Dub Evolution June 2009

I saw it with the highest expectations DubDocumentary by Bruno Natal. With expectations that were too high, it seems, because instead of portraying the music, its fascinating way of production and performance, the film often did not go through the series of interviews that were too substantial. Perhaps that was the reason for Souljazz's decision to dedicate a CD of the same title to the film - which, however, is not sold in a bundle with the film, but has to be purchased separately. A purchase that is well worth it, given the CD "Dub Echoes "(Soul Jazz / Indigo) in no way contains the “soundtrack” of the documentary, but a completely independent and also extremely competent and tasteful compilation of Dubs from the long history of the genre. The spectrum ranges from Lee Perry productions to King Tubby mixes to Sly & Robbie, Rhythm & Sound to the latest Dubstep-tracks from Kode9 or Harmonic 313. And as the Dynamite compilations show, Souljazz doesn't believe in chronology. Why the C64 sound from Disrupt here seamlessly on the Dub Syndicate with Bim Sherman's coaxing voice bounces only to be followed by one Dubto be swept away by a no less powerful King TubbyDub is contrasted. Orthodox music historians will tip off this mess. Music hedonists, on the other hand, should experience a full intoxication, because the unusual mix of the tracks results in a fascinatingly holistic one Dub-Experience in which the specific peculiarities and at the same time the universality of Dub to be absolutely evident. A sensual insight that can only be provided by the work itself and not through objective documentation. So maybe the film never had a chance to get a grip on its subject. The CD, on the other hand, manages it with dreamlike security. I would like a whole series of compilations based on this pattern. And anyway: It's actually about time for Dub-Compilations - Dubthanks to step!

Where we're from Dubstep talk. The double CD "I love Dubstep "(Rinse / Groove Attack) landed in Germany one year late. Rinse vouches for selected ones based on compilations by Skream and Plastician Dubstep quality. With “I Love Dubstep “, Pirate Radio has now assembled a collection of the best of the last 5 years of the young genre. The 23 tracks on Disc 1 were put together by perhaps the busiest compilation mixer Youngsta and represent the Who Is Who des Dubstep: Skream, Caspa, Loefah, Skream, Benga, Distance and - did I already mention it: Skream. Wobble bass tracks have the upper hand here, nicely technoid and minimalistic. Disc 2, on the other hand, has taken on Geeneus and leads us to the dark side of the Dubstep. Significantly, he starts his collection with Shackleton and ends it with Burial. In between he gathers Digital Mystikz, The Bug, Fat Freddy's Drop (which one would not have expected here) and of course Skream. Who your entry into Dubstep would like to dare is well served with the 45 tracks.

We continue with the second Dubstep CD release of the month: Caspa, "Everybody's Talking - Nobody's Listening" (Sub Soldiers / Rough Trade). Right at the intro my heart was really warm: I hadn't heard the voice of good old David Rodigan, who starts here in praise of Caspa, on the radio for a long time. The 12 tracks that follow have nothing to do with reggae. But all the more so with a large disco rave. Compared to the productions on “I Love Dubstep “are caspas Dubs often mercilessly overproduced, oscillating between techno and pop and not infrequently annoying with excessive grime raps and voiceovers (as fitting with the album title). But there are also more reduced - and therefore all the more powerful - tracks like z. B. “Terminator”, which is completely dominated by a brutally brutal wobble bass, or “I Beat My Robot” - mechanically cold, ruthless and evil.

You want the warm beats of classic reggaeDubs back. And who delivers it to us? Of course our local favorite label Echo Beach again. This time it will be an extraterrestrial one Dub- Artifact Presents: Dubblestandart, Lee Scratch Perry & Ari Up, “Return From Planet Dub"(Collision / Groove Attack). Back from the planet Dub, pack the four Viennese boys from Dubblestandart from what they brought us from there: finds, trophies and the acoustic recordings of two aliens with the names Lee "Scratch" Perry and Ari Up. Okay, Alien # 1 has a deterrent effect, I know! Perry's babbling is in fact hardly bearable. But the Dubblestandarts have pleasantly cut his torrent of speech to a fraction, so that his songs are closer Dubs with sampled vocals. Only with "Fungus Rock" is Perry allowed to make fables about fungal diseases of the vagina - no one had the heart to shorten this wacky text. “Fungus Rock” is interesting for another reason, because this is where the Viennese experiment Dubheads with great virtuosity Dubstep. In general, one has to state that the Dubblestandarts are truly up to date. Every song is full of great ideas, the mix is ​​exciting, the basslines swing and the sound is overwhelming. And so that you can really enjoy this virtuosity, CD 2 of the double album offers all tracks again as Dub-Versions - which sounds like an absurd idea, since every piece on CD 1 already has a Dub is. Anyway, I would love to listen to a third CD with remixes of the remixes. Especially since it is teeming with immortal melodies. There are very, very cool reinterpretations of “Chase The Devil” and “Blackboard Jungle” - why hasn't anyone else come up with this great idea at Lee Perry as a studio guest? My personal favorite, however, is the Jean-Michel Jarre homage "Oxygen pt. 4" with director David Lynch at the microphone. You can only say: Welcome back! We are glad that you are back!

Not from the planet Dub I received the new album from the beautiful northern Italy RB Stylers, “Indubstria "(Alambic Conspiracy / Import). In the best old school manner, it presents 12 tracks as a showcase, one song each followed by his Dub-Mix. Hand-played, powerful rhythms shape the sound, which is somewhere between Zion Train and Draedzone. Particularly noteworthy are the melodious and at the same time powerful songs by singer Michela Grena, which on the one hand form a nice complement to the rhythms, but on the other - as can be heard on the starter song "Let The Shine" - are in perfect harmony with the music. The vowel versions go seamlessly into the Dub-Mix over so that a piece lasts almost 8 minutes. The best thing about the album, however, is that it is - hard to believe - free (and legal) on the BR Stylers homepage (www.brstylers.com) can be downloaded.