Long
time ago Bob Marley released a song which
was not being positively received by
everyone. The song was called "Punky
Reggae Party". Marley was one of the
first to recognize the connection between
the sufferahs from jamaica and those in
europe and the usa. Reggaebands such as
Steel Pulse have started their musical
career within the Punk movement.
DUB MEET DUB, a release of Winsuck/Black
Spine Records, takes the spirit of the Punky
Reggae Party into the next century with a
compilation of 13 very different tracks that
range from roots reggae to drum and bass to
undefined underground music. The cover is in
serious PUNK-style to once more stress the
Reggae-Dub-Underground connection. This is a
document of the influence that DUB has got
on so many styles in the underground: most
of the tracks are not DUB in the strict
sense of the word but there are effects
galore.
Let's have a look at the tracks.
The CD starts of with four skankin'
contemporary Dub tracks: from the rather
militant "Angry Dub" by Internet
Artist ROLAND Z. to the dreamy "Too
Much Freetime" by Louie Fleck. MP3.com
artist Dubware is also included with a nice
blend of old and new DUBBING techniques.
"From old skool to new skool!", I
hear at the start of track 5, and indeed, a
sudden mood swing, when Muddy Face comes on
the scene with a hip hop DUB called Motley.
It gets even weirder on the next track:
industrial minimalistic, drums and distorted
bass. After this the CD moves into a
different direction once more: two
meditative tracks with nuff world-music
vibes. Reggae Vibes enter again at track 9,
an artist called Ras Prophet comes in with
another easy skanking tune, slightly
reminding me of Boom Shaka. Followed is
another minimalistic underground tune called
"Shopping". The last three tracks
are from MP3.com artists again. JAH DUB
presenting "Zion", roots and acid
combined. Track number 12 is reserved for
the compiler: EJ Winner. His track
"natty" is a minimalist Dub with a
lot of background noises, nice to chill out
on this one. The last track on this album is
Bloodsucker, by Dubroom artist Messian
Dread. Conscious Roots reggae with extended
Dub version.
DUB MEET DUB surely draws once more the
attention to an ongoing debate: what is Dub?
Personally I don't think all tracks on the
CD fit the description, although it is
evidently that drums, bass (in any form) and
effects form the spinal colom in the
presented music. If you're into the
underground, and remember that is in the
underground that the trends of tommorrow are
coming to exist, this one is for you!
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