mainstream runs counter to - tracks that are not limited to a simple stepper beat, but only become apparent through repeated listening.

This is precisely the strength of the album: It demands listening without denying danceability. The band's live experience—re-tested in 2024 on stages from Mexico to Croatia—seems to have an impact on the studio. Modulations, delays, and abrupt breaks recall those moments when Neil raises the reverb fader during a concert until the room is filled with echo. Thus, "Dubs?of?Perception" manages the feat of being both a retrospective and a vision of the future. The craftsmanship with which Neil composes his tracks combines with a desire to take risks, to make new connections and to leave mainstream paths. When Dub Today, Zion?Train often sounds like a genre that endlessly repeats its own rituals, but this is precisely where Neil takes the ritual seriously, but he varies it – so radically that by the end of a track, you feel like you've relearned a familiar language. If you want to know where Dub Anyone who wants to move beyond the usual stepper templates will find a fascinating and extremely passionate answer here.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Five Star Review

Ono-Sendai Sound Battles The Root Of All Evil

Even the great Pablo Picasso knew: “Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” Or as we Germans say: “Good stealing is better than bad homemade.” Creative people call this process “inspiration.” Something similar must be “Ono-Sendai Sound Battles The Root Of All Evil“. The multi-instrumentalist, who lives in Tilburg (NL), and about whom next to nothing is known, gives us a sound that could also be called a reminiscence of times long past and deceased heroes of this genre. In particular, King Tubby, Yabby You, Roots Radics, Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs, Scientist, Errol T and so many others to whom we owe this wonderful music.
A creative process such as the creation of such a great album never takes place in a vacuum. Rather, the result of this path is the logical consequence of a chain of impressions that the artist collects and reconciles with his experiences. When you listen to music in a normal way, for example, these impressions are stored in the brain as subconscious perceptions. Creative people like Ono-Sendai Sound seem to collect these things, like a squirrel hoarding nuts, in order to retrieve them when they are needed.
But much more important is of course the conscious inspiration through active observation and listening far beyond one's own nose. This is more or less how Ono-Sendai Sound must have proceeded. For "Battles The Root Of All Evil" he took some reggae classics by Johnny Clarke, Peter Tosh, Eek-A-Mouse, John Holt, Gregory Isaacs and others and created a contemporary, gripping Dub-album. The riddims are still unmatched and the text samples underline this breathtaking mix. Hall-soaked percussion makes its way through a thick veil of echoes and reverb. Of course, bass and drums form the backbone of this production, which is full of attention to detail. I don't want to go into detail about each individual track here, because for me the overall impression of the almost 35-minute album is what counts, and it has already made it onto my shortlist for the best of the year this year.
Finally, I have to mention one more track, “Rich Mans Curse Dub“, because it captivates me with the constant threatening sound of a circling helicopter and at the same time brings back bad memories of reporting on the Vietnam War. I have never heard a more haunting version of “Police in Helicopter”.

Rating: 5 out of 5.