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Five Star Review

High Tone Meets Zenzile: Zentone, Chapter 2

One has to state: Corona also has its good! These two (!) Albums, namely: High Tone Meets Zenzile - Zentone, Chapter 2 (Jarring Effects). What a brilliant one Dub-Plant! Emerging from the most depressing of all pandemics, fifteen years after "Chapter 1". Apparently the nine musicians have the two most prominent ones Dub-Bands of France could not stand it any longer in the loneliness of their home offices and locked themselves in a studio in Lyon for a week, unbelievably, to make music with each other face to face. Without a lot of studio rocket science (in contrast to "Chapter 1"). Instead with a simple sound system setting, spontaneous, direct and improvised. All that mattered was the interpersonal vibe. The result is breathtaking. Two albums full of fantastic, inspired compositions with a total of 22 tracks that are bursting with warmth, intensity and real beauty. The catalyst of this quality was apparently the pure pleasure in personal encounters - perhaps paired with a few musical ideas from everyone involved during the lockdowns. Substance instead of effect was the motto. All tracks were produced live and then mixed on analog consoles. The sound is warm, complex and full of dynamics. Everything is just right here. And of course the inclusion of singers fits in with such an approach. Yes indeed! I am actually Dub-Purist, but here Nai-Jah, Nazamba, Jolly Joseph and Rod Taylor make an absolutely essential contribution to the musical diversity, without sacrificing the Dub-Vibe to belittle even the slightest. Her performances - especially nai-jahs and nazambas - are simply terrific.

Okay, but now I have to deal with the two Albums are cleared up: Zenzile and High Tone recorded a total of ten rhythms during their week in Lyon. Zenzile then pre-decapitated all ten pieces, mixed them and put them together into an album, which can be bought as a CD or download. High Tone, on the other hand, only took on the four rhythms for which a singer was recorded and presented them in showcase style: vocal version, instrumental version, DubVersion - and thus comes to twelve tracks, which are offered as double vinyl (but they can also be purchased as a download). But to complicate things nicely, there is one more thing Streaming variant. This consists of the ten Zenzile mixes and the four vocal versions of High Tone. Understood?

real Dub-Nerds will of course compare the mixes with each other and find that High Tone goes to work more traditionally and aims at the use of sound systems with its mixes, while Zenzile tends to take a more playful, sofa-compatible approach. But I can't decide which one I like better - that's why I always listen to both albums one after the other.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

2 replies to "High Tone Meets Zenzile: Zentone, Chapter 2"

Heyii René ...
I have nothing to add to this.
Really a Dub-Highlight in a double pack ...
As soon as I had mentioned this work in my Kanka comment, it is described by you online here ... were probably writing at the same time ... hehehe!
For me the hottest contender for that Dub-Disc of the year 2021 so far ...
And I always listen to both discs one after the other and can't decide, but I don't need that: pure enjoyment !!!

Ouch!

I think it’s ready now. I'm afraid I have DubCorona. I think both High Tone and Zenzile are very mixed. I know brilliant ones of both DubTunes but also the most common slack music sound that musicians had and still have to offer. Sometimes high tones in particular were too brutal for me in terms of rhythm and instrumentation, but at the same time they also had the weirdest ideas that I had in the beginning Dub so encountered. They created KopfKino for me in the best Alfred Hitchkock manner and I would still call myself a high tone fan to this day. Even if I haven't been there since “Ekphrön”.
When I read the review here, I thought, finally there is something for my crazy pear again, but I have to admit, I'm probably sick. I find this all too common and almost harmless. What's wrong with me? I can even file the vocal tunes, even the one with Rod Taylor, under "also ran". I don't have to run away, but for the best sake I can't feel any enthusiasm. I have a completely normal (shitty) Monday feeling and unfortunately none of these tunes could change anything.
Maybe I should try again tomorrow. But maybe it is also because:

“Without a lot of studio rocket science (in contrast to“ Chapter 1 ”). Instead with a simple sound system setting, spontaneous, direct and improvised. "

“Spontaneous, direct and improvised” actually sounds very promising, but I think I just need the full load of “studio rocket science” so that my rocket gets enough thrust to leave its normal orbit.

Maybe I should rather hear Peter Schilling!?! ………………………. lemmi

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