Creation Rebel: Hostile Environment

On .U sound legend Creation Rebel is back. Over 40 years after the release of their last album “Lows & Hights” (1982), their new album “Hostile environment” (On .U Sound).

With the album “, released in March 1978Dub From Creation” Creation Rebel were the first to enter Dub-Band Britain's new territory and built a bridge between reggae and punk. They shared stages with The Clash and The Slits and released six cult classics before disappearing from the scene for over 40 years.

Creation Rebel was originally planned as a studio project. For her work on Dub-Classic “Crytuff Dub “Encounter Chapter 1” they also appeared as The Arabs. The Dub-Understanding of Creation Rebel was completely different from the start. The black British collective from north-west London developed their Dub-Tracks organically in jam sessions in the studio. Adrian Sherwood says: “I did the first session just for fun. I have the debut album "Dub From Creation" for £200 when I was about 18 years old." Dennis Bovell was the engineer on the recording and the album was released on the Hit-Run label. Creation Rebel soon became the backing band for Prince Far I, the Jamaican toaster whose voice earned him the nickname “Voice Of Thunder.” Prince Far I's first UK tour, which also included fellow singer Prince Hammer and Bim Sherman, brought Creation Rebel national attention and helped Prince Far I secure a deal with Virgin Records.

Musically, Creation Rebel were way ahead of their time. Released in 1980, “Starship Africa” was a densely structured sound collage that mimicked the feeling of an intergalactic journey and evoked oppressive feelings among some contemporaries in the traditional reggae scene. According to Adrian Sherwood, David Rodigan couldn't do anything with the new sound: "To this day he cringe when he hears the words Creation Rebel." The albums Creation Rebel / New Age Steppers: Threat To Creation and Creation Rebel: Psychotic Jonkanoo followed. The album “Psychotic Jonkanoo” was released less than a year before the band’s last album “Lows And Highs”. The material consists of a series of Conscious-style songs, primarily sung by "Crucial" Tony. Especially on the opener “The Dope” I can still hear “Deadly” Headley’s stylish saxophone, which mixes subtly with the vocal lines. The entire album is elevated to a higher creative level through the arrangements and production. Everything sounds clean, crisp and inventive, especially in the instrumental versions and on “African Space”, where a wah-wah guitar is used almost subtly. The following album, "Lows & Highs" (1982), was more radio-friendly, but "Lizard" Logan was imprisoned for marijuana importation, and the murder of Prince Far I in September 1983 was another setback for the band. Their appearances as a backing band for Prince Far I were suddenly a sad story. The band members went their separate ways, Crucial Tony founded the band Ruff Cut, the others joined the Singers & Players and African Head Charge on Sherwood's On .U Sound label.

Today, after over 40 years, the trio, consisting of core members Crucial Tony, Charlie “Eskimo” Fox and Mr. Magoo, returns with a new album, “Hostile Environment”. The high quality of the album, which is as captivating as it is profound, doesn't come as a big surprise to me. The list of guest musicians is considerable and archive recordings of the late DJ Prince Far I even appeared on the old studio tapes, which can be heard on two tracks. Right at the beginning of “Swiftly (The Right One),” Prince Far I’s voice is reduced in speed until he sounds like a drunk Yeti. This is just a small part of a pretty twisted one Dub-Schemes, which also include some unusual synthesizer interludes from the well-known reggae-savvy musician and producer Gaudi. The instrumental piece “Stonebridge Warrior” impresses with a beautiful, spiritedly played melodica. While in “That's More Like It” the tempo slows down and the “spaceness” increases. With swirling echoes, acid guitar licks, explosive, stuttering, technical gadgets, Creation Rebel provide the perfect soundtrack. The following track “Jubilee Clock”, the second instrumental piece in a row, is an absolute lesson in bass-heavy slow motion.Dub. On “This Thinking Feeling,” Prince Far I is joined on the microphone by Daddy Freddy. On the soulful “Whatever It Takes,” Denise Sherwood sings a duet with Mr. Magoo (aka Veral Rose). For my taste, the poppiest moment that “Hostile Environment” has to offer. We continue with the wonderful ones Dub-heavy tracks “Salutation Gardens” and “Crown Hill Road”, which demonstrate above-average instrumental skills. This aspect is further reinforced by the track "The People's Sound (Tribute to Daddy Vego)" with its mix of Cyrus Richards piano and organ, Tony's guitar, Magoo's percussion and Gaudi on synthesizer. The final instrumental “Off the Spectrum” once again showcases the “rootz” and musical strengths of Creation Rebel’s “Hostile Environment”. And yes, Adrian Sherwood's presence and skill can be felt and heard everywhere.

The Dub-Work “Hostile Environment” refers politically to Britain's disastrous, punitive immigration policies introduced by Theresa May and continued by her successors. What the “Windrush generation” did to build Britain after the war was completely ignored. “This was against the backdrop of the Windrush scandal and after one of these Nazi home ministers said they wanted to create a hostile environment to stop people seeking refuge,” Sherwood said. “It’s the perfect title for the album as all of our crew’s ancestors come from the Windrush generation.”