Artist
: BUSH CHEMISTS
Title : DUB FIRE BLAZING
Label : DUBHEAD
Format : C.D / L.P
Reigning
supreme since the release of their classic ‘Light up
your Spliff’ set, The Bush Chemists need little introduction. The brainchild
of in demand producer Dougie ‘Conscious Sounds’
Wardrop their sound is rootsier and heavier than ever.
Highlights of this set include : ‘This Sound’
A tune perfect for opening your dubwise sets, with its heavily effected
vocal intro. and mid paced riddim. Also ‘King David’s
House’ a harder more up - tempo riddim. Play it when your dance is
jumping. Those looking for Ganja inspired tunes are well catered for with
wicked ‘Erb Warrior’, ‘Long
Time I No Smoke’ and the lazy instrumental that is ‘Marijuana
Defenders’. The vinyl ends with the excellent sub bass driven ‘Blowing
For His Majesty’.
CD listeners are
provided with four bonus tracks in the form of the trombone led ‘Watching
Dub’. The aptly named, Pabloesque ‘Eastern
Style’. The deep in dub ‘Bass Gone Crazy’
and the modern roots / dancehall inspired riddim of the CD’s closer ‘Stand
For The Right’. A welcome return for one the premier and originator
names of the UK digital roots / dub sound.
Keep It Locked
bimble@freeradicalsounds.com
Bush
Chemists back catalogue reviewed here.
Artist : HUGH
MUNDELL
Title : ARISE
Label : MUNROCK /
JETSTAR
Format : C.D
When
Hugh Mundell was criminally taken from us at
the tender age of 25 the world of roots reggae was robbed of one of its
fastest rising stars. Hugh would, I’m sure have gone on to lead and shape
the future moves of roots in the international market place. He had already
been recording for over ten years after first coming to light under the
watchful eye of the also so sadly passed ‘Augustus
Pablo’. Mundell’s ‘Africa Must Be Free By 1983’
was a massive hit at the time and now has earned the well deserved classic
status. Any time you play out a Hugh Mundell tune you notice both nods of
approval and moves toward the dance - floor.
Arise’s
tracks were originally laid down in ’83, the year that sadly turned out
to be the year of Hugh Mundells murder. The tracks were then posthumously
mixed by Dennis Bovell. Arise has a strong
consistency to its tunes and brings forth feelings of bygone days of strident
- rocking summer / carnival style vibes.
The
set opens perfectly with the upbeat ‘Blessing Of Fari’
and is followed by it’s dub ( Rent Man ). Which
is pushed along by extra percussion and syndrums ( probably played by Mundell,
himself ). Next up we have the jubilant horn led instrumental ‘ Mr
Big Bad Wolf’ which segues into the vocal cut ‘ Hey
Good Looking’ a personal favourite. We are then treated to five more
tracks of a equally high order.
Though not the longest
of albums, coming in at the more vinyl friendly length of a little over
35 minutes. This should not put you off as quality should always be ranked
over quantity and this album is, in my humble opinion, simply
a must have.
Artist : LOVE GROCER
featuring CHESIRE CAT
Title : A LITTLE
RAIN MUST FALL / A LITTLE VERSION / 40 DAYS /40 NIGHTS
Label : DUBHEAD
Format : TEN INCH
SINGLE
A four track ten
inch e.p. featuring all new works from the Love Grocer crew. The A side
has reworking’s of tunes from their superb debut album ‘Rocking
With’ . These previously instrumental tunes have the addition of
Cheshire Cat on vocals ( known previously
for his solo work and with Leftfield among
others ). The cat rides Love Grocers sublime riddims to full effect inna
gruff J.A. toaster style. Making this release
simply unmissable.
The
flip side has two versions of a new riddim. A riddim that is more akin
to the album release I.E slow paced - horn driven - sweet and soulful
melodies backed up by deep bass, Spanish style guitar work and a subtle
yet heavy dropping riddim. ’40 Days’ features
a nice counterpoint of clarinet lines and short precise solos from each
of the horns. 40 Nights is built upon the
same riddim and is expectedly more of a stripped back, dubbed up affair.
Bringing the riddim to the fore, losing the guitars and effecting up the
Crispy Horns hooks and lines.
In this e.p. Love Grocer bring us a platter where
both sides can be played out with the Cheshire Cat mixes being great for
in the thick of the dance. Reserving 40 Nights for the later ‘deep in
dub sets.
10/10 Shine On.
Artists
: BUSH CHEMISTS / MUNGO HIFI
Titles : DUB FIRE
BLAZING / KING DAVIDS HOUSE DUB / WICKEDNESS / WICKED VERSION
Label : DUBHEAD
Format : TEN INCH
E.P
A shared 10" EP with each artist taking on a side
. The Bush Chemists provide us with exclusive
mixes of two tracks lifted from their newly released ‘Dub
Fire Blazing’ album. The track ‘Dub Fire
Blazing’ is an upful medium paced stepper with deep sound system
friendly Sub bass and a subtle hook from the Crispy
Horns. ‘King David’s House Dub’ is
a harder and more up tempo affair, good for when your dance is jumping.
The flip side features the debut from Dubheads
latest signing ‘Mungo Hifi’ ( watch out for
them on the forthcoming ‘A Dubbers Guide’
album ). Mungo Hi-fi provide us with two
cuts of their ‘Wickedness’ tune. Vocalist
Brother Culture delivers a message on the
subject of ridding the world of it’s wickedness ( which seems especially
poignant today 12/09/01 with all recent happens in the U.S.) The version
mixes back the vocal and brings forward the skanking one drop riddim and
mixes it up in a strident and fine style. Both the vocal and the dub of
‘Wickedness’ are current personal favourites,
which I’ll be rinsing for a long time to come.
This EP all in all is a great marriage of two quality dub acts which will
receive plenty of play - out exposure from the Free
Radical Sound System Crew.
bimble@freeradicalsounds.com
Bush
Chemists back catalogue reviewed here
Artist : VARIOUS
ARTISTS
Title : FOUNDATIONAL
ROOTS
Label : CHANNEL
ONE U.K
Format : CD /
LP
Foundational Roots is not really a compilation more of a singers showcase
in that all the vocalists employ the riddims of J.A
and U.K recording artist Martin
Campbell as their backing. Campbell’s productions are often strident
, always disciplined and never over cooked. Campbell skillfully employ’s
the less is more ethos to produce class roots riddims of the highest
order and teaches the art of restraint. Which all adds up to plenty
of space for the vocalists message to hit home. Whether its in praise
of Jah, sound system
bizzness, anti war or affairs of the heart.
Here at FRS
we have longtime been admirers of Campbell’s Hi
- Tech Roots Dynamics sound. Look out
for the forthcoming FRS roots and dubs releases ‘NU SHOOTS INNA ROOTS’
( frs003 / frs004 ), which includes two riddims from the Hi
- Tech Dynamics stable.
Vocalists
featured include : Aqua Levi, Robert Lee, Kendrick Andy, Meneman,
Tena Stelin and Campbell himself.
Top Tune :
Robert Lee : Stride
The tune we loved so much when it came out on
Channel One U.K’s original seven inch that we licensed it for the
forthcoming ‘Nu Shoots’. Strident one drop sound bizzness.
Runner Up
: Tena Stelin : The Vibes
Uplifting, laid back and driving all at the
same time a quality tune with some quality Nyabingi style conga and
bongoman playing.
bimble@freeradicalsounds.com
Artist : VARIOUS ARTISTS
Title : AUGUSTUS
PABLO PRESENTS CLASSIC ROCKERS TWO
Label : ROCKERS
INTERNATIONAL
Format : CD
Killer classic rockers
vocals from Pablo’s golden
era. New comers may not necessarily recognise
the titles but upon listening you’ll find every tune is some how familiar.
This collection
of seventies Pablo productions stands
proud and could serve as an excellent introduction to his vocal
productions. Every track is a winner but if I had to choose one
track to mention it’d have to be the original cut of Horace
Andy’s ‘Rock
To Sleep’ a wonderfully sleepy voiced one drop riddim with
Horace’s spoken intro sounding sweet and youthful.
bimble@freeradicalsounds.com
