While browsing through about 40 TB of music files I’m uploading into my iBroadcast.com account, I came across an absolute plum of an album. African Head Charge were one of the greatest bands on the legendary On-U Sound Records roster, and this heavy reggae/dub masterpiece, released in 1990, is consider Continue Reading
Dub
Minimal Compact – Statik Dancin’
Minimal Compact was an Israeli band which left a sizable imprint with their music during the 1980s and 1990s, and both Malka Spiegel and Samy Birnbach continue, as far as I know, to record great music. An unbelievable post-punk shuffler from 1981, by Tel-Aviv-Brussels band Minimal Compact! This tune is Continue Reading
Azu Tiwaline & Al Wootton – Alandazu EP
Azu Tiwaline and Al Wootton could not come from more different places on Earth. Azu’s roots are from Tunisia, while Al’s roots are from London’s urban sprawl, yet they manage to collaborate on a kind of dub informed by pulsating trance and Berber-influenced rhythms. Dark, sparse and pleasant.
The Mossad – The Sleeping Dragon/’Stunt Queen’
The Mossad are a project out of Lansing, Michigan, which reminds me of a slower, dubbier, late-period Tackhead or even Gang of Four with less funk, but far rawer. I haven’t heard a sound this crunch since the late 1980s, so for music ability and nostalgia, I give this single Continue Reading
Puscha – Etterath
Puscha is an Australian sound designer and film composer who hails from Australia and his music ranges from deep, cinematic ambient dub to cold, icy minimal techno. I’ve been out of the techno world far too long, as this release is astounding, and it’s making me wonder what else I’m Continue Reading
Various Artists – Zona Electronica
Zoharum are one of Poland’s longest-lasting experimental, ambient, minimal and industrial/dub/illbient labels. On January 30, they released a comp of musicians who are critical in Poland’s underground music scene. Among familiar names, of course, are Jeff Gburek, Hubert Heathertoes and Mike Majkowski, but the new names I’m hearing on this Continue Reading
Various Artists – Tape Rolling! with Bunny Lee and Friends
England’s Pressure Sounds continue to release mind-blowingly good reggae compilations. This one features the production work of Bunny Lee pairing up with such luminaries as Eric Donaldson (whose raw version of Cherry Oh Baby adds grit to the warmly produced original. From the Bandcamp release website: “In 1971, despite his Continue Reading
Yoyogi Koen 代々木公園 – Hyakki Yako 百鬼夜行 ひゃっきやぎょう
Hong Kong’s 4’33” Records (named, of course, for American avant-garde composer John Cage’s most notorious composition) specialize in experimental music which crosses into drone and ambient fluidly. This release is by Yoyogi Koen (Yoyogi Park) and though reference information isn’t listen anywhere, I would assume them to be also out Continue Reading
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry – Part 1 : The Truth As It Happens
What a terrible thing to wake up to… The legendary dub producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry has left the mortal coil today. Billboard Magazine has a nice obituary and remembrance for the King of Dub. May he have safe travels back to his spiritual home.
Togbe Adjos – Maman Tchamba
When reading tags about vodun jazz, a reggae vibe wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Still, Togbe Adjos produces an album mixing the rhythms of the Caribbean with those of his native Benin. This is a mellow but lively album which wouldn’t feel out of place among that massive stack Continue Reading