Dubvisionist meets Dubblestandart & firehouse crew

The Echo Beach label knows how to recycle its published productions one or more times. With a bit of goodwill, this can be interpreted as sustainable upcycling or even further research on the musical microbiome; In the present case, however, I see it more as a revitalization measure for a… well, suboptimally successful album. In short, Dubblestandart's "reggae classics“Collaboration with the Firehouse Crew has been given a bold makeover. After Paolo Baldini for his fine Dubblestandart remix album has already mixed up and cleared out two tracks, is now taking it Felix Wolter aka The Dubvision is grateful to the entire album that just under the title "Dubvisionist meets Dubblestandart & firehouse crew“(Echo Beach) is out.

The Dubvisionist does his job very briskly, not to say: inconsiderate, and he does not think about taking prisoners: fly like this Paul Zasky's stiff vocals are completely out of the mix and are only allowed to return, if at all, as highly alienated snippets. So for the first time it is actually possible to put fragments of the voice at the service of the cause and thus to remedy a major shortcoming of the original album. Felix Wolter is also not squeamish with other audio tracks; Guitar or drum parts have to believe in it to make room for the synths that are more conducive to the intended mood. As a sound carpet they play an important role in the mix and spread a solemn, sometimes mystical-melancholy atmosphere that shapes the basic tenor of the album.

I'm struggling with this resolute, uncompromising approach of the Dubvisionists pay some respect; what he still gets out of the given sounds is astonishing: if the originals danced along too lightly, he now gives them a proper foundation - a piece like “Hypocrite” turns into a pounding furiosity. Other tracks, on the other hand, seem to float ethereally; the opener "I'm No Robot" conjures up the basic mood of the album for more than a minute - before borrowing the drums on the hook of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is taken. A dramaturgical highlight, no question about it. The new, spaceier version of Burning Spear's “Fly Me To The Moon” was just as successful - it was amazing how the new mix animated the material and impressively demonstrated how two Dub-Mixer - Felix Wolter and Robbie Ost - interpret one and the same material differently.

Now it is probably the case that two hearts are pounding in Felix Wolter's chest - there is the cherished one Dubvisionists, but also the PFL (Pre Fade Listening) project that is more or less dedicated to lounge music. Both influence and fertilize each other to a certain extent, which is undoubtedly based on "Dubvisionist meets Dubblestandart & Firehouse Crew ”is understandable. This mixture is what makes Wolter's mixes so appealing, but it is for the Dubhead becomes a problem at the latest when PFL takes over the command and leads a track like “Babylon The Bandit” into shallower lounge waters. A one-time slip that is just caught by a dominant bassline.

In terms of sound, we are moving here in the typical Dubvisionist dimensions: distinctive, more centralized bass; holding back the heights. Anyone expecting crystal clear, glittering Trebbles will be disappointed. Everyone else knows that a sonic high-gloss polish would be wrong here - Dub is more of a steamroller than a greyhound, more feeling than intellect. Under this premise the transforms Dubvision is a formerly stiff, wooden release into a soulful, worn-melancholy, but ultimately also into an album with a positive outlook.

PS: For those interested in sound technology, I recommend the mixes by Robbie Ost, Paolo Baldini and vom Dublistening to visionists back-to-back; the differences are as striking as they are astonishing: a short journey through three different worlds of sound.