| I
was lying on my back, after enjoying a
reggae festival somewhere in the east of the
Netherlands. Someone approached me and asked
if I wanted to buy the music that was
playing over the sound system. I was
listening to "Beware... the Bass"
from the Dubcreator and I had no more money
with me! It was years later, before I
finally could get another copy. This was
when I met the Dubcreator in person and told
him about the possibilities of MP3.com,
where he is now one of the top artists in
Dub with a regular presence in the DUB top
ten on this music site.
A smile came to my face, when I read the
title of the album. That bass, yes, that was
the thing I still remembered. A strong bass
sound is used, a sound that goes well with
the other electronic instruments that DC
uses. Yes, electronica galore on this album:
it is very hard to recognize any acoustic
elements although they are there.
Is the use of electronica that good or
bad? Both. Good, because DC proves that you
don't only have to make trip-hop, ambient
and such with today's instruments. He is
also innovating DUB by incorporating modern
technologies. And not straying away because
of them. Respect! Bad, because it makes the
mixes just a bit too slick in my opinion.
The deep bass sound disables him from making
what I would call "a talking
bassline".
Most tracks start of like any regular
ambient work. Just when you start to think
you're listening to The Orb, the Reggae/Dub
riddim drops in. I like that, it is a
concept used in Dub and Reggae ever since it
existed. Remember the bluesy and souly
intro's in 1970's roots reggae? Dubcreator
takes this concept into the 21st century.
This CD is a paradox: it's strong parts
are also it's weak parts. Every track is
very much worked out, mixed by the hands of
a perfectionist. No detail is forgotten,
almost no mistake is made. Some sounds
you'll only hear after listening to a track
many times: the tenets of a quality product.
No easy-to-swallow tunes, no lightweight
stuff. Heavy, but not hard. Strong, but not
aggressive.
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