New releases last four weeks: Reggae

Review: Techno scene stalwart Steve O'Sullivan has long dabbled in dub techno, usually under the Blue Train alias. Now he has a new dubbed-out alias, Blue Channel, a moniker that doffs a hat to German dub techno greats Basic Channel/Rhythm & Sound. This is the first volume in a multi-part EP series that sets out O'Sullivan's soulful, hazy and sub-heavy agenda. 'Dubplate Vibing' itself (side A) sits somewhere between purist vocal dub, pitched-down steppers and the epic, locked-in rhythmic sound worlds of purist dub techno. He ups the tempo and sticks to more authentic dub techno territory on the brilliant (and very Basic Channel-esque) 'Complete With U', before opting for a more minimalistic traditional digi-dub sound of 'Keep Tryin Dub'.

Review: Steve O'Sullivan recently launched the Blue Channel project as a kind of sonic companion to his similarly minded dub techno work as Blue Train, in the process paying tribute to Berlin's masters of the extended dubbed-out groove, Basic Channel. This is the second EP in an ongoing series and begins with a fresh 'Bluetrain Special Edition Dub' of 'Complete With U', a track featured (in its original mix form) on the previous EP. This take is more percussively propulsive and addictive - thanks to a locked-in dub house style groove - with warmer synth sounds and echoing vocalisations. It's basically a hat-tip to classic Rhythm & Sound singles of old, albeit with drums that more neatly fit into a wider variety of DJ sets. Over on side B, 'Traveller' is a fine slab of pitched-down vocal digi-dub with added ambient dub sonics.

Review: Greyscale unveils its latest endeavour, the Spectrum Series, as a way to continue to evolve its offerings and this time it is with something that makes a vibrant departure from its traditional black-and-white aesthetic. The inaugural release features the iconic Lithuanian dub track 'Kasdienybes Sventykla' by grad_u & Eazystyle MC as a way of commemorating its 15th anniversary. It came as a double CD in 2011 but now gets a first vinyl pressing on a nice 10" slab of wax. The track itself taps into the earliest roots of dub in the 70s and traces a line through the 80s with its heavyweight drums and endlessly echoing bass topped by great mic work. A pared-back instrumental features on the flip of this latest crucial drop from the dub dons at Greyscale