In the Dub Zone

Oh, I can see Joe Strummer chilling to this record up in punk heaven. This is the shit that the Clash loved to dwell on. Pure reggae stripped down to nothing but a steady and hypnotic drum/bass beat with melodic lines (horns, keyboards, guitar) sparsely interjecting into the rhythm. Deliciously groovy, but in an acidified manner. This is DUB, a term originally coined to describe remixed versions of reggae tunes with the vocals and other elements completely removed, while mixing engineers exercise their creativity (delays, echoes and sampling). It is ironic as Reggae lyrics were so caustic and subversive that the music was often banned from the radio. And then, there was dub; technically speaking an internal form of censorship taking the rhythms of ska and reggae into a higher level of consciousness.

These are 2 dub albums produced by Dudley Swaby. The musicians are said to be top of the cream. Need proof of principle? Ska legends Don Drummond and Tommy McCook on the trombone and tenor sax, respectively. Roll one up and enjoy!!! (ideal for beats/breaks type of dj-ing and music carpets). Ideal for microscopy and science writing. All instrumental unless indicated otherwise.

Tracks 20, 9, 15 are my favorites. Tracks 10, 5, 22, 19 are also recommended. This is a great-great LP.

#1: Airplane sound effects - funky melodic & bass
#2: Anticlimactic - melodic brass/bass
*#3: SKA brass lines - Nostalgic and melodic.
#4: Sparsely jumpy - Nice simple keyboard lines
**#5: Yeah Man! Funky organ lines. Mmmm... groovy
#6: Dominant bass. Nice call/response on keyboards.
#7: Straight up reggae feel stripped down to the essentials (rolling drum beats & catchy horns)
#8: Ska/reggae fusion
***#9: DELICIOUSLY GROOVY. Beautiful organ. Can I have this dance with you, please?
**#10: Beautiful dancey chune. Ska melodic brass-based groove. Funky percussion and nice organ.
#11: Heavy bass & a dissonant anticlimactic feel
#12: Sparse reggae vocals. Dull.
#13: Guitar riffs on delay & heavy bass. Sad & spacey.
**#14: Upbeat & groovy.
***#15: Fucking awesome. Got this pacman electronic game synth effect building into the rhythm
**#16: Ska brass intro - Melodic bass groove
*#17: Mesmerizing and hypnotizing. Sweet.
*18: Straight up reggae. Working class vocals
**19: Sound effects and rebelious groove.
***20: THIS IS THE BEST. Innocent vocals and melodic lines. Gotta love the keyboards and the sound effects.
#21: Weird noise effect. Anticlimactic
**#22: Melodramatic and epic. Can you hear the word "Africa" in this one?
#23: Sustained synth sounds and syncopated brass and beats.