With the band Groundation, I have always been drawn to Harrison Stafford's voice, which means I can't stand his voice for the length of an album, it's too strange, too croaky, not for my ears. Musically, however, I have always been impressed by the very unique interpretation of reggae music by this group, which has been active since 1998. For example, I fondly remember 2006, when I was repainting my apartment in an old farmhouse (in the colors green, yellow and red, what else?) and was constantly listening to the record "Dub Wars“. My first CD by the band and I still remember exactly how captivated I was by the jazzy brass section.
The present album “Dub Rock“ is about the Dub-Version of the 2022 album “One Rock“Responsible for the Dub-Mix is the legendary sound engineer Jim Fox, known for his work at LION & FOX Studios. It is after 2005 with the album “Dub Wars” was his second collaboration with the band. The DubMixes are rather subtle and Jim Fox uses effects rather understated and I discover something new with every listen, what a great Dub-understanding and a lot of experience in mixing. I also find the very sparse vocal snippets to be bearable and well chosen. Although I have never listened to the "One Rock" album before because of my vocal aversion, I noticed that the titles of the individual songs are noticeably creative and by no means just "Dub“ be supplemented or filled, as is otherwise the case with Dubalbums. This was left out for the album title. For example, the song “Greed” is in the Dub-Version of “World of Love”, “Day When the Computer Done” of “So Soon” or “Market Price” of “The Human Soul”. It seems that someone has put some deep thought into it, which for me suggests a carefully thought-out work and is simply a joy to notice. Now for the most important thing for the friends of the Dubblogs: the music. Everything I appreciate musically about Groundation is there: the jazzy brass, the organ, the differentiated and exciting drums, the perfect bass that serves the song, the varied use of percussion and an electric guitar that sometimes starts a rock solo at the right moment (“Vision for the Future”). In addition, the songs “Astray” and “World of Love” feature string arrangements that initially confused me a little, but then became more and more fascinating and gave the whole thing another component that definitely enriched the music. The piano also has a small but very prominent role in two or three places: in the piece "The Human Soul", for example, it plays the intro in a way that is reminiscent of classical music, and in "Demons and Pagans" it is played in a furious, almost free-jazz style. Sun Ra inevitably springs to mind, which is also a highlight for my ears and, of course, there are some really unexpected listening experiences in delicate doses. The wind sections are also used professionally and succinctly, but never intrusively or even ingratiatingly and always create tension. In general, I think that this work handles dynamics very well and that intense, grooving parts are very skilfully contrasted with quiet and gentle parts. A balanced piece, then, I have to say, I am very impressed with this work.
19 Responses to “Groundation, Jim Fox: Dub Skirt"
As much as Groundation is a big deal for me, I find “Dub Rock” is just annoying. What is held together beautifully by Harrison's voice in the vocal album breaks down in the Dubversion completely falls apart. That may all be artistically valuable, but there is no flow. The constant rhythm changes and the unpleasantly loud interludes such as the strings simply do not groove. A work of art? Perhaps. A killerDub-Album? Certainly not.
I have already mentioned this album somewhere in passing. I can't find it now, but nothing good came to mind about this album. At Ghost Dub I went through “Damage” again and gave the album another chance. But I have to admit, I’ve been done with Groundation for a long time. Unlike Philipp, not with Harrison Stafford, but simply with the band. I thought Harrison Stafford’s coming together with Brain Damage was very good and I also thought the recordings as “Professor” with a Jamaican all-star band were really great. Groundation grabbed me with “Hebron Gate” with “Dub Wars" I took them into my heart and from then on our love began to crumble. We are now "divorced". I have long since lost interest in even listening to their albums. I don't want to turn a blind eye either. In my opinion they used to play reggae with strong jazz influences and over time it became more and more jazz with reggae influences. At least that's how I feel. And yes, I can understand the "problems" that Philipp has with Harrison's voice. But I don't think that's as bad as the style of the band, which in my opinion has lost all sense of grooving reggae and wants to wrap me up in a crocheted scarf made of intellectual and lace-work sound patterns in the middle of summer. They may even do it on purpose because they think jazz is better than reggae. I can't stand that ;-) and certainly won't tolerate it.
I haven't analyzed it rationally for myself yet, but that's not necessary, because I don't get on well with rhythm changes. And if that happens within a tune, I'm completely out. And then I think of another counterexample, which I would like to share here - not entirely selflessly from the point of view of a reggae fan. I'll just say The Prodigy with this strange rhythm of breakbeat and jungle beat, a kind of rhythm collision that led to a groove jam. Both the rhythm accident and the groove jam were then at least temporarily eliminated by a saving rhythm change by Max Romeo, who put on an iron shirt and expelled Satan from the earth into space. The effect of this rhythm change aroused positive feelings in many people and put me back on my throne as reggae and DubConnoisseur confirms. Yes, it may be that I come across as arrogant again, but what can I do about the fact that Reggae and DubReggae was, is and will always be the best music of all time.
And so I realize once again that the DubThe blog is divided (or is it divided? But sometimes it's really too difficult for me). Well, you probably know what I mean. In any case, even within the same interests, you can come to different conclusions.
Yes, I don't have any further questions for now ;-)
I haven't been in goal yet today, I just noticed ………. lemmi
People, please prick up your ears and listen more carefully. The sound effects sound so loud because that's how it's meant to be."Dub Rock" is one of the first ATMOST mixes in reggae. The new surround sound technology from DOLBY allows the sound engineer to completely surround the listener with this new three-dimensional sound technology.
Musically, this album is 100% well thought out and implemented. You may well ask yourself: "Where are the catchy heartbeats and where are the driving riddims?" Several pieces on the album are full of twists and turns and excursions into other musical styles, which will not please every purist. The obvious complexity and the many unexpected twists in style and tempo seem to make it difficult for some listeners to get into it and do the album more harm than good. That's often the way it is with the unknown, it takes time to get used to it. I, for one, liked this album straight away because it is once again completely out of the ordinary.
Well, I'm just going to rant without having done any research. Dolby Surround Sound?!? Hasn't that been a standard in the video sector for a long time? Is it of any use to me if I don't have any surround sound technology at home? The questions are not meant to be cheeky. I really have no idea about it and I don't even know anything about it. I can only remember that Philipp Greter also turned my speakers at home into a kind of surround sound with his solo project, where the music actually came from the heater. At least that's how it felt. Maybe Umberto Echo is behind it, who was at my last Dub Spencer & Trance Hill concert with its surround sound provided additional highlights.
I also wrote, “I don’t like rhythm changes” and just this weekend I noticed that there are hardly anywhere else where there are so many rhythm and even more tempo changes as in Dub Spencer & Trance Hill. But what can I do? They change everything within my taste horizon and stay "down to earth" with their groove. For me, Groundation doesn't do anything "new and unknown". As I wrote, I haven't really liked them for a long time (not to say "annoying"). I actually like excursions into other musical styles, but Groundation seem to know musical styles that are (far) beyond my comfort zone.
Philipp also writes in his review about a piano that is played in an almost “free jazz” manner. I would actually like to write a small shitstorm about free jazz, but I might just make “enemies” by doing so. Nevertheless, I cannot help but ask myself whether “free jazz” is really music or just mathematically determined tones that have been strung together in a completely “illogical” way and then
(felt) cobbled together without any sense of rhythm. Free jazz is probably only for people who want to think about music but unfortunately can't feel it. Or they are into really strange feelings.
No, problem! I know that what I'm writing here is very provocative or "typically lemmi", but I also know that there are a lot of people, including friends of mine, who can't laugh at free jazz any more than I can.
Well, I'll put it this way, even if I make a mistake and miss out on an exciting album. What the heck! There are almost endless DubAlbums that I find much more appealing and so I don't even need the courage to fill this gap.
Maybe one day the moment will come when someone puts this record on. Maybe somewhere in a Bavarian beer garden.
And then it may well be that I get a different impression of the album.
Well, what am I supposed to do in a Bavarian beer garden? If things go really badly, I might even have to put up with Söder's nasty face. That would be a thousand times worse than a free jazz concert in surround sound.
"Surely you can ask yourself: 'Where are the catchy heartbeats and where are the driving riddims?' Several pieces on the album are full of twists and excursions into other musical styles, which will not please every purist."
I don't consider myself a purist, but these questions still burn on my mind.
“Feel the rhythm! Feel the music!” ……….. you know,
Cool Runnings! …………… lemmi
It's completely legitimate not to like music. That's just the way it is.
It is also legitimate to be able to enjoy an album on whatever equipment you use, after all, you are paying for it. In this respect, this new sound mix, which has apparently only recently become available to the general public, is not clear to me. It could be similar to Apple's 3D mixes, which no one can understand without the latest headphones or perhaps x.1 speakers.
What remains is music that doesn't sound good at all, and not just on my equipment, and that can't be the point of a mix. Everyone can form their own opinion of the sound - to me it sounds terrible.
If I understand correctly, we should keep the technology at the level of yesteryear, or even better, the music creators should provide the listeners with the right equipment (headphones), even though everyone has at least one pair in their cupboard at home. You just have to put it on. As I said, the best thing about it is that it works with any headphones you already have.
When DOLBY was added to cassette decks many years ago, the new technology could only be heard by people who already had a DOLBY-compatible device. Well, the others were unlucky and couldn't hear the "new" thing, even though they had paid for it. To enjoy ATMOST, all you need is a pair of normal headphones. So what's the problem?
I don't assume that everyone has headphones; I also don't assume that everyone wants to listen to music with headphones. It looks stupid in the car and doesn't help with safety. And silent discos may look unintentionally ridiculous, but I've never liked them despite the amusement. These are just two examples of many.
If I want to listen carefully, I certainly won't be driving, even though wearing headphones is allowed. I couldn't care less whether it looks "stupid" even though I've never done it. Even cell phones come with headphones. So, easily 85% of people have headphones. I've never worn headphones in a disco, or seen anyone wearing them. Why would I? Nobody said you have to wear headphones. But if you want to enjoy ATMOS, you should just do it. That's it!
We all know how great the headphones that come with your phone sound. But that doesn't matter if you don't want to listen to the whole thing with headphones on. I personally can't see myself sitting in an armchair with headphones on while listening to music - I'm too mobile and have too many friends in the house.
I talked about “silent discos”.
When we have friends or acquaintances at home, we usually don't listen to any music at all, at best discreetly in the background. By the way, wireless headphones have been around for several years now, allowing you to move around completely freely. As I said, nobody has to wear headphones. If you don't want to, you already have them and shouldn't complain if you don't get to enjoy the new technology.
Obviously the album is polarizing and opinions are made. Okay, so!
Nevertheless, I would like to ask you to give the album a chance (with headphones or whatever) and listen to it from start to finish... after all, I can only "understand and know my neighbor if I have walked ten miles in his moccasins" (Indian proverb freely from memory).
And yes, I wouldn't play these songs at a SoundSystem dance party either, but that doesn't mean they're not.
It is not important and irrelevant whether you like an album or not. But it is important to either love it or hate it: to make people curious about it. That is the only reason we are getting involved in these discussions.
As I said, it is well known what one can think of in-ear headphones. I only use mine for audio books. But that doesn't matter if you don't want to listen to music with headphones. I would venture to say that this is probably the case for the majority of listeners. Perhaps Apple's 3D initiative could be the solution: after all, the company offers these albums in the traditional mix as well as in 3D mix - so without forced happiness.
A crazy theory: No, no, of course, the many young people who sit on the tram with headphones on don't want to listen to music with headphones on. It's obvious that these lazy readers devour audio books by the dozen. ;-))))
All jokes aside, come on, Ernst!
In order to have a say on whether ATMOS is good for the individual or not, you don't have to walk around with headphones on for days. In the case of »Dub Rock« it is enough to wear the item for about 43 minutes. That seems to be too much for some people! So that's just how it is.
I don't think that the girls are very interested in music. They're more into TikTok or YouTube Shorts these days. At least that's how I see it with my nieces. Music without images isn't worth much.
It doesn't matter whether the Atmos thing is any good or not - this one album doesn't sound good on speakers. That's it, there's nothing more to it.
Well, this album sounds good on my speakers... as I said before, I like it. Is it perhaps because of your speakers or have you just been seduced into making a much too general statement? After all, it has been clear to me since your first comment that "Dub Rock” and you will not become “friends”, which of course is your opinion and your feeling… and it is far from my intention to try to convince anyone of something else…
But for me there are extremely many shades of grey and colour variations between “love” and “hate”… at least in the musical area.
So, I'm going to cool off and jump into the Limmat...
Splash…
I was away for a short while and suddenly there are 18 comments here!
At first I thought, cool (!), now the shitstorm against “friejatz” is really starting! Well, now I'm disappointed and curious at the same time.
But I'm most disappointed in myself, because I haven't heard anything about this new thing called "ATMOS". It sounds interesting at least and I have to try it out, although I'm one of those people who only listens to music with headphones when there's no other option. For example, when I'm traveling. I like to have some space between the speakers and my ears.
And otherwise I find “Dub Rock” and especially in Groundation the “golden principle of mechanics” or the “golden principle for good Dubs” is not fulfilled.
“At first, you need a good riddim to make a good one Dub"
And I think that the riddims, as they have been described here in words, can't really be good and for me that is unfortunately fully confirmed when I listen to them. And if someone wants to say, "that wasn't always the case with Adrian Sherwood either," then that's true but it doesn't change the accuracy of their statement in the slightest. And which riddim is good and which isn't, that's still up to me to decide... ;-)
Now I'm closing the KabaDose again and going to bed!
Oh no, I have to work ………………… lemmi