There are Dubs, they are just beautiful. They don't want to be more than that. Not super-tough to fit into Marc Iration's set, not cerebral to dust off intellectual renown, not eclectic to flatter genre connoisseurs, and not authentic to please purists. The tracks on the album "Dub Journeys, Vol. 1: Oicho" from David Harrow belong in the category of calm, self-sufficient, beautiful Dubs. They flow relaxed, harmonious, unobtrusive from the speakers. At some point you notice that you feel very comfortable in the presence of this music and you start to listen more closely to finally ask yourself: David Who? You should actually know him, because David Harrow has been in the music business since the 1980s. Starting in industrial, he worked with Anne Clarke, later with Jah Wobble and then for a long time with Adrian Sherwood. During his time at On.U-Sound he composed and produced tracks for Lee "Scratch" Perry, Bim Sherman, African Head Charge's and Mark Stewart. Then it went on to Andrew Weatherall and finally to New Zealand. The album "Dub Journeys, Vol. 1: Oicho "(Dubmission) is a major retrospective of his productions that still sound fresh and deserve to be heard again.
7 replies to "David Harrow: Dub Journeys, Vol. 1: Oicho "
Greetings,
there are albums that the listener does not understand after listening to them once. Sometimes - as with some ON-U sound productions - it takes a while before it works. That's what happened to me at David Harrows "Dub Journeys Vol. 1 OICHO “. If you keep in mind that Harrow worked with Adrian Sherwood for a long time and also co-produced African Headcharge and Mark Stewart, then access will be easier. Or for others, the train left immediately because no!?! Dub - it's all a matter of interpretation. But don't worry, a lot is nowhere near as tricky as African Headcharge or David Stewart.
These 10 deep, synth-heavy tracks are very relaxed sound collages and come from David Harrow's extensive back catalog. Some have been remixed and / or partially revised. What strikes me as extremely positive are the usual African headcharge repeater drumings in the classic Nyahbinghi tradition. For me it is actually the percussions that are almost in the foreground in many pieces and that also make up the tonal appeal. “Darkerwood” is a clear reminiscence of the great Augustus Pablo.
Since the title "Dub Journeys Vol. 1 OICHO “one can assume that a
Vol. 2 will follow in the foreseeable future.
By the way, there is also a joint production “OICHO Dubclash “from 2015 with Dr Dub. Dr. Dub is also closely associated with ON-U.
High René!
Rewind ..... everything started again.
The thick, fat fly in the ointment is once again the sound of the bass. I'm getting used to almost everything, but when I can see with my ears that the bass is not being plucked but being pressed with any key, I am not amazed. Nevertheless, your review sums it up quite well. “Relaxed, harmonious and unobtrusive.” I can only confirm! At least I don't feel completely uncomfortable, if only because there is no such radical stitching here. Yes, and I even found a few small highlights for myself. "Arrowrooted" scrawls really, really well in mine Dubskull and "Happiier" changes from minute 1:51 to an almost flawless on-U.Sound. Not necessarily in terms of technology, but the groove reminds me of African Head Charge, when they go really deep into the basement and only "Dub for adults ”. Do not ask me for specific evidence or even examples. I only mentioned that about On-U.Sound to better describe my feeling.
(Just so you don't think something happened to me. I give my comments on almost everything, and I'm always happy to do so. But these are first of all my last words for the next three weeks. I did it !!! UUUUUUURLAUB !!! Yes I)
Cheers …………. lemmi
Greetings Lemi,
your "famous last words" for the next three weeks I reply, niiiice holidays and stay tuned.
I will miss your comments :-(
Oh, there was someone faster than me again ;-)
"What strikes me as extremely positive are the usual African headcharge repeater drumings in the classic Nyahbinghi tradition"
I missed these words and this clarity in my comment. Since I have not copied from you and you also find a reference to African Head Charge, I guess that my subconscious was not so wrong at all.
In addition, René had already made enough hints in the direction of the African Head Charge in his review.
"Drumming is a language" ………………… lemmi
what a fascinating read.
It seems, that you are reading very slow ;-) ... ..
Greetings………lemmi
thanks for the kind words. , I wrote and performed with AHC. so there is a connection. BTW the repeater drum is a plastic Tupperware dish.