Meanwhile it is Lars Fenin yes a good friend in this column. After “Sustain” and “Grounded” we now turn to his new album "Been Through" (Shitkatapult / mdm), with which he made his mix driven to perfection Dub and techno remains loyal in principle, but still does not stand still. While his earlier beats were warmer, softer and closer to the “four to the floor” pattern, now they mix (DubThanks to step) there are more broken structures in the rhythms. With this, Fenin increases his distance to Rhythm & Sound on the one hand and The Modernist on the other. Extreme minimalism was never Fenin's thing anyway. He has always enriched his tracks with lots of ideas and woven refined arrangements from them. “Been Through” can no longer be grasped at all with the “Minimal” category. Fenin's pieces are developing more and more from “patterns” to full-fledged tunes - in those cases where he is supported by vocalists like Gorbi, even into genuine songs. “A Try” is such a song with beautifully melancholy vocals and a catchy melody. Likewise "Red Wine", a tongue-in-cheek quote from the UB40 hit, which of course has perfect song qualities. But while the British band packed the vocals into soft-washed beats, Fenin's version has rough edges, is far more complex and at the same time has a fat kick that makes the tune unreservedly suitable for clubs. Compared to earlier albums and EPs, Fenin's music now sounds much harder, almost as if the Berliner by choice wanted to end his synthesis Dub and techno add a few sprinkles of dancehall. Why not? Fenin's specialty is new approaches.
What a spring! So many good ones Dub- There were seldom releases in one place. Obviously, the material that was put together behind thick studio doors on dark, rainy winter days is now making its way to the public. How z. B. the great new album from Echo-Beach: "Police In Dub"(Echo Beach / Indigo). There is a detailed article on the subject at the front of the magazine. Here I just want to make an explicit purchase recommendation. The album is one of the best that has ever been done in Germany under the label “Dub“Was produced and plays in the first division even in international comparison. Producer Guido Craveiro and the band Okada recorded incredibly well thought-out tracks that were designed down to the last detail. The rhythms groove, the timing is perfect. The sound is miles and miles from noodled Dub- Clichés removed and still full of warmth and depth. Whenever you think it couldn't get any better, these grandiose, catchy Police melodies emerge from the sea of bass, perform some elegant pirouettes, and then sink back into the depths of drum & bass. You could go into raptures!
The next big surprise is a Dub-Album from Jamaica! Who would have thought that 20 years after King Tubby's death the island would be one again? Dub-Album would make? The father of this project is Clive Hunt, a busy and versatile producer who produced artists like the Abyssinians, Dennis Brown and Max Romeo as early as the 1970s. In recent years he had romped around a lot in France (z. B. he produced Pierpoljak or Khaled). Maybe that's why it's his Dub-Album "Clive Hunt & The Dub Dancers "(Makasound / Rough Trade) also released on the French label Makasound. Well-known musicians such as Sly Dunbar, Leroy Wallace, Earl Chinna Smith or Sticky Thompson worked on the successful, surprising album. Because even if you know Clive Hunt as an innovative (and at the same time very modest) producer who has never really stepped into the light of fame, you would have such a sophisticated, varied and uncompromisingly modern from a Jamaican producer Dub-Album not expected. Clive Hunt is completely up to date with his work, as if Jamaica never had one Dub- Given a break of around 25 years. Fat, perfectly produced sound, fantastic riddims (with a few quotes like Realrock, Cuss Cuss, Cassandra), complex instrumentation, lots of FX and of course - from Hunt himself - extremely inspired mixed. But the greatest strength of the album is its diversity. Instead of pulling through one sound, it consists of 16 individual, very independent and always surprising tracks. Hunt is brimming with ideas. It would be so nice if this album wasn't an isolated case and Jamaican producers did Dub rediscovered. In order for this to happen, one thing would have to get around in Jamaica, namely that you should be with Dub Can make money. So: all nice Clive Hunt & The Dub Buy dancers (and don't download them illegally!)
How to use Dub Phil Harmony shows with the free download that makes no money, but makes the community happy Dub-Samplers "Dubnight compilation Vol. 2 " (http://www.reggae-town.de/Downloads-req-viewdownload-cid-7.html). He has collected 25 (!) Tracks here (that is the equivalent of two CDs) from such well-known artists as Ganjaman, Zion Train, The Okada Supersound, Malone Rootikal, Dub Spencer & Trance Hill, Jahcoustix, Dubmatix, Aldubb and Phil Harmony himself. This selection is supplemented by many (still) unknown, but by no means bad DubProducers. Mr. Harmony not only showed a skillful hand in the selection, but obviously also demonstrated a lot of persuasiveness, because to have so many high quality tracks left for free is a great achievement. Now the only problem is marketing. Such an extraordinary project should be much better known.
Since it fits the topic so well: The other day I went to the Polish net label "Qunabu" (http://netlabel.qunabu.com/) Bumped into where is a gigantic 5-track album called "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Dub Tape" can be downloaded for free. Five tracks of the best underwater minimalDubtechno, which - also qualitatively - is not far removed from rhythm & sound.