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Tag: dub

  • DUB SYNDICATE: THE RASTA FAR I

    DUB SYNDICATE: THE RASTA FAR I

    Unlike its cousins reggae and ska, which exude summertime and sunglasses, dub music is deeply redolent of dark smoky nightclubs, sometimes-dodgy backstreet purveyors of comic books, and blacklit, ganja-soaked “coffee shops.” It is typified by colossal amounts of echo and bass at the kind of frequency that makes your teeth hurt. Of the many exponents of this genre, the Dub Syndicate is the closest thing there can be to a dub supergroup. This is because practically anyone who is anyone in the world of dub has worked with this loose association of reggae musicians. Also, in the 20 or so years since their inception they have produced music of a consistent quality and are still going strong. Dub Syndicate is the brainchild of former Roots Radics drummer Lincoln Valentine “Style” Scott and On-U-Sound supremo Adrian Sherwood.

    DUB SYNDICATE

    THE RASTA FAR I

    Collision

    2006-05-30

    The retrospective collection The Rasta Far I features the vocal talents of such reggae luminaries as Big Youth, Junior Reid, and Gregory Isaacs (incidentally, it was Isaacs who first brought Scott to the UK and introduced him to Adrian Sherwood). Moreover, the chin-scratching music trainspotters amongst us are also treated to the bass-work of Bill Laswell (Material, Golden Palominos, and the producer and co-writer of the seminal “Rockit” by Herbie Hancock) and the electric sitar-playing (that’s right, sitar on a dub record!) of erstwhile Golden Palomino Nicky Skopelitis. The tracks are all recorded at the Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica, set up by one Robert Marley (and his Wailers), and mixed by Arian Sherwood and Scientist. The whole CD just reeks of quality and authenticity.

    However, faithfulness to style does not make originality a victim. Style Scott prides himself on the forward-looking attitude of his band, and there is no resting on the laurels of dub here. Dub Syndicate is again looking to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in this musical approach. In this collection you can hear the use of all of the regular instruments associated with reggae, but also a few unfamiliar faces, such as the aforementioned sitar and the violin. Okay, in actuality this is not ground-breaking stuff, but it is a slightly different take on the genre, which is refreshing to hear.

    This particular Dub Syndicate album is a retrospective of the last 10 years of the band on Style Scott’s own Lion & Roots label. It gives an overview, but also adds something new, as it’s not merely a “best of.” The Rasta Far I is a two-CD set: CD 1 is 17 of the best tracks from the decade, hand-picked and reworked into a megamix by Rob Smith, one half of those kings of the UK jungle scene, Smith & Mighty. The resulting sounds are non-stop versions of versions. It feels a little like you are actually at a dub party somewhere, with Mr Smith spinning the “wheels of steel,” adding his own style to the already rub-a-dub sound of the DS.

    CD two features 16 rare and unreleased versions of Dub Syndicate material. Some of these bits and pieces appear in different version on CD 1, but they are different enough to warrant inclusion. There are many tracks that are worth a mention, but the most striking are CD 1’s “Jamaican Proverb” and “Hard & Tuff”, both featuring the vocal talents of dub poet Yasus Afari. His sing-song/softly spoken style is charming and strangely beautiful, worth the admission price alone.

    If you’ve never heard anything by the Dub Syndicate, this will serve as a good primer. If you are a fan already, waiting patiently until summer 2007 for the new album, then this might sate your appetite until then.

    This review was originally posted on pop matters.com

    https://www.popmatters.com/dub-syndicate-the-rasta-far-i-2495677676.html

  • THIEVERY CORPORATION: VERSIONS

    THIEVERY CORPORATION: VERSIONS

    Bass is a prominent character in the theatre of the Thievery Corporation. Their “original” albums are inundated with it. The same is clearly true when they helm a remix effort. They take a tune, add lounge or Latin rhythms to it, then put the listener’s head right into the bass bin and stand well back. The result as exemplified here in Versions is a delightful Sunday morning workout of the capabilities of your Hi-Fi equipment. It matters not that they have chosen to rework some obscure tunes that probably would not otherwise grace your record collection. Indeed, it would be almost cheap of them to even consider using mainstream tunes. You want them to pan for lost nuggets of musical gold and then beat them into a beautiful shape so that you and your friends can rub your chins thoughtfully as you listen while slumped in your IKEA furniture. In this respect, Thievery Corporation do not disappoint.

    THIEVERY CORPORATION

    VERSIONS

    Eighteenth Street Lounge Music

    2006-05-16

    Thievery Corporation have taken their lead from the Jamaican dub style by accentuating the bass and the drums; they remove the vocals for the most part and let the spaces in between carry the rhythm and swaddle the result in modern digital reverb and other effects. Due to this, on the proper equipment this recording has the capacity to really piss off your neighbours or parents, so play with extreme caution. I suggest a rainy weekend, using a decent sub-woofer set to the kind of frequencies that only your lungs can hear.

    Among the luxurious tunes that Thievery Corporation have cast their leisurely gaze over is a version of Public Image Ltd.’s “This is Not a Love Song”, but John Lydon’s vocal is nowhere to be heard. It would be too obvious and not tasteful enough to remix that song. Instead we are treated to a cover version by Nouvelle Vague, a French project dedicated to updating 1980s hits using female vocalists that have never heard the originals. Nice. They also direct their beady eyes at the Doors’ “Strange Days” and come up with something quite charming, if a little unsettling. Jim Morrison to a dance beat… not sure about it (think of how you felt when you first heard the David Holmes remix of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation”; disconcerting but cool). All that receives the TC dub treatment comes out the other end much the better for it. There is no other way that I would like to listen to Norah Jones or Sarah McLachlan.

    This is the sort of music that Steven Soderbergh would use in his Ocean’s series of film if he did not already use David Holmes. It supersedes hip and has a recognizable cinematic quality. If you are listening to this album on whatever music device you favour while travelling in a city, you cannot help but feel that you are in a movie and what you hear is the soundtrack. This works particularly well at night if you are on a full metro or other public train service.

    Versions is a damn fine remix record. Also, because Thievery Corporation have a sound and trendy following all of their own; it also works as well as an original release. Although saying that, the original tunes are not as stand-out as the remixes. If you find yourself in the market for a record to put on in the background while you chat to your mates, or if you have a particularly awesome sound system that you would like to put through its paces, then you could do a lot worse than buying this album.

    originally posted on pop matters.com

    https://www.popmatters.com/thievery-corporation-versions-2495676358.html