What at first glance on the cover seems pretty trashy, turns out to be a rock-solid Dubcraftsmanship. The basslines in particular, with their clarity and massiveness, are reminiscent of Jamaican studio sounds of the 70s. Heavyweight and massive! Embellished with subtly connoted melodic snatches, the Scotsman King Gummy makes the sound sound quite modern. The Sugar Crash Apocalypse in particular builds up a beautiful melody in the middle, while the focus is on the essence towards the end: bass and drums. Yes, exactly in that order. The bassline is simply the essence of every tune, the supporting element. The last tune also fits perfectly at the end of the album and swings me out of a truly fine album with a melodic lead guitar. Some trashy, fading distortion reminds me of the cover: gummy bears fleeing a massive bassline by T. Rex, aka King Gummy. But that is their fate: to be devoured. Hopefully King Gummy doesn't overeat and we'll be hearing more from him.
Mmmmmm, the best thing about the album for me is actually the commentary. It's almost as good as a review, if I may say so.
Unfortunately (what does "unfortunately" even mean? We don't always have to and can't agree), I feel the opposite about almost everything. It may be that the sound really does sound modern when it sounds even worse than King Tubby on his (in my opinion) worst productions. Bell-bottoms, which look even worse than trousers from the 70s, are "modern" again, especially with girls. Say what you like, they think it's fashionable right now, so people are wearing it. So modern doesn't necessarily have to be good. In fact, I often find it pretty lame.
Although I also like to be open about rough edges, especially in Dub I'm happy, it's too angular and too sharp for me. The percussion instruments and the high-hat sound are especially over-modulated. I have nothing to complain about the bass sound. Overall, the whole album sounds too much like an unfinished demo cassette to me. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, I have to vehemently disagree with "sugar crash apocalypse." I'd even go so far as to say that there's a mistake or a mix-up here. Could it be that there's something wrong with some other DubTune builds up something like a melody in the middle section? I can't make out a melody for the life of me. For me, the entire "DupTune" is one big apocalypse, which reaches its climax midway through the "Dupp" at the latest and drags me completely into the abyss. The keyboard, which is responsible for the (let's call it) ska rhythm as the foundation, is unbearable for me and is even undermined by the rhythm played by the piano. The sound and volume are completely outside my tolerance limits. And as if all of that wasn't "bad enough", another keyboard or "some kind of" synthesizer plays a "melody" that I've only really known from AI music. Nobody thinks something like that up until now, surely?! I find all this keyboard, piano and synthesizer tinkering extremely intrusive and I never want to hear it again. Anyway, as I said, the bass sound is by far the best on the album. But the bass melodies still have a lot of room for improvement for my taste. They may be a bit reminiscent of Jamaica, but only because not every bass line from Jamaica is a true bass line. I'll stick with the example that seems most familiar to me.
The bass line of “The Monster from the Blue Lagoon” reminds me very much of the “Bias Line” of “African Landing” from “The One And Only DUB SYNDICATE !!! (I am not saying that this bias line is from DubSyndicate was invented and if so, I will say by whom
otherwise? ) But the Scotsman or Scotsmen either intentionally or because they couldn't do better, didn't manage to pull it off. There's a crucial note missing from the bass line, and without that note, it just sounds to me like "wanted but not able." If it's intentional, the Scots—in this case—are missing it.
In my opinion, the necessary sensitivity for really groovy bias lines.
I don't want to appear arrogant or even be arrogant, but I'm afraid I haven't managed to avoid that impression.
That’s my very own “fennel vomit apocalypse” or something like that.
“Leave a “Like” here” …………………… lemmi
Thank you, Lemmi, for the lovely introduction to your comment. I also had a terrible urge to put into words what I was hearing. And how interesting the different perceptions are. But that happens to me sometimes when I read a comment or a review. I can't at all understand what the writer hears and feels. That also has a lot to do with the listening experience and the listening setting. For example, if I still have the golden 70s or Dub syndicate (https://dubsyndicate.bandcamp.com/album/out-here-on-the-perimeter-1989-1996), I would have a completely different feeling. Nevertheless, it is nice to have the opportunity to share one's thoughts on the current DubBeing able to share and discuss what's happening doesn't come across as arrogant; someone simply has an opinion, and diverse opinions contribute to the valued pluralism of our democracy. I prefer that to the opinionless sheep who just follow along, blathering. And if I express my opinion so openly, I expect others to do the same, even if they contradict it. And it might even be that I hear the album in three weeks and have to completely change my mind. But I don't expect that to happen, because I really like it. I can understand the demo tape thing. But since the Scotsman released something on Bandcamp for the first time last September, there's still plenty of time for it to mature. But maybe that's exactly the potential I see, or rather, hear...
“Nevertheless, it is nice to have the opportunity to share your thoughts on the current Dubto be able to communicate and discuss what has happened.”
dubblog
4 replies to “King Gummy: Dubzilla"
What at first glance on the cover seems pretty trashy, turns out to be a rock-solid Dubcraftsmanship. The basslines in particular, with their clarity and massiveness, are reminiscent of Jamaican studio sounds of the 70s. Heavyweight and massive! Embellished with subtly connoted melodic snatches, the Scotsman King Gummy makes the sound sound quite modern. The Sugar Crash Apocalypse in particular builds up a beautiful melody in the middle, while the focus is on the essence towards the end: bass and drums. Yes, exactly in that order. The bassline is simply the essence of every tune, the supporting element. The last tune also fits perfectly at the end of the album and swings me out of a truly fine album with a melodic lead guitar. Some trashy, fading distortion reminds me of the cover: gummy bears fleeing a massive bassline by T. Rex, aka King Gummy. But that is their fate: to be devoured. Hopefully King Gummy doesn't overeat and we'll be hearing more from him.
Mmmmmm, the best thing about the album for me is actually the commentary. It's almost as good as a review, if I may say so.
Unfortunately (what does "unfortunately" even mean? We don't always have to and can't agree), I feel the opposite about almost everything. It may be that the sound really does sound modern when it sounds even worse than King Tubby on his (in my opinion) worst productions. Bell-bottoms, which look even worse than trousers from the 70s, are "modern" again, especially with girls. Say what you like, they think it's fashionable right now, so people are wearing it. So modern doesn't necessarily have to be good. In fact, I often find it pretty lame.
Although I also like to be open about rough edges, especially in Dub I'm happy, it's too angular and too sharp for me. The percussion instruments and the high-hat sound are especially over-modulated. I have nothing to complain about the bass sound. Overall, the whole album sounds too much like an unfinished demo cassette to me. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, I have to vehemently disagree with "sugar crash apocalypse." I'd even go so far as to say that there's a mistake or a mix-up here. Could it be that there's something wrong with some other DubTune builds up something like a melody in the middle section? I can't make out a melody for the life of me. For me, the entire "DupTune" is one big apocalypse, which reaches its climax midway through the "Dupp" at the latest and drags me completely into the abyss. The keyboard, which is responsible for the (let's call it) ska rhythm as the foundation, is unbearable for me and is even undermined by the rhythm played by the piano. The sound and volume are completely outside my tolerance limits. And as if all of that wasn't "bad enough", another keyboard or "some kind of" synthesizer plays a "melody" that I've only really known from AI music. Nobody thinks something like that up until now, surely?! I find all this keyboard, piano and synthesizer tinkering extremely intrusive and I never want to hear it again. Anyway, as I said, the bass sound is by far the best on the album. But the bass melodies still have a lot of room for improvement for my taste. They may be a bit reminiscent of Jamaica, but only because not every bass line from Jamaica is a true bass line. I'll stick with the example that seems most familiar to me.
The bass line of “The Monster from the Blue Lagoon” reminds me very much of the “Bias Line” of “African Landing” from “The One And Only DUB SYNDICATE !!! (I am not saying that this bias line is from DubSyndicate was invented and if so, I will say by whom
otherwise? ) But the Scotsman or Scotsmen either intentionally or because they couldn't do better, didn't manage to pull it off. There's a crucial note missing from the bass line, and without that note, it just sounds to me like "wanted but not able." If it's intentional, the Scots—in this case—are missing it.
In my opinion, the necessary sensitivity for really groovy bias lines.
I don't want to appear arrogant or even be arrogant, but I'm afraid I haven't managed to avoid that impression.
That’s my very own “fennel vomit apocalypse” or something like that.
“Leave a “Like” here” …………………… lemmi
Thank you, Lemmi, for the lovely introduction to your comment. I also had a terrible urge to put into words what I was hearing. And how interesting the different perceptions are. But that happens to me sometimes when I read a comment or a review. I can't at all understand what the writer hears and feels. That also has a lot to do with the listening experience and the listening setting. For example, if I still have the golden 70s or Dub syndicate (https://dubsyndicate.bandcamp.com/album/out-here-on-the-perimeter-1989-1996), I would have a completely different feeling. Nevertheless, it is nice to have the opportunity to share one's thoughts on the current DubBeing able to share and discuss what's happening doesn't come across as arrogant; someone simply has an opinion, and diverse opinions contribute to the valued pluralism of our democracy. I prefer that to the opinionless sheep who just follow along, blathering. And if I express my opinion so openly, I expect others to do the same, even if they contradict it. And it might even be that I hear the album in three weeks and have to completely change my mind. But I don't expect that to happen, because I really like it. I can understand the demo tape thing. But since the Scotsman released something on Bandcamp for the first time last September, there's still plenty of time for it to mature. But maybe that's exactly the potential I see, or rather, hear...
“Nevertheless, it is nice to have the opportunity to share your thoughts on the current Dubto be able to communicate and discuss what has happened.”
That's exactly how I think and feel.
Happy Easter! …………………. lemmi