a matter of dub 4

Welcome to the last part of our DUBtroduction. 

This time with 2 fellas that have contributed a great deal to the development of DUB music. Sly Dunbar on the drums and Robert Shakespeare on keyboard/bass guitar are Sly & Robbie. Not only did they produce the music for 3 Grace Jones albums, they also worked with the likes of Bob Dylan, Peter Tosh and DUB genius Mad Professor. In 2004 they impressed once again with their Version Born album, which features today's track of choice. Eurythmics' original version is a great piece of music and definitely hard to beat. Still, S&L manage to deliver the goods. I mean, you can actually feel the rain when listening to the tune. A smacking beat pours out of a mountain spring and heavily disperses into the ear. But only when Imani Uzuri's voice appears, the track reaches full power and brightness. It feels like being in a huge, open space, listening to the patter of rain on the roof. This one is special!

Sly & Robbie Here comes the rain again

a matter of dub 3

And the good Lord said

Love thy brother than thyself and
Everything will be made possible to you
Because he can surely turn the tides
He can push the tempest by

And all he asked
Of men and men and men and men
Is that we give each other love

Scientist Plague of the Zombies

In other words: PUSH PUSH

Rockers Hi-Fi Push Push (7" edit)

a matter of dub 2

The DUB days continue.

Today with a latin-flavoured piece of echo-music. The original version by Isolée is probably one of the most famous and best electronic music tracks ever produced. And, like with all perfect things, there's no way to do it better. Still, there's an option: To do it differently. Freeform Five have adopted much of the original Beau mot plage without burning the candle at both ends. The result can be seen as the best of both worlds. The indicated groove of the original is expanded by a dash of latin spice which turns out to be a square meal. Taste for yourself:

Isolée Beau mot plage (Freeform Reform RMX)

a matter of dub I

Ladies, Gentlemen.

Here's your december ration of DUB. 

I've put together a rather arbitrary selection of some of my favourite DUB tracks (arbitrary with regards to release date, alphabetical order, etc.) to keep you warm. Enjoy!

In this post, you will find the incredible Lumever from Mikkel Metal's brilliant new album Peaks and troughs. Although we're talking 120bpm here, this tune is heavily influenced by classic D'n'B production work (e.g. Doc Scott's Shadow boxing). The typical dark, deep bass slowly continues to build up but never actually takes over. It's like a thunderstorm hidden somewhere in the back of the track, ready to attack anytime. 

Mikkel Metal Lumever

Mick & Marc "Rocking Show"

Merry Christmas all and sundry, let's begin.

Santa Propeller has got a nice selection for the cold days. To start with, there's a new album out by infamous BigBeat producers Mick&Marc. The baby is called "Rocking Show".

15 tracks bring us back to the golden days of Krafty Kuts, The Freestylers, and Bill, Ben & Baggio.

One Love, the first track on the album already gives us a good idea of what to expect for the next hour (The album runs 60min on the dot). It's my personal favourite, bouncy as hell with the old-but-never-out-of-fashion sample from Larry Heard's Can you feel it house anthem.

Sample 

Buy it here

Tracks 2 to 6 pretty much use the same recipe to roll. In fact, it all sounds a little too familiar after a while ("Amen"-break, a couple of "Rock-ons" "Get downs" and an MJ beat somewhere). At this point though one should be aware of another 45min to come. And that's a 100% worth the voyage. Track seven, Soul Rocking Show features a decent vocal sample that will definitely make you wanna dance. 3min 33sec Relax demands us to have a cup of tea for halftime. Beautiful! 

Still not over. Track 12, Spooky, features a killer beat while that bass and synth strongly bring the Plump DJs to mind. It sounds as if the Chemical Brothers and AIR met in a studio after a gig at 8 in the morning. Massive tune! 

Sample 

Buy it here

The last three tracks lead us by the hand to the end of an amicable trip. I very much enjoyed it. Thank you, Marc and thank you, Mick.