Jah Shaka, Norman Twinkle & Mad Professor - "African Message Dub" (7:34)
Review: Reggae singer, soundsystem heiress and "first lady of dub" Aisha (Pamela Ross) had already made an enduring name for herself by 1997, at which point she was already ten years into her singing career. A veritable blue-blood of soundsystem culture, Aisha had also already released four albums before 'Give A Little Love', which was contrastingly released as a standalone single not intended as a part of any wider record. Notably enough, it was also produced by Mad Professor, whose boxy, whistly production brings a ghostly, wastelain feel to the otherwise lively track; the instrumental version connotes entirely different themes without the lyrics, proving the infatuating effect of Aisha's words and delivery: with her, it becomes the quintessence of lovers' rock; a rousing floor-filler and lyrical impulsion to give over, so to speak, to the virtues of sharing, as opposed to withholding for oneself, love.
Review: Is there a more consistent partnership in UK lovers rock than Pamela 'Aisha' Ross and Neil 'Mad Professor' Fraser? The pair has been working together consistently since 1986 and continue to periodically deliver killer cuts. 'Guide & Protect', which was first featured on the CD (but not vinyl) edition of Ross's 1987 album High Priestess, is one of their best - a sweet, life-affirming affair in which Ross sings sweetly and emotionally atop a typically synth-heavy, dub-flecked lovers rock 'riddim' by the effervescent Fraser. On this 7" edition, an edited version of the 1987 original comes backed by 'Aztec Warrior', a deliciously dubbed-out Mad Professor take on the same riddim featuring echoing flute and brass snippets.
Review: Bernard Cumberbatch - presumably no relation to actor Benedict - and Garnett Cross are Aquizi, the dub duo fromed in the early 80s and Aiwa label mainstays. Their most notable 12" - aside from maybe 1981's 'Merry Christmas' was 'Kunte Kinte' earlier in the same year. It is a bit of a collector's fav that has more than held its value over the ensuing 40+ years. Driven by lazy dub swagger and carefree keys, it's a lovers rock outing peppered with toms and hits and plenty of echoing depths. Flip it over for version if you want something that will boggle the brain more with its endless mixing board effects.
Review: Stockholm-based multi-instrumentalist and composer Art Longo impresses here with Echowah Island, a new album sure to wind its way into your affections. It was crafted over years in his home studio and is "psychotropical pop" drawing deep inspiration from late 80s music and dub. The album's lush soundscape evokes orange sunsets and ocean breezes and is layered with spring reverb, space echo and wah-wah effects that smooth out the edges as the steady pulse of vintage drum machines moves things on down low. A standout feature is Claudio Jonas, whose ethereal vocals recall classic French femme fatale singers of the 60s. Her poetic, kaleidoscopic lyrics add to a nostalgic dream world that gently bends reality and makes his both escapist and thought-provoking.
Culture & Prince Mohammed - "Zion Gate/Zion Gate DJ (Forty Leg Dread)"
Culture & I Roy - "I'm Not Ashamed/Under Tight Wraps"
Culture - "Two Sevens Clash"
Culture & Ranking Joe - "Bald Head Bridge"
Joseph Hill - "Informer Man"
Culture & Nicodeemus - "Disco Train"
Culture & Clint Eastwood - "Send Some Rain"
Culture & I Roy - "Natty Dread Taking Over/Invasion"
Culture & U Brown - "Innocent Blood/Rock It Up"
Review: This first-ever CD anthology of Culture's earliest singles captures the trio in their purest, most incendiary form. Formed in 1976 by lead singer Joseph Hill, with Albert Walker and Roy Dayes, the Jamaican group emerged under the name The African Disciples before becoming Culture and signing with Joe Gibbsione of Kingston's most revered producers. What followed was a run of revolutionary 7"s and 12"s, including the seismic 'Two Sevens Clash', whose apocalyptic prophecy shook the reggae landscape. These recordingsinow collected in full, dub sides and allichart the group's 1977 to 1981 run with Gibbs, a period widely regarded as their peak. Tracks like 'Zion Gate' and 'See Dem a Come' show their power not just as writers of militant roots reggae, but as spiritual messengers, blending dread prophecy with hypnotic riddims. Even in dub form, these versions retain urgency and weight, anchored by Hill's unshakeable vocal tone and Gibbs's rich, bass-forward production. Later work with Sonia Pottinger would push their sound further afield, but what's here is raw, righteous and definitive. Eight tracks make their CD debut, finally doing justice to an era of singles that shaped both Culture's legacy and the wider trajectory of roots reggae itself.
Review: This genuinely organic album, Godtet, recorded live in Studios 301, Alexandria, Sydney in 2016 is repressed for the first time in six years on the La Sape label. It celebrates the meditative potency of the (just over or under) two-minute track that begins, like 'Arp' or 'Hahahhaha', as ambient exploratory rhythmical waves leading into sounds to come. Like 'Hekkaz' where Tully Ryan and Dominic Kirk's percussive poundings and slappings pleasurably alert the listener to the more luxurious melodic mixture of Andrew Bruce's keys with Godrigues' lamenting guitar, playing harmonious echoey expressive beats. Here, one of the many stand out tracks 'Ensueo' is only matched by the even more groovy and halting 'Comedy', bassline by Jan Bangma. Recorded and produced by Godriguez and Jack Prest who also mixed and mastered this conceptual adventure into the world of rhythm and reverb where John Martyn meets Alfa Mist, Godtet lovingly foregrounds each band member's singularity, culminating in the exceptional self-titled final piece. A must for those who love a late-night listening session over and over again.
Review: Milton Henry was a key figure at Wackie's in the early 80s and he left behind a legacy anchored by his acclaimed album Who Do You Think I Am?. Now, a long-overdue single release celebrates his work anew for both those who have always known and fresher ears keen to get a taste of his early authenticity. The A-side features a standout track from the album in its previously unreleased single mix and it is paired with a never-before-heard dub version. On the B-side, a fresh 2024 remix of Henry's mid-80s tune 'Make It Right' makes its mark, having originally featured on the Digital Dawn compilation. Wackie's producer Lloyd Barnes revisited the track and added a powerful horn line from Jerry Johnson, who also shines in the instrumental dub that follows.
Review: King Tubby's Rastafari Dub was mixed at the celebrated studio wizard's own famous self-titled studio and finds him working on tunes by the Striker Lee-produced likes of Wayne Jarret's 'Satta Dread', several tunes from Johnny Clarkes such as 'Crazy Baldhead' and 'Peace & Love In The Ghetto' as well as Leroy Smart's 'No Love' and 'Trying To Wreck Up My Life'. Add in further gold such as Black Uhuru's 'Sun Is Shining' and you have one of the many crucial and essential albums from King Tubby that needs to be in your collection.
Review: A cult classic, early 80s dub album recorded and produced by The Barrett Family (see their resume with the Upsetters and the Wailers), The Sound Of Macka Dub Vol. 1 is something of a mystery, yielding many pressings across different countries with no definitive first pressing, though the most reliable accounts suggest it dates back to 1976. There was no Volume 2, either. Regardless, this is an LP full of impeccable dub versions, filled with Carlton and Family Man's massive but measured drumming, and Hammond-organed hazes and hums to complement. Not one to miss by any stretch!
Review: 'You've Changed' was a transcontinental creation that was first released in 1986 on the Sally B label. It melds Jamaican roots with Canadian electronic enhancements at the legendary Channel One Recording Studio. Jamaican reggae don Horace Martin drew inspiration from greats like Dennis Brown, and Horace Andy, and comedy legends like Richard Pryor and Charlie Chaplin and has an eclectic career spans albums like Watermelon Man from 1985 and this one, the avant-garde gem that arrives now on Arabusta. It's a busy and digitally infused reggae sound with elements of dance hall and plenty of catchy rhythms which all lead to international success, performances across 24 countries and having more than 400 songs aired on 9000 radio stations around the world.
Review: FatCat Records' acquisition of Breadminster County Council's 'Partnership of the Perpetual Musket' songbook brings forth a fantastic fusion of dub reggae and traditional folk in 'Perpetual Musket.' Under the guidance of Elijah Minnelli, the project boasts stellar performances by reggae luminaries like Little Roy, Shumba Youth, Earl Sixteen, and Joe Yorke. Each track breathes new life into classic folk songs, with standout renditions like Little Roy's emotive take on 'Vine & Fig Tree' and Shumba Youth's energetic interpretation of 'A Soulin'.' Earl Sixteen's poignant delivery on 'Lifeboat Mona' and Joe Yorke's haunting falsetto on 'The Wind & The Rain' further elevate the album's emotional depth. The accompanying live dub versions add another layer of intrigue, showcasing Minnelli's skillful production. With its seamless blend of genres and thought-provoking themes, Perpetual Musket is a great example to the power of music in storytelling and cultural expression.
Review: Surreal, scratchy, corkboard dub dance beats for the in-betweeners and misfits of the world, laid down by Merseyside producer Ali Omar for Efficient Space AUS. Suitably named after that potently compressed and chunked form of cannabis known as hashish, the music here sounds about as sedatively stoned as is often the affective result of the drug. Omar brings a psychedelic, sample-based approach to the fold, with strobe-lit, basement smoke-clouds of kalimba, gong, vocal and async-bass all colliding on 'The Last Straw' and 'On Release', veering into floaty dub and red-eyed downbeat by the time of 'Poor Man Beggar Thief'.
Review: Melodica maestro Augustus Pablo released a number of influential albums during a golden period in the 1970s, though little quite as ground-breaking and far-sighted as 1976's "King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown". Mixed by King Tubby, it was one of the first great dub albums and is still one of the finest examples of the stripped-back, rhythm-heavy style around. If you don't already own a copy, we'd heartily recommend picking up this reissue. Musically, the tracks sound as warm, weighty and spacious as ever - all heavy Robbie Shakespear/Family Man Barrett bass, idiosyncratic drumming and killer melodica/Clavinet/organ action from Pablo - while the screen-printed artwork is a delight.
Review: Wayne Smith's 'Under Mi Sleng Teng', released in 1985, is a milestone in Jamaican music history and one that helped launch a new genre and transform island culture overnight. Its innovative digital bass line not only impacted Jamaica but also bridged reggae with US hip-hop production values, which went on to influence global music. Over 200 versions of the riddim have been released, and artists like 50 Cent and The Prodigy have incorporated it into their work. Originally issued as a seven-inch single on the Jamaican Jammys label, Smith, who passed away in over a decade ago at age just 48, left behind a legacy rooted in Waterhouse, a troubled Kingston neighbourhood.
Review: Curtis Mayfield's tender falsetto and political lyrical activations made him one of soul's most distinctive and influential figures of the 70s. Addressing civil rights, urban life, and Black identity with rare grace, it's little wonder that his catalogue has since proved a goldmine for reinterpretation, where 'Move On Up', 'The Makings of You' and 'People Get Ready' continue to inspire covers over generations. Here, howsoever the decision was made, do Soul Shepherds reshake a less-known Mayfield favourite in dub, 'Give Me Your Love', a dark-horse ode to good lovin', originally track 6 on the soul star's great soundtrack to the pimpin' 70s film Superfly. "It's true, you're such a gun / Make my lungs sigh" go the brusque lyrics, proving the sensuousness of Mayfield's broadly applicable approach to love.
Review: It's finally here... V.I.V.E.K launches a brand new label and, as the title suggests, it's something a little different to the deep 140 piledrivers his System Sound is known for. Two rootsical excursions and two killer versions, this is the sound of the System champion bringing things back to the source. The title track (featuring longstanding System MC Dego Rankin) is a warm dub jam, spaced for good measure. Flip for "Galactic" as V.I.V.E.K flings us further east on a ship powered by Oriental strings and another rolling dub groove that's designed to make rigs purr. Beautiful.
Review: Cha Cha's latest drop revisits some essential roots reggae with the original 12" mix of the late 70s classic 'Very Well,' which is a standout track dripping in Channel One's signature so-called 'ruff & tuff' style and rich Jamaican soul. Complementing it are two heavyweight cuts of 'Kunta Kinte,' the iconic original dubplate version and a previously unreleased mix from the same era. These selections are packed with deep rhythms and militant vibes with signature production that is alive and raw. This reissue harks back to a golden moment in roots history and also offers fresh depth for collectors and selectors alike.
Review: This hard-hitting EP of tough-as-you-like roots was dropped to great acclaim in 1981. The deep and heavy dubs were mixed by the one and only Scientist at the legendary King Tubby's studio with great mic work from Michael Prophet, Patrick Andy and Alric Forbes. The original has been fully remastered for this reissue which comes on both CD and vinyl formats. It is music drenched in island vibes with dark soul and plenty of great horns. The mixing is of course next level, as always with Scientist, so you can be sure of a real trip when listening to this one front to back.
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