It's that time again: We serve you ours Dub-Top 5 of the year ending. As you can see, diversity counts for us. How could it be otherwise with such a diverse genre? We look forward to your comments.
Top 5 from René

Great, live recorded instrumentals, additionally with Dubversions. What more could you want?

Not a remake but a newmake with the fantastic stylistic devices of the past – and a great Dub-Album.

»Greter« here probably means »about Dub because that is exactly what this fascinating mix of styles delivers, showing what Dub can be anything.

Dreadsquad is back – and completely different than expected. Grown up! Beautiful, inspired instrumentals, superbly executed and with a perfect sound.

Outstanding album. Instrumentals and melodies recorded under the direction of Roberto Sánchez Dubs. Rarely have I heard so much joy in playing.
Top 5 of Ras Vorbei

No excessive Dub-Fireworks, but an excellent meditative soundscape with quietly meandering riddims without a lot of frills.

A long-lost album is experiencing its renaissance.

A wonderful musical legacy.

A very unique sound that not only I find hypnotic.

A four-part cross-cultural journey combining reggae, jazz, Dub- and trip-hop grooves into a cinematic palette.
Top 5 from gtk

First place this time goes to… Bavaria! Adubta transforms a rather jazzy album by the Graz Roots Organisation into a bass-heavy monster with killer dynamics. No offense!

Ras Teo, Zion I Kings and Lone Ark make music together – not surprisingly, this could only work out well, both in the vocal and in the Dubversion. This applies to part 1 of the recording session…

... as well as for part 2. On both albums, the melodies of Ras Teo meet the musical and production qualities of Roberto Sanchez, David Goldfine and Laurent Alfred, who complement each other wonderfully.

If you prefer something more crisp and rocky, you can't miss Sam Gilly's House of Riddim - the same goes for this collaboration with trombonist Hornsman Coyote. There's no shortage of effects either!

Prince Fatty actually took us 13 years to Dubversion of Little Roy's fine and curious "Battle for Seattle" album. How could he!
Top 5 by Philipp K

This work is the one that makes the most rounds on my plate. Great! Since the release of "Zipporah" (2020), I have fallen in love with the sound and magic of Emanuel & The Bionites. It's hard to believe that this music is Made in France.

As you can read in the review, I am very enthusiastic about these two riddims and their versions. Reggae and Dub the finest, pure soul food.

A compilation that brings together the best and selected versions and mixes of Blackbeard from 1976 - 1980 and celebrates the Sufferer Sound System once again. Relevant.

My DubThe year 2024 clearly goes to France. The label BAT Records and the Dub Shepherds stand for incredibly good and high quality reggae and Dub-Productions that, in most cases, completely convince me.

'Which desert?' I ask myself. Is it possible that Dub- and reggae desert Poland? No idea and it doesn't matter, because this instrumental album is reggae-Dub-Ethio-Jazz at its finest. Organ, saxophone, flute, melodica (just part of it) and good arrangement stand out for me...
4 replies to "Dubblog annual charts 2024"
Well, you're pretty early, if I'm not mistaken.
My presentation will not be as good as your top 5. But I am also a commentator and so I add to the top 5 Dub
Annual Charts 2024 with another variant and "do it my way". But I can't help but add a little comment to your top 5. Diversity is definitely in fashion, no matter what area of life. And Dub is diverse anyway.
With René I go especially to the Dub Shepherd's "Tape Me Out Vol.5". At gtk I am pleased that Prince Fatty with his "Dub Battle for Seattle” has received the well-deserved attention and above all the recognition it deserves at the end of the year. And I am happy that one of his favorites is also occasionally given a front row seat in the finest vinyl with cover and accompanying vocal version. Unfortunately, I am still not that impressed by the content, but maybe that is just my taste and the penny will drop for me one day. I always give vinyl a new chance. Philipp is also giving me an imaginary headache, because with “Spiritual Food”, he has
“Sufferer Sounds” and “Tape Me Out” are also a list that I can relate to very well. The list of Ras Vorbei I am only commenting on this album now because it makes me feel the most guilty about my list. It was hard for me not to include Horace Andy and Keith Hudson in my top 5, but I have chosen them as “showcase albums”, i.e. albums with vocals and Dubversion, not in my top 5 Dub Charts. But they also have a permanent place as very special snacks from 2024 “inna me DubHeart". I could have put Roots Architects and Mick Dick in my list too, but I decided otherwise. I seem to remember that I had a good opinion of Christos DC, but the album had to believe in me, among many others, and is, so to speak, in the thick soup full of great Dubs from 2024 has been diluted in my memory. It is in good company, because albums or EPs by Adrian Sherwood and Scientist did not make it into my top 5 list.
But whoever follows my enthusiasm here in Dubblog, you shouldn't be surprised that my list is quite simple this time.
I put Haris Pilton with 5 of his albums from 2024 on places 1 to 5 ;-)
I don't even mean that in a joking way, because the man really blew me away. But I would also like to mention a few other albums that also got me on high notes this year. Dubclouds have lifted.
Haris Pilton is with DUB XXL Vol.1 is my top favorite. He mainly takes my favorite bias lines from Jamaica and turns them into a DubSpectacle that just fills me with pure joy. And he also plays the riddims himself, if I'm not mistaken.
The DubShepherds also filled me with great enthusiasm with “Tape Me Out Vol.5”.
And also Sinky Beats with “DubPhilia” were a great new discovery for me in the now almost past Dubyear 2024.
I was really blown away by “Velvet Bass In Dub“ ! This groove has got me completely under its control. These hip hop and trip hop riddims have always captivated me and were not only a change for me, but also a very charismatic addition to the reggae groove. And the DubSamples and effects are also completely to my taste.
So far that makes 4 out of the top 5. Phew! Lucky! I can have one more!
I almost put the record at number 1 but not every bass line turned out to be a really fat bias line.
But in order not to perish from a guilty conscience, I simply have to bring KING JAMMY into my inner circle.
Although it probably does not apply to everyone Dub sat at the controls, so I find here on the album, where he DUB united, such a fantastic and sovereign DubMixing, which also makes me rave. Even the saxophone is mixed in KING JAMMY in such a way that it sounds right and
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreally sounds and, above all, feels good. The sound and effects are, as always, simply world class, or rather WORLD CLASS!
Ok, as I said, I thought 2024 was another great year and we DubAs fans, we cannot complain about the artists' lack of creativity. And nobody has done that.
Only Babylon is pissing us off again. They want to fob us off with cheap "automatics" and undermine real artists even more by showering us with AI music and suppressing the true creative spirit of man. Babylon simply can't help but keep on annoying us.
Dub against babylon rules ………………… lemmi
Wow, what great recommendations across the board.
I only discovered you this year and am currently listening through all the annual chart lists.
Thanks alot!
My top 5 consists of records from bat records & roberto sanchez dubs. And bat records easily beats roberto sanchez ;) Emmanuel & the bionites eps in particular are the best I've heard in the last 10 years. They both get their own category!
Apart from the “kings” my top 5:
- https://breadminster.bandcamp.com/album/perpetual-musket
- https://fatbirdrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/lights-shadows (especially because of the wonderful beginning of love dub, how brilliant)
- https://harispilton.bandcamp.com/album/fruits-radix-by-haris-pilton
- https://thelovingpaupers.bandcamp.com/album/the-ghost-of-ladders
- https://lapanchitarecords.bandcamp.com/album/chalart58-wet-la-panchita-records-2024
And my non-reggae bonus: https://nugenea.bandcamp.com/album/bar-mediterraneo
Well, we were a bit hasty… we have the Dub Shepherds on BAT Records also released the 6th volume of “Tape me out” just in the old year… also top 5 worthy… https://batrecords.bandcamp.com/album/tape-me-out-6-pressure-drop
They have an almost Jamaican 70s-like output!
As long as the quality remains this good, please keep it up…