The Zion I Kings - a group of musicians and producers from the three houses Zion High Productions, I Grade Records and Luster Kings Productions - have their fifth without much notice Dub-Album released: "Future Ocean's Echo(Galactic Soul Music). The title sums up very well what this release is about: the oceans of our planet and their inhabitants. The concept is not new and also in reggae/Dub-Genre to find - like Sly & Robbie's "Underwater Dub", in which producer Blackwood greases the tracks throughout with underwater noises - but no act has ever pulled it off as stringently as the Zion I Kings. Accordingly, they go a step further here: A portion of the proceeds from streaming services are donated to the preservation of the coral reefs in St. Croix (US Virgin Islands), where the Zion I Kings record the majority of their tracks. In the service of the cause, the promo video for “Red Gold & Green Dubmarine":
Today, the Zion I Kings stand for quality - wonderful, handcrafted riddims, provided with fine bass lines and a balanced sound that cannot be faulted. alone Dub-Effects – which are used in a diverse, contemporary and generous way – fail to develop an arc of tension, to tell an acoustic story. Of course, that's mosern at the highest level, because what's left is still a very good one Dub-Album that can be recommended without reservation.
5 Responses to “Zion I Kings: Future Oceans Echo”
Sorry but I can't think of anything else ;-)
I accept the recommendation without reservation and enjoy the high grade sound.
Ok, a little gripe on a high level:
I was missing the "wow factor" a bit, because everyone Dub is presented at the usual high level. Nevertheless, I have found my highlight here on the album with "Seahorse Bubblin'". I'm always very happy when an album has highlights that I can particularly look forward to. Now it's on the tip of my tongue to say that of course it's best if the whole disc is made up of highlights but I don't even have that on "mine" Dub Syndicate found………….
The underwater sounds are completely to my liking. Only with “Distant Shore Dub“ I find the beeping just as annoying as many sea creatures, especially whales, may find the sonar of submarines and other ships in the oceans of the world. The comparison is also lame, I know, because I can just keep skipping while the whales have to inevitably listen to our man-made cacophony. ( However, there is also a lot of cocophony of animals : cooing of pigeons,
Dogs barking and birds that don't chirp but can only hiss disgustingly. The environment has been fighting back for a long time and these disgusting little birdies make me furious. For me they are no longer "nature", but an environmental catastrophe / I hope they will soon find nothing to eat or they will listen to the blackbirds and hear how good bird music can sound if you just make a little effort. But that's how it is in nature when everything is broken. The sane and sympathetic creatures die first and the mutants aspire ).
Well, then I'm looking forward to a long life …………………….. Mutant ( High Fi ) lemmi
I find it interesting to follow the development of Zion High Productions, I Grade Records and Luster Kings Productions up to the current "Zion I Kings" - for example based on I Grade. Does anyone remember Tippy Laurent's first clumsy and underwhelming attempts at production on "Nemozian Rasta"? I wouldn't have bet a damn that the guy would ever become something - and look where the man is today and what excellent productions he delivers... Chapeau!
"Nemozian Rasta" ???
I had to google that first. midnight ! OK everything good ! Never understood the hype about Midnight. Vaughn Benjamin overwhelmed me both melodically and lyrically. However, I have to admit that – as a rule of thumb – about every 10th tuna has almost magical powers. This is especially the case when he has not “told” so much. I've often read that he wasn't always properly understood, even by people who spoke perfect English. I don't want that to come off as "slander".
I'm not entitled to that, but I have to pass Vaughn Benjamin. Exceptions are awesome!
Tippy Laurant ( Tippy I ? ), on the other hand, has always really flashed me. However, "Nemozian Rasta" really sounds like it was made of a different cloth, with the emphasis being on "made of wood". Sounds very rustic. Whereby "rustic" does not automatically have to mean "bad".
Greetings ………………… lemmi
I see it the same way you do, lemmi: 90% trash, 10% pure genius.
From the text, nobody has been able to explain to me to this day why and in what context he sings/chanted/or whatever you call it in "Love & Light" the words "...and in Vienna Austria was the witness...". That's when the feeling creeps in that many didn't understand the lyrics at all or, like me, only understood individual passages/words. Perhaps the genius of the VB does not lie in its recordings, but in the live performances. Unfortunately, I wasn't there at any of them... Videos of these are yawningly boring and certainly don't reflect the vibe that must have prevailed on site. It's a shame, I would have liked to have seen it.
[…] See the review of the recent Zion I Kings album “Future Oceans Echo”, which is primarily about the concept and well, secondarily about the riddims and the […]