| When
you see a record by the "Auralux"
label, you can almost automatically
establish that you have a more-than-good
Reggae re-release in your hand.
Take this two-albums-on-one-cd, for
example. It contains some of the
better DUB works from the early
1980's.
It was the time when Rub a Dub or early
Dancehall music gained popularity thanks to
singers like Barrington Levy and his unforgettable
"under mi sensi".
Unfortunately, there's not a Dub from
that great track on this album, though. But
that doesn't really matter, because this
album features the works of the two best
known apprentices from the only and only
Godfather of DUB, King Tubby.
Another pretty relevant fact is, that
Linvall Thompson produced the music on the
first part. In Reggae, producing often
"simply" means coming with the
cash, but Linvall Thompson knew what he was
doing as his name is present on a
significant portion of Rub a Dub material
from the early 1980's.
It was at King Tubby's DUB Studio, that
the Scientist and Prince Jammy developed
their mixing skills and the music on this
album was mixed there, too.
The first half is engineered by
Scientist, the second by Prince Jammy. It's
very clear, that both men have their own
particular way of mixing, each complementing
the other. This is kind of special, since
they were both using more or less the same
equipment: that of King Tubby's himself.
The music they used for the albums is
stronger than strong, too. Al Campbell's
"JAH Is My Light", for example. Or
the Viceroy's "I'm Trying On".
The title Dub Landing, though indicates
the end of a period. And in a way, that was
true. Originally, the albums were released
in a period just before the digital
possibilities entered the studio's and
Dancehall changed dramatically.
And many people argue, that this marked
the end of a DUB era. But we obviously
strongly disagree with that. It's a fact,
that in these early to mid 1980's DUB took a
world tour and landed in several countries
where it continues to have a strong
following as well as artist base.
Still, it's equally true that Jamaica was
no longer the epicenter of DUB since that
time. And so, you could say a lot about the
title. But best is, to actually get the
album and listen for yourself.
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