Category: Five Star

Released in the last few meters of 2023, the album “In Dub, Vol. 1” (Bat Records) from Pinnacle Sound is one of the highlights of the year for me. Okay, I've criticized the retro sound often enough and in fact you can ask yourself how much sense there is in recreating the sound of historical reggae styles. But on the other hand, the historical material is already limited in terms of quantity - not to mention the sound quality. So when new music is created in a historical style, it can easily be dismissed as eclectic or historicist, but at the same time it can be wonderful music. Maybe it would help to delete the “historical” and simply take the style for what it is, without any implicit judgment: a characteristic sound form. So what if we understood “Early Reggae” simply as a musical style with no historical dimension? As well as z. B. Steppers or One Drop? Although the comparison is flawed, it would be a welcome solution to my dilemma that I like Pinnacle Sound's new work so much - even though it is historical early reggae in its purest form. I love the album: the sound is so irresistibly fresh, so energetic and so catchy that it is a pure joy - and any academic discussion about the justification of eclecticism is forbidden. Apart from that, “In Dub, Vol. 1” a quality of Dub, as it did not exist 50 years ago.

My new favorite album has been released on Bat-Records, the small studio and label based in Clermont-Ferrand that, in addition to Pinnacle Sound, also owns Dub Shepherds belong. Both creators of beautiful retro reggae. In the present case Dub album have Pinnacle Sound and the Dub Shepherds worked together congenially, after all it is about them Dub-Version of the Pinnacle album “Soul Medicine” from 2022, which was released at the time by the Dub Shepherds was mixed (and probably also recorded). What could be closer than that? Dub-Mix to put into the hands of the shepherds? And they did a fantastic job. If you wanted to explain what in a music seminar Dub then you would only need the track “Psam 2” from “Dub Medicine” play and then the Dub-Put on the “Psalm 150” version. The seminar could remain wordless, because... Dub gets to the heart of what our favorite music is all about: using the mix to create a completely unique piece of music. The difference between the two psalms – despite the identical material basis – could not be greater.

Even if the psalm is something very special, the album is convincing throughout its entire length. Everyone Dub is a through-composed piece of music with wonderful arrangements, great melodies and good mix ideas that go far beyond the (sparing) use of reverb and echo. A mix that gives the pieces a real dramaturgy - like a meta-arrangement. I'm glad that this album was released in 2023, because in this way I can fervently and with full conviction contradict gtk's thesis that the annual output in 2023 is bad.

Let's start with a comment and lemmi's statement contained therein: "... since it seems to be very difficult to find out anything about it at all!"

Yes, I can sign that without further ado, and because I still don't have a Fratzebook account and don't need one either, I don't know what can be read on Jah Myhrakle's account either. Good marketing looks different. What I was able to find out about Jah Myhrakle through other channels is that his real name is Eric Garbutt and he is from Belize. Already in 2020 he released his third album "All 4 U". In the meantime, a few more have been added. It's insane how many tracks by Jah Myhrakle can be found on Amazon alone. In May 2023 "He Who Keeps The Seals" was released, followed in July by "He Who Keeps The Seals Dub (Gold Den Arkc Recordsz) followed. As on the previous albums, Jah Myhrakles new album "He Who Keeps The Seals (Dub)" with an original roots reggae sound, which also expresses his powerful voice and the spiritual message of Rastafari very convincingly. The vocals were recorded and mixed in Brooklyn, New York at Gold Den Arkc Recordsz. Where the fantastic Dub-Mixes were created and who is responsible for them, unfortunately I can't say with complete certainty. Da Jah Myhrakle has previously worked with influential producer and sound engineer Laurent "Tippy" Alfred of I Grade Dub from St. Croix, I would imagine that he also mixed and mastered this album. the fat ones Dub-Soundscapes and the leisurely, calm flow make me think so. The one-drop riddims and smooth basslines meld with slightly jazz-inspired guitar tones, acoustic textures and interwoven Dubelements to form a magnificent body of work. Somewhere in this music I can also hear a close relationship to Vaughn Benjamin from Akae Beka, who died in November 2019 and with whom Jah Myhrakle also worked. Jah Myhrakle is evidently steadfast in his mission to bring the powerful message of Rastafarianism to the people. For me, the complex sound of "He Who Keeps The Seals Dub“ Meditation, inspiration and intensity in one.

In short: Jah Myhrakle is an electrifying reggae artist who will affect you - in a positive sense - mentally and spiritually.

Even if you might think so superficially: Kubix is ​​by no means the son of Talentix, the "sickle maker" from Lutetia (Paris), who may be known to some from Asterix Volume V "The Golden Sickle". In fact, Kubix is ​​an extremely talented guitarist, producer and composer who founded his own label, Attik Productions, back in 2005. In 2015 and 2017 he won a Grammy Award as a guitarist.
Xavier 'Kubix' Bègue was born in 1980 in a suburb of Paris. Inspired by his father's guitar playing, he decided to learn this instrument as a teenager. After that he played relatively quickly in rock or reggae bands. His virtuosity on the Gibson soon led him to backing artists such as Barrington Levy, Lee Scratch Perry, IJahman Levi, Horace Andy, Ken Boothe, Mo'Kalamity and many others at the biggest festivals. A sought-after session musician, Kubix also played with some French reggae bands such as Meta & The Cornerstones and the Colocks, whose "Sur Les Sentiers Du Dub“ from 2013, unfortunately also in the Dubblog has not been mentioned at all. Another convincing proof that the French can do much more than just boring, monotonous steppers.

His first solo album "Kubix: Guitar Chant(Attic Productions) was released in 2020. In November 2022, five additional vocal tracks were added to the original eleven tracks and re-released as a deluxe edition. The main element of the album is of course the guitar, but Kubix really understood how to gather renowned musicians around them, who were all given enough freedom to prove their virtuosity and joy of playing. We hear Japanese pianist Aya Kato (Kymani Marley, Sean Paul, Mykal Rose, Meta & The Cornerstones ...), keyboardist Marcus Urani (Groundation) or even more surprisingly: The legendary bassist and singer of the Gladiators, Clinton Fearon, plays an example bass on Gladiators trademark track "Mix Up". On "Still Standing" with classic Nyahbinghi drums and "The Walk" we hear the legendary Vin Gordon on trombone (Bob Marley, Skatalites, Burning Spear...). Other notable guests on the album include: Eric "Rico" Gaultier (Faya Dub & Faya Horns) and Matthieu Bost (Bost & Bim) on sax, Manjul on percussions and Manudigital on bass.
The album was recorded between Paris (Wise Studio) and New York (Rift Studio) and brings together no less than 21 musicians. The recordings were directed by Fabrice Boyer alias Fabwize (Bost & Bim) and/or Sébastian Houot (Tu Shung Peng), who is also responsible for the mixing. To top it off, Jim Fox took care of the mastering at Lion & Fox Recording Studios. An incredibly beautiful album that also draws inspiration from Kubix's musical skills and experiences throughout his long career. Sometimes the guitar sounds like George Benson, sometimes like Wes Montgomery, sometimes like Ernest Ranglin.
In short: Anyone who likes jazz-heavy instrumental albums à la Monty Alexander and Ernest Ranglin will also click their tongues with relish at “Guitar Chant”. Once again a dated Dubblog masterpiece discovered much too late.

Unbelievable: Jah Shaka aka "The Zulu Warrior", one of reggae's most enigmatic artists, producers and pioneers and Dub, the spearhead of London sound system culture is dead. He (presumably) died on 12.04.2023/XNUMX/XNUMX. His precise age and cause of death were not disclosed.
Jah Shaka, whose real name is not yet known, was already an icon in his lifetime. He was born in Chapleton, Clarendon Parish in Jamaica. As a child he came to London with his parents in 1956 as part of the Windrush generation. For him and his contemporaries, music has always been an important tool to compensate for the hostile, racist environment in which they found themselves. In 1962 he founded a reggae band with a few school friends. In the late 1960s he joined local sound system Freddie Cloudburst which led him into the music industry.

Inspired by the Rastafarian and US civil rights movements, Jah Shaka soon founded his own sound system. A key moment was when he faced Lloyd Coxsone in a clash in 1976, one of the hottest sound systems in England at the time. It ended with Coxsone realizing he lost and abandoning the dance. The Jah Shaka sound system was the most respected sound system outside of Jamaica just a few years after its inception. Later, well-known personalities of the London reggae scene, such as Earl Sixteen or Yabby You, regularly appeared at Jah Shaka's dances.

At the end of the 1970s, Shaka started his own label, on which he released his own productions from the early 1980s, such as the "Commandments of Dub" Series. Over time, several collaborations with well-known British artists such as Aswad and Mad Professor emerged, but some of them appeared on other labels. There were also recordings with Horace Andy, Max Romeo and the Twinkle Brothers. He traveled to Jamaica several times and produced there in King Tubby's legendary studio in Waterhouse or in Gussie Clarke's Music Works Studio with veterans such as Willie Williams and Max Romeo, but also with young musicians such as Icho Candy.

In the 1980s, Jah Shaka was actually off the mainstream as the trend was towards digital sounds and slackness. While his sound system featured a single turntable next to the mixer, Shaka, as a Rastafarian, stuck undeterred to his "Roots and Culture" program. In addition to socially critical concerns, he has always taken up spiritual themes of the Rasta culture, accompanied by thundering bass and monotonous, hypnotic sounds, with which he put his audience in a trance-like state. His dances developed a mystical atmosphere right from the start, which often seemed more like religious or political events to the audience than usual party events. Jah Shaka's understanding of music has always been spiritual.

Many British Dub-Artists were inspired by Jah Shaka, such as the Disciples, but also the Slits. Overall, Jah Shaka developed a major musical influence on the whole of Britain Dub and especially on the development of Jungle and Drum & Bass.

In a house fire in 2000, Shaka was seriously injured and was out of action for a long time. After that, strong as ever, he resumed his live performances, touring regularly in the UK and occasionally elsewhere in Europe, the US or Japan.

Jah Shaka supported various social projects in Jamaica and Ghana, such as schools, hospitals and youth soccer teams, and was active until his death. Just a few days ago he announced his tour dates for this year. He wanted to perform in a few London clubs and music festivals in the UK. In addition, he wanted to tour Japan for his many Japanese fans.

Actually, I just wanted to "Comments of Dub Chapter Two(Jah Shaka Music). Then the relevant streaming services put a big spanner in the works. However, I am very sure that "Jah Shaka meets Aswad at Addis Ababa Studio“ (Jah Shaka Music) is a first-rate album that hits your nerve. This set was released in 1985, the same year that a Prince Jammy's computerized "Sleng Teng" riddim swept across Jamaica and reggae was never the same again. In England, "Jah Shaka meets Aswad" was a smash hit and made it onto the UK Reggae Charts.
This 7-track album, just under 30 minutes long, was recorded and composed by Aswad. It was produced, arranged and mixed by Jah Shaka. Brilliant 30 minutes of magic presenting Aswad in peak form before their pop reggae era. From "Addis Ababa" to "Shaka Special" or "Rockers Delight", it's the compositions based on monotonous, powerful bass lines, drums and keyboards that make up the strength of this album and especially Jah Shaka's very own sound. Every track takes you along. The drum Dub' is a version of the Studio One classic 'Drum Song', originally written by Jackie Mittoo, and the 'Aswad Special' is Augustus Pablo's 'Cassava Piece', which is better known as 'King Tubby meets Rockers Uptown'.

Jah Shaka, you mixing desk magician, sociocultural grassroots worker and creative echo chambersman, rest in peace.

at these Dubno one comes by: Studio One Space Age Dub Special (soul jazz). You can hear them all here, the beautiful, never-aging Studio One rhythms - in their purest form, without vocals. And above all in brilliant quality! I'm just thinking of my old vinyl releases: unbelievably bad JA pressings in white covers - not exactly an expression of appreciation on the part of the producer. But soul jazz people are different. They are real sound nerds who carefully preserve and maintain the Coxsone legacy. You have the Dubs remastered from the original tapes, packed into one phat album and decked out with a gorgeous cover art that features Clement Dodd in space orbit. Incidentally, an image inspired by Lone Ranger's 1982 Studio One album Badda Dan Dem, which featured Sir Coxsone at the controls of a spaceship in space on the cover.

Most of these tracks are from the long out of print series of Studio OneDub-Albums released between 1974 and 1980 including Zodiac Sounds, Ital Sounds and System, Roots Dub","Dub Store Special”, “Juks Incorporation” and others. Many of these classic albums were originally only released in Jamaica in limited editions with special screen printed sleeves, all with absolutely minimal designs, which today cost up to £100 on vintage vinyl.

The credit for the Dubs apply to a fictitious "Dub Specialist”, behind which Studio One sound engineer Sylvan Morris should actually be hiding. He, his producer and the brilliant musicians have created many of the best recordings in the reggae genre. They are here as timelessly beautiful Dubs to enjoy.

Simply put, Basque Roberto Sanchez is currently one of the best producers that reggae, or Dub has to offer. If you doubt that's the case, just listen to his output. The current showcase albums by the man from the north coast of Spain show that the musician, singer and producer has been working at the highest technical level for over 25 years. But not only the newest works from the A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio are fantastic, also the one from Dubblog criminally ignored "Benjamin: Sons & Daughters Showcase(A-Lone Productions) definitely fits into that category. The debut album by the enigmatic reggae artist Benjammin aka Benedict Stobart, which was released five years ago, particularly fascinates me. Born in England, Bejammin has lived in sunny Spain for over twenty years and has been around Roberto Sanchez for many years. On the 2018 released "Sons & Daughters Showcase" vinyl album, there are six vocal tracks on side A and six Dubs on side B. The vocals are reminiscent of the legendary Burning Spear and/or partly of Daweh Congo. When I heard the first track on the album, "Be Yourself," which begins with a beautiful trombone, I thought I had hearing loss. Winston Rodney aka Burning Spear kept coming to mind. Bejammin has mastered Burning Spears intonation. Nevertheless, the album doesn't sound like a cheap plagiarism. The musical support of the Lone Ark Riddim Force complements Benjammin perfectly. What gets me the most about “Sons & Daughters” are the superbly crafted riddims and the inspired sounding ones Dubs that make the album a real highlight.
The Dubs are wonderfully interspersed with Benjamin vocal snippets. But the most astonishing track on the album, my primus inter pares, is delivered by Roberto Sanchez with the Perryesque “Everywhere Festival Dub“. The track actually sounds as if its declared role model, Lee Scratch Perry, was looking over its shoulder. An incredibly inspired one Dub. In my opinion the most impressive track on "Sons & Daughters Showcase" ever. Overall, this album is a real treat and not just for Dub-ears.
Conclusion: These are modern roots at its finest. Simply brilliant!

A new name with well-known protagonists from the sound systemDub-Around the west London neighborhoods of Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill. This is where the cover photo was taken in the late 70s, this is where Nick Manasseh has his studio The Yard, where he founded the Soul Revivers with David Hill. Both are more into the left wing of Jamaican music and love the roots of the 70s. One was a Steppaz influencer from the very beginning and played with Sound Iration, the other became a consultant for labels like Soul Jazz or Auralux after his time with the Ballistic Brothers. Manasseh and Hill im Yard produced the album with musicians from the local jazz and reggae scene "On The Grove", a collection of vocal and instrumental tunes. Among others, the guitarist and founder of the band Galliano and the Ruff Cut drummer Adrian McKenzie, whose filigree, virtuosic playing builds the stylistic bridge to the present in the Retro & Roots set, are involved. Half of the songs are instrumentals with a touch of jazz, two of which serve as templates for improvisations by guitarist Ernest Ranglin. An opulent wind section is cast with veterans like Henry Tenyue, who was already on Aswad's "Live & Direct", and young stars of the scene. Among them the trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, whose afro-jazz band Kokoroko is currently sweeping London. She plays the solo on the instrumental version of Earl 16's Where The River. The vocal tunes all come from prominent artists. Earl 16 has a second tune based on his 1976 song "Changing World" recorded for Augustus Pablo. The song is resurrected here as "Got To Live" and is now blessed with a brass theme for eternity. Jamaican singer Devon Russel, who died in 1997 and was recorded by Manasseh shortly before his death, sings Curtis Mayfield's "Underground". The Heptones' old Studio One backing track "Tripe Girl" is refreshed for a new song by soul singer Alexia Coley. And Ken Boothe contributes a tune about which David Rodigan says, "Believe me, in time 'Tell Me Why' will be considered one of his greatest tracks." It was clear this album needed one Dub-pendant. And it was equally clear that the Dubs had to be created analogously on the mixing console. “In times when music is created entirely on the computer,” says Nick Manasseh, “mixing remains Dub an area where old-school mixers, filter, reverb, and echo gear are irreplaceable for the organic feel of Dub.” Where the recordings of “On The Grove” were made, Manasseh also has "Grove Dub" mixed. From the music behind the chants, he created filigree, never coarse mixes, over which a network of picturesque echoes stretches. Already the prelude “Meanwhile Dub“ celebrates them DubArt as a dynamic interplay between offbeat, trombone fills and drum'n'bass parts. The subtle charm of the unobtrusive opener continues in the other titles, where the original singers and instrumentalists only deliver splashes of color. Something else would have been created on the computer, Manasseh is sure of that, his mixes stand for the moment in which they happen: "Dub is spontaneous. You decide on the fly and it takes as long as the tune runs. Three minutes thirty and you have one Dub.” The release of both albums on the renowned Acid Jazz label shows the high status of both records, which are just as shaped by the NuJazz hype of London as by the golden years of the Dread & Roots era.

Adrian Sherwood.

…and done! Sometimes it really only takes two words and a meaningful review has practically written itself - at least for the well-informed dubblog.de community. About Mr. Sherwood, his On-U Sound label and the oeuvre he produces - from Creation Rebel, New Age Steppers to African Headcharge, Singers & Players to the Dub syndicates; to Lee Perry, Bim Sherman and many others – there is probably no longer any need to waste big words. It's On-U Sound, man!

Doyen Sherwood himself has never lost relevance in his more than 30-year history as a producer - well, sometimes he has ventured into somewhat more obscure areas (such as his Collaboration with Pinch), but alone his productions with the Dub Syndicate and/or Lee Perry showed how much he works on the cutting edge and beyond. Who doesn't remember Perry's epochal "Rainford"-Release and its no less valuable counterpart "Heavy Rain"?

Now we have another fine double pack in front of us: The Horace Andy album "Midnight rockers' and its just-released counterpart 'Midnight Scorchers". The former surprises with a fairly classic sound by Sherwood standards, with Horace Andy at his best; the latter with, well, reinterpretations. A real Sherwood treatment goes far beyond that Dub-Borders, turns the innermost outside, lets shine in the vocal mix that has been buried, adds instruments and vocals (Daddy Freddy, Lone Ranger), fades out tracks in return and fattens up the whole sound compared to the original. All reasons why the term "Dub Album" doesn't go far enough and I think the more comprehensive "Counterpart" is more appropriate.

Finally, just the hard facts: "Midnight Scorchers" contains seven alternative versions of "Midnight Rocker" tracks plus three new tracks, all bearing the multi-ton On-U Sound seal of approval. Adrian Sherwood just... and done!