Audio

Steve and Christiaan in Beijing + a mix from Neil Robbins

The Khmer Rouge-The Khmer rap-cdr
Khmer Noodle-Unknown title-Rasmey Hand Meas
Kim Leakhena-Unkown Title-Rasmey Hang Meas
Schwabingrad Ballett-Under control-Staubgold
Marrow-A2-hektik-CDR
Mendoza-Luv Divina-Mutek
Lokai-Hellen-Mosz
Mice Parade-Steady as she goes-Bubble
Lunz-Wobby flu remix (Elbow)-Gronlan
Mr Fingers-Beyond the clouds-Soul Jazz
Four Tet-And then patterns-Domino
Phon.O-Ridin’ Dirty-Shitkatapult
Radio Pyonyang-Motherland megamix-Sublime Frequencies
Vashti Bunyan-Lately-Fat CatP
Melt Banana-Babybug spitted-A-ZAP records
Danger Doom-Crosshairs-Lex
Masada-Me’eman-Tzqdik
Sound Directions-Tribe-Stones Throw
Ennio Morricone-Ricrezione Diverita-Idecac
Gabon-Musique des Pygmees Bibayak (BakaBambuke)-Ocora
Earth-Thrones and Dominions (Jim O’Rouke)-Southern Lord
Avro Part-Lamentate-ECM newseries
John Zorn-Horn Carrier-Tzadik
Vladislav Delay-Fourth Quarter-Humerrecording
Philminton and Roger Turner-Most Likely-Emanem
Christian Vogel-Station 55-Mute
COH-Post Pop-Mego
Concert Collectif-Du Groupe Recherches Musicales Del-Propective
Luc Ferrai-Tautolgos 3-Blue Chopsticks
The Fall-You wanna-Slogan
Black Dice-Smiling off (ZZpot remix)-DFA
Sunburned hand of the man-Complexion-R13/Sunburned
Boduf Songs-Vapour steals the glow-Kranky

Audio

Jack Rose -Cathedral et Chartres -Beautiful Happiness
Ambrose Cambell -Yolanda -Honest Jons Records
Shukar Collective -Gypsy blues -Riverboat
Mutamassik -Mawlid -Very Friendly
Krispy -What they talking about -Skullsnap
Bo Diddley -Bo meets the monster -Ace)
Bo Diddley -Googlia moo -Chess
Ry Cooder -3rd base, Dodger Stadium -Nonesuch
Charlie Schmidt -Athabasca Valles blues -Strange Attractor Audio House
Zook -Slerky -Touch Tones r
Kit Clayton -Endiku -Soul Jazz
The Nightingales-Down in the Dumps-ATR
Geraldo Pino and the Heartbeats-Let Them Talk-RetroAfric
Jegsy Dodd and the Original Sinners-Pete Marsh (where you’ve bring)-Piffle
Llwybr Llaethog-Bethesda-Rasal –CD007
Arab Strap-Chat in amsterdam-Chemikal Underground
One way system-Jerusalem-Say no to Government Music
Wedding Present-Ringway to Seatac-Tone
My Awesome compilation-Set to Go-Sore Point Records
The Kills-No Wow-Domino
Millencolin-Shut you out-Burning Heart Records
Alec Empire -Hunt you Down-Digital Hardcore
White Hassle-Your Language-Fargo – FA062
Richard Buckner and Jon Langford-Rolling of the Eyes-Frago

Audio

Steve with Ian Barnes from The Stiffs

Aquazim & Mad Professor -Kunta Kinte -Trojan
Augustus Pablo -A house is not a dub -Attack
King Tubbys -Gorgon dub -Attack
Shitmat -Haile Selassie rules OK -Planet Mu
Digital Mystikz -Ancient memories -Tempa t
The Bug & Warrior Queen -Dem bomb -
MIA -Galang 05 -XL Records
Pressure & Warrior Queen -Money honey -Hyperdub
Burial -South London Boroughs -Hyperdub
International Observer -Leaf mold -Round Trip Mars
Stiffs -Nothing to lose -Captain Oi!
Stiffs -Volume control -Captain Oi!
Sonic Youth-Simpson's Theme-All Tomorrow's Parties
Chad VanGaalen-Clinically Dead-Sub Pop
Rogue Wave-10:1-Sub Pop
Animal Collective-Did you see the words-Fat Cat
Add Noise-Citronella-Ear Sugar Beatbox
North Sea Radio Orchestra-The Flower-Off Records
The Black Dog-Dog Style-Science Recordings
65 Days of Static-Drove through the ghosts to get here-Monotreme
The Lucky Nine-Vessel-Hassle
Marah-The Closer-Munich
Jayojoby-Tsy Zanaka Mpanarivo-Sterns
Idrissa Soumaoro-OOiula Ka Bo-Putumayo Music
Dieneba Seck-Nieteke Nela-Sterns
Sonny Terry and Brownie Mghee-Mena old Frisco-Blue Encore – CD 52032

Audio

Starpoint-I just want to be your lover-Chocolate City
The UBs-Disco Symphony-Electric Souls
Choklate-Waitin-KDSMUSIC
Bakura-Play That Game-Especial records
Music People / Cinnamone-DO THE BOOGIE-Superhuit Music
James Brown-Woman-Resist
Claussel-Let Me Love You-
Platinum Pied Pipers-Fever -Ubiquity
William "Smoke"Howard-That’s What Love Does-
El Michels Affair-Hung Up On My Baby-Fast Life
Shuggie Otis-Information Inspiration-Epic
John Legend-So High-Columbia
Plant Life-Luv me still it hurts-Easy League
Syleena Johnson-He Makes Me say-Jive
Jesse Outlaw-Love You So-Eargamisic
Atmosphear -Motivation-Sanctuary
Alex Lattimore-Rush Hour-Divine Recordings
Alphonso Johnson-Love is way I Feel about your Love-Epic
Bah Samba featuring Isabel Fructuoso-Calma-b

A few more notes.

The Redstone Meadery mead we liked was the Boysenberry, not blackberry. Oops.

The Wynkoop barelywine was the "7 Year Itch".

Just got home from Denver, its been a totally uneventful day today.

Yesterday was much more fun! After breakfast with some family I met up with Todd and we headed to the convention center right at 12:30 when it opened for the connoisseur tasting session. We went around and hit a few things a second time, including Redstone Meadery, Dogfish Head and Iron Hill on a much fresher palate. Redstone Meadery had three meads — mead is best described as a honey wine, sometimes flavored with fruit a.k.a. a melomel — which we tried before anything else today since they were much more subtle in flavor than some of the bigger porters, stouts, IPAs, etc. Of the three varieties we tried — Sunshine, Blackberry and Boysenberry — we both liked the Blackberry the best, since it was sweet with fresh blackberry flavors rounding out the taste. This could easily replace a sweet dessert wine on my table.

We also ran back to the Wynkoop Brewery to taste their barleywine, with all of the colorful beer names its hard to remember them all, which was a blend of seven years of barleywines that were then blended and aged in a Woodford Reserve oak cask. This was a great drink! Later in the night, after a very short trip to the evening tasting (my palate was worn out and I really didn't feel like drinking any more beers!) we went by the Wynkoop brewery. The brewery is located no more than a mile from our hotel. It was time for a late dinner and one final drink. I really enjoy the food and atmophere at the brewery, Steph and I had beed there a few years earlier. I had the schwarzbier, it was nice but I couldn't finish any more beer, I just wanted water. Todd had another barleywine. Sadly, the keg was running dry and it will never be offered again. The oak aging gave the beer lots of coconut and vanilla flavors which made us both wish for a pairing with coconut creme brulee.

By the end of the night, I was exhausted, we walked back to the hotel to pass out. This was a fun weekend, but 3 sessions is too damn much for me! Next year I would do the Thursday night session, which Todd thought was the most interesting because more of the brewers were at their tables. I'd skip Friday night and Saturday night, they both were extremely crowded! The Saturday connoiseur tasting was much more relaxed with people who were more intersted in the beers, rather than getting drunk. I'll also bring some pretzels and a length of string. Lots of folks made necklaces of pretzels to munch on at the tasting and clear their palate. A good idea, since the food at the venue was not overly inpsiring. We didn't eat anything inside the convenion center during any of the tasting sessions.

Time to sit back on the couch, drink water, treat my liver a little better than the past two days and get ready for another work week.

Audio

DAMIEN 'JR GONG' MARLEY feat BOUNTY KILLER & EEK-A-MOUSE -Khaki Suit -(Universal)
HEPTONES & RANKING KING -Mystery Babylon -(Auralux)
KING EVERAL -Life Can Be Easy -(Kingston Sounds)
BRENDON ANDEREGG -The Open -(Psych-O-Path)
ENAVOMI -Plystring -(Lampse Audiovisual Recordings)
GEOFF MULLEN -Thirty Six Trillion Manifestaions Part 7 -(Entschuldigen)
MIKE BOO -Resolution -(Alpha Pup)
P-LOVE -Four Inches Per Minute On The DVP -(Bully)
DESORMAIS -This Ship Sinks Sideways -(Intr_Version)
PORN SWORD TOBACCO -Soft Airgun & Electric - Watts Towers -(City Centre Offices)
MOUNTAINS -Blown Glass Typewriter -(Apestaartje)
MURMUR -Gradient -(Meanwhile)
CHIMPENDALES -Trak One -(Outside)
CLARO INTELECTO -Hunters Rocket To The Sky -(Modern Love)
ERIC DEMARSEN -Vogel S'enfuit -(Universal)
NIKOS MANANGAKIS -Herrmann, Variation 1 -(Bella Musica)
THOMAS NEWMAN -In The Bedroom (End Credits) -(Varese Sarabande)
MARCONI UNION -A Temporary Life -(All Saints)
DICTAPHONE -Track Seven -(City Centre Offices)
ALARM WILL SOUND -Logon Rock Witch -(Cantaloupe)
DAVE DOUGLAS -Just Another Murder -(Green Leaf)
GUDRUN GUT -Move Me -(Earsugar Jukebox)

THADDI -Three Difficult Words -(Pingipung)

GIARDINI DI MIRO -Boys Scarves Are A Guide To Rebellion -(Earsugar Jukebox)

COKI

OFFICER / MOOD DUB

DMZ 12" VINYL

Although not the origin of the term, ‘dubstep’ can mostly be applied to tunes that literally took a step away from dub. On this 12 Coki of the Digital Mystikz steers directly back into a dubwise essence building this bass-soaked half-stepper with an archaic synth chop that mutates into a weird carnival theme. The conversational ambience captured in the tune’s opening reflects back on Sonny Knight’s apologetic ‘But Officer’ from 1956 but now what was once dialogue has turned to monologue and the street setting could be Kingston or Camberwell. The feel of the flip is starker and the bass more genre conformant. Fascinating to discover where these new dub venturers will arrive next.

DUB SPECIALIST

BIONIC DUB

STUDIO ONE LP

Probably as a result of the title track’s appearance on the recent Soul Jazz Studio One Dub set the original vinyl now benefits from an overdue repress. ‘Bionic Dub’, a version to Vin Gordon’s ‘Red Blood’, receives the wildest mix of the set, its one of the rarer rhythms amongst a bunch of classics including the irresistibly named ‘Theme from Steve’, a dub to the Cables’ ‘Baby Why’ later to be re-versioned by the Mighty Diamonds as the aching roots classic ‘Have Mercy’. Also here is a take on Jackie Mittoo’s ‘Harder Shade of Black’ – one of the top ten most versioned rhythms of all time and not a million miles away from the Beatles’ ‘Norwegian Wood’ – that emerges as ‘Oscar’. Other pressings of vintage Studio One albums are around at the moment, mainly in their U.K. Bamboo pressings, including ‘Freedom Sounds’ with Ernest Ranglin at his funkiest on ‘Lee Arab’ and Im & David’s ‘Mun Dun Gu’ and also the ‘Funky Reggae’ set with Sound Dimension’s ‘Upsetter’s Dream’, a dub tribute to Scratch (?) utilising Carlton and the Shoes’ immortal ‘Love Me Forever’.

KATCHAFIRE

SLOW-BURNING

SHOCK RECORDS

In a clever little design conceit the surround card cover of the artwork comes in a flip open matchbook pastiche of the Wailers Zippo ‘Catch a Fire’ album sleeve. Unfortunately that’s about the limit of the originality on display here as Katchafire largely go for the pastiche approach in the music too laying somewhere between Matumbi and UB40 in their lazy skank bubbling under sweet harmonies and reclining horns. It’s all competent stuff and perfect fodder for horizontal summer festival crowds but travel outside their New Zealand island home maybe problematic as Joe Dukie from Fat Freddy’s Drop seems to have cornered the market with his super soulful vocals.

MERE MORTALZ FEATURING U BROWN

DIS-A-BOOM / INSTRUMENTAL VERSION

THUNDERTONE 10" VINYL SINGLE

This debut release on the Thundertone label, presented as the new ‘reggae-tronica’ imprint, is a wild dancer and a joyful, unashamedly self-referential paean to riddim. Production team the Mere Mortalz are reggae buff and label owner Casey together with breakbeat DJ Kevin Beber who engineer the meeting of reggae with electronica, but there’s nuff old school sounds in the mix with a jabbing trombone and vintage Hammond squiggling around the fast-paced rhythm. No problem for U Brown though as he digs out a string of quotes from the sound system handbook of guaranteed DJ exhortations, but there is surprise ending with some short payback acapellas for use on a later occasion. Fascinating to check what might be delivered with the next release due from these boys - ‘Haul & Pull’ a shot with Earl 16.

MAD PROFESSOR

METHOD TO THE MADNESS

TROJAN 2CD

Others may have been hipper, rootsier or more experimental but the only other outfit to be compared to Neil Fraser is Sherwood’s On U Sound, certainly both maintain a long-standing and consistent contribution to reggae’s connection to other musics, as well as the championing of dub as a genre. With an output split between conscious roots, lovers, wacky dubwise excursions and sprawling remixes in the leftfield of pop the Mad Professor has been either at best the target for unjustified criticism (celebrated here with the Robotiks ‘Echoes of Deaf Journalists’) or at worst studiously ignored by much of the press and radio. That was in the past, over the past few years, especially courtesy of championing by many of the nu dub acts (step forward Zion Train!), the rep of the Prof is now rightly revised. This set, compiled in association with Dave Katz who also pens the notes, gathers a fair representation of the scope of his productions since the late seventies from his ‘Dub Me Crazy’ series to his latest incarnation as the Crazy Caribs. In the Eighties he championed a resurgence of Lovers Rock with Sandra Cross and John McLean, supported the biting political and social observations of Macka B and Pato Banton, gave succour to a ‘lost and lonely’ Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and inspired the Orb into new spaces – all at the same time as rolling out roots and dub from legends such as Horace Andy, Johnnie Clarke and Max Romeo when few others cared. A British institution that has done enough to ensure its own preservation.

MATUMBI

MUSIC IN THE AIR

TROJAN 2CD

VARIOUS

LOVERS ROCK STORY VOL.2

KICKIN’ CD

EMI cautiously edged open the door in 2001 with ‘Empire Road’ a Matumbi ‘best of’ collection that neither by selection nor promotion addressed the shameful gap in the reggae reissue programme for rightful occupation by this influential foundation UK reggae band. On the scene before Aswad, Misty and Steel Pulse Bovell & Co may not have provided enough exotica content for contemporary leftfield audiences and were a little ‘too reggaefied’ to crossover in those pre-Marley days, but the easy flow of their lovers and roots mix is uniquely British and as such needs to be cherished. Proving its always a mistake to allow a band to select the tracks for its own anthology "Blackman", the nyabinghi driven chant "War" and the still sublime ‘Empire Road’ are all missing but ‘Wishing on a Star’ is included, still there’s enough material of quality to claim this as a representative retrospective.

Kickin’s second volume dedicated to charting the history of UK Lovers Rock is compiled by the man himself, Dennis Bovell, and many of the productions are collaborations between Dennis and guitarist/arranger John Kpiaye – both now members of the LKJ touring dub band. The cheese factor really rings the bell on this more sumptuously lightweight set of the series splitting focus on both original productions and cover versions of previous soul, pop and reggae hits – Paul Dawkins on the Abyssinians ‘Sweet Feeling’, Relant G on Marvin Gaye’s classic ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’, whilst Marie Pierre does over the Young Rascals ‘Groovin’ – but the tracks always work best with the female vocals and its Janet Kay who comes out as the natural voice of the genre especially on ‘Rock the Rhythm’.

PABLO MOSES

PAVE THE WAY

ON THE CORNER 2CD

Pablo Moses is best known for his classic ‘Revolutionary Dream’ album from 1975, featuring the Black Ark produced single ‘I Man A Grasshopper’. Much of the fuss over that set was in retrospect as excepting the rarefied climes of the specialist reggae market his name is relatively unknown. A second album, ‘A Song’ was followed by this album for Island Records in 1981. Engineered and masterminded by his long term producer Geoffrey Chung at Dynamic Studios in Jamaica the album stands out not for the quality of the material itself but for the excellent horn arrangements from Clive ‘Azul’ Hunt and the CD of dubs that comes as a bonus to the reissue. The sound is very similar to the mid 80’s Wailers on Tuff Gong through Island, slick and shiny compared to the rougher-edged reggae of the previous decade and a little too styled to the emerging requirements of ‘West Coast’ consumers than back a yard.

OSSIE ALL STARS

LEGGO DUB

HOT POT LP/CD

Hot Pot is now in full stride with the well-overdue release of this big dubhead favourite, in the main sourced from the rhythm tracks for Greg Isaacs’ ‘Mr.Isaacs’ album. Originally released on the singer’s Cash & Carry label this refurbished set comes with the addition of six b-sides from various Ossie Sound and Earthquake 7" 45s – most notably Earth & Stone’s ‘Wicked a fe Dress Back’ and ‘Take a Dip’ Dillinger’s take on Gregory’s ‘Slavemaster’ where the voices of both singer and DJ are dropped in and out the mix bathed in swathes of echo and reverb in triumphant style. At the time of its original release perhaps the approach taken by Ossie Hibbert in the mix was interpreted as a little too gimmicky by serious dub fans, dogs, cats, babies, racing cars, alarms, gongs, orchestral samples, cuckoo clocks are all thrown in there – ‘Doberman Skank’ and ‘Dub Down Babylon’ tell the full story – but the propulsive skank of Sly Dunbar’s’ drums against the tensions invoked by the countering percussion and horn section in full cry puts this set in the same league as best of Joe Gibbs and the Professionals from the same era.

WILLI WILLIAMS

MESSENGER MAN

BLOOD AND FIRE CD

Although Willi Williams started recording in the late sixties and served an apprenticeship with mentor Jackie Mittoo, prime arranger and artist at Studio One, his best work has almost stood outside of time as always retaining a modern edge and possessing an immediately recognisable warm and languorous sound. Following on from the truly epochal ‘Real Rock’ version ‘Armagideon Time’ Williams bypassed the influences of emerging dancehall styles and went on to forge that signature sound represented so admirably on this excellent reissue, Augmented by a complementary set of unissued dubs mixed by Soljie, Scientist and Errol T. in Kingston and Jerry Lion in Toronto. The title track betrays it early eighties genesis with the customary studio sounds of the era and also a lyrical reference to the ever-popular (in Jamaica) Bee Gees’ tune ("I’ve got to Get a Message to You"), ‘Armagideon Time’ is revisited in the jazzier style of ‘Rocking Universally’ with emphasis on the rolling piano riff reminiscent of the Tamlins’ epic treatment of ‘Baltimore’. But it’s the luxurious dubs that make this absolutely essential as there is little to match them sonically from the era.

ZION TRAIN

A PASSAGE TO INDICA

UNIVERSAL EGG CD/2LP

Something of a key document in the evolution of the UK nu dub scene, this is a re-release for Zion Train’s debut album from back in the early nineties when this kind of electro steppers stuff not only seemed exotic but also commercial suicide in the marketplace. Although the nu roots scene has grown since then its basically an enclosed community and self-sufficient on a day to day basis with bands like Zion Train having to extend their festival and gig coverage within and beyond Europe. Formed by the unlikely trio of Perch, Tench and Cod in 1990 the band picked up studio skills as they went along, and with the help of the redoubtable Dougie ‘Conscious Sounds’ Wardrop. This ‘learn as you go’ approach shows up on this set with serendipitous highs and quirky noodlings mixed up with standard reggae chops and breaks, sampleable now in many places – maybe its been done already? Although seemingly less ‘chilled’ than on its first appearance it must remembered that back in the day Zion Train supplied us with mellow moments surrounded by a sea of rave.

VARIOUS

STUDIO ONE LOVERS

SOUL JAZZ RECORDS CD/2XLP

The vocal styles of the first waves of great Jamaican vocalists owed not a little to song stylists Nat King Cole, Brook Benton and later Sam Cooke, Thurston Harris, Jackie Wilson, not forgetting all those great doo-wop groups from New Jersey to LA. So it’s no surprise that the singers supported by Studio One tend to ooze class. This selection from Dub Vendor’s Oxman, himself an MC and selector of repute, retrofits a sweet selection into what was strictly a UK sub-genre of reggae that now extends as a useful marketing definition if it means we can have access to material such as this. Although eternal favourites are there such as Ernest Wilson’s always aching ‘Undying Love’, The Mad Lads’ enthusiastic reading of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Ten To One’ and Larry and Alvin’s ‘Your Love’ its some of the lesser know tracks that pull, for instance the Shark’s are mournful but magisterial on ‘How Could I Live’, recently redistributed on a clean seven inch pressing, and the cover versions - Doreen Schaefer’s adaptation of Boz Scagg’s ‘We’re All Alone’ and Myrna Hague’s version of Johnny Bristol’s ‘Touch Me Baby’ – all of which may seduce roots fans into the deeper worlds of reggae.