I've been listening to J. Robinson's music for years. Releases on WhoDemSound, various Dubplates, his name keeps popping up. And yet: I know nothing about him. No bio, no interview, no face, no anecdote. Even the internet—usually reliably informative—remains silent. No useful information. No clues. No story. That's unsatisfying, but perhaps also logical. So, all that remains is the music.
And I have to admit, I'm playing it quite often right now. To be more precise: "Dubplates Volume 1“ (Whodemsound). An album that holds no surprises. No stylistic experiments, no new production ideas, no distinctive sound details. UK DigitalDub, as we know it. Warm. Uniform. Functional. And yet I listen to it all the time. I click play. Again and again. I listen to it loudly. Not out of analytical interest, not out of curiosity. But because it's simply there. Because it's working. And because it's working well.
What irritates me about this is that I actually consider myself an open, searching listener. I like experiments. I appreciate the unusual. I enjoy disruption. But there's none of that here. And I enjoy it nonetheless. Because this Dub – so smooth, so unspectacular, so stoic – hits something in me that I otherwise like to ignore: my need for continuity. For repetition. For sound that doesn't impose itself, but simply remains. So I don't listen closely. I don't analyze anything. I let it flow. And I become calm. The bass is there, deep and soft. The percussion clacks along, polyrhythmic, but never hectic. The offbeat chops come as they must. No surprise. No variation. And yet: atmosphere. Lots of atmosphere. When I think about it, I would perhaps put on exactly these tracks if someone asked me what Dub actually is. I wouldn't play any outstanding classic, nor any experimental Dub on the fringes of the genre. But J. Robinson: Dub as a condition."DubSo "Plates Volume 1" isn't an album that demands explanation. It demands to be played. And then again. And then again. Perhaps that's its greatest quality. And perhaps it explains J. Robinson better than any bio could.
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J. Robinson (WhoDemSound): Dubplates Volume 1
One reply to “J. Robinson (WhoDemSound): Dubplates Volume 1“
Well, I would like to object to that! Even if it is perhaps not the core message of this review, I would like to mention, also purely for fun, that it does not do justice to our favorite music genre if one were toDubs "believes" DubMusic, let alone to bring it closer. Although it is certainly the fans who are interested in exactly this kind of Dub, speaks from the heart. I will never understand why this kind of modesty has not become my own. How can one be content with so little, I ask myself again and again, only to find myself sometimes finding that even less is enough to be completely satisfied. There are Dubs that consist only of real drums, real bass and a keyboard and yet I feel like René does here with these Dubs by J. Robinson. Mostly (always) these hand-plucked bias lines have a much more beautiful and exciting bass melody, so that it gives me much more than these very unimaginative bass lines, which particularly annoy me in the UK-Dub But it's more boring than it evokes a magical fascination in me. What's certainly also fascinating, and doesn't leave me unaffected, is the sheer volume of bass molecules streaming out of the speakers. There's almost no room left for oxygen or other substances normally found in the air, because the entire airspace is saturated with bass sound. It's pretty crazy!
So, without wanting to put too much stock in it, I couldn’t resist mentioning again that Dub – for me – is much more than just this minimalist UK-Dub. I don't even know if I Dub could ever love so much if only there were these UK synthesizers DubThere are some that strike me as more like pre-baked rolls than special rolls made with love and attention to detail by our trusted baker. But as long as all varieties are available, there's no reason for me to worry.
If someone asked me what Dub I couldn't help but put together a double album ranging from King Tubby to Adrian Sherwood and on the second half I would add all these computer-generated Dubs present, which from Uk-Dub to Psy – Dub They also have their appeal for me, but only "occasionally in the private sphere."
A good example of one reason for my rather negative attitude towards these “machinesDubs” are these artificial “rimshots” that can be found here, for example, in “Step In / Dub In" really "nice" annoyance. For me it escalates with every second, since there is not much else in the Dub happens, which distracts from this “wasteland”.
Ok, that is and remains my perception of these Dubs. I know I can't "convert" anyone with this. You hear what you want, and why should it be any different? In that respect, we're all equal ;-)
So long ……………… lemmi