Hip-Hop News

"For some folks, melancholy is the pleasure of being sad. However, Viktor Hugo's famous saying always applies to A Rocket In Dub - the long sleeping project of Düsseldorf-based producer Stefan Schwander, also known under pseudonyms Antonelli Electric. or Harmonious Thelonious - that recently awoke after having a 17 years long studio nap. Under the alias Leroy Versions, Schwander released a terrific dub-inspired single in 2017. But the dub-laden bass of A Rocket In Dub swings higher, further out. Now it's back. Just a little more relaxed, a little closer to Earth. In the past, A Rocket In Dub tracks were driven by club-leaning atmospheres and taught genres like house and minimal Jamaican dub deepness. Today they dangle more deliberately, with a cruise control at 105 BPM and a classic floating dub-harmonic, in which the off-beats dance contagiously as tripped-up chords. There are also new, partly unusual sounds sources, such as classic Caribbean steel drum melodies or the looped noise of a rolling train that functions as a groove rhythm to send a track like "Train Dub" on a weightless bass journey.

All nine tracks also distribute the feeling as if they were traditionally created on a mixing console and not welded from dripping sequencer passages and digital groove patterns. A rocket from the past, now decelerating towards the future, minimally accentuated thanks to a skeletonized, transparent groove motor. In the future, all this will get also presented live, because A Rocket In Dub wants to bring its Jet force to the stage in order to create states of limbo in the presence of human matter. It should also be mentioned that "Normal Dub" comes as a 4x7-inch box with screen-printed cover and sees the light of the day on a new label: Krachladen Dub, the fresh subdivision of the free-spirited Düsseldorf experimental label Krachladen, which will make more dub inspired music available in the future, seen!"
Artwork by Hendrik Krawen

“Play On Mr Music” by the Upsetter Revue featuring The Heptones, The Congos and Junior Murvin, had long been the Holy Grail for roots reggae connoisseurs, until Rocka Shacka issued it on a 10-inch EP.

The result of an impromptu studio jam - captured on celluloid for Jeremy Marre’ s Roots Rock Reggae documentary in May 1977 - the track celebrates the undeniable pull of Perry’ s musical artistry, with both musicians and onlookers enhanced by the uplifting qualities of a marijuana spliff.

You can also enjoy the unreleased dub mix of the deep rasta tune "Rejoice Jah Jah Children" by The Silvertones, and an irie roots rock version of Curtis Mayfield "People Get Ready" by Junior Murvin, and Jimmy Riley’s soulful vocal on “Give Me A Love”.

“Play On Mr Music” by the Upsetter Revue featuring The Heptones, The Congos and Junior Murvin, had long been the Holy Grail for roots reggae connoisseurs, until Rocka Shacka issued it on a 10-inch EP.

The result of an impromptu studio jam - captured on celluloid for Jeremy Marre’ s Roots Rock Reggae documentary in May 1977 - the track celebrates the undeniable pull of Perry’ s musical artistry, with both musicians and onlookers enhanced by the uplifting qualities of a marijuana spliff.

You can also enjoy the unreleased dub mix of the deep rasta tune "Rejoice Jah Jah Children" by The Silvertones, and an irie roots rock version of Curtis Mayfield "People Get Ready" by Junior Murvin, and Jimmy Riley’s soulful vocal on “Give Me A Love”.

Principal is the new solo project by producer and musician Rasmus Allin, who’s first album Treacherous Dub will be released on the Copenhagen-based label StereoRoyal in July 2020.

Best described as an homage to old-school Jamaican dub, Principal’s music features live recorded drums and other instruments. Fused with electronic elements, it celebrates the sound of the original dub pioneers.

Born in 1970, Rasmus Allin has been working as a producer, musician, and songwriter since the mid-nineties, primarily within the realm of electronic music. Inspired by the British trip hop and drum ‘n’ bass scene, he soon gravitated towards Jamaican dub, rocksteady, and reggae. "I found my inspiration in the old Jamaican dub masters like Lee Scratch Perry, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, and Scientist. I’ve spent endless hours in the studio trying to replicate their sound, using old tape delays, filter boxes, and modulation effects,” he says.

In 2002, Allin formed the band Junkyard Productions, playing major venues and festivals like Elysee Montmartre, Le Triptyque, Télérama Dub Festival, and Roskilde Festival while touring through Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and France. Alongside this, he continued to hone his skills in producing, co-writing, and remixing music, working with top Danish pop and reggae acts the likes of Natasja, Pharfar, Wafande, Shaka Loveless, and the British girl band All Saints.

Treacherous Dub will be released on vinyl and all major streaming platforms, and will be Allin’s first album of pure instrumental dub tracks —an ambition he’s been wanting to fulfil for years. Marking his debut as a solo artist, the album also marks his premiere as a visual artist, with the album cover lithograph made by Allin himself. For Rasmus Allin, the collaboration with StereoRoyal offered “the perfect opportunity to give the tracks the finishing touches.”

StereoRoyal is a Danish library music label founded in 2010 by and specializes in off-kilter music for film and TV. Originally, the label focused on electronic genres, but over the years has grown to include a broader variety of music produced by some of the most talented composers in Scandinavia.

Shaky Norman is a French musician who discovered the melodica through the music of Augustus Pablo.His influences range from classical to Jamaican music as well as punk, Celtic music, French traditional music and jazz. He has collaborated with Mad Professor in
1990 playing melodica on the album Psychedelic Dub.
His new eponymous album features eight original creations. It is set up as a 32 minutes musical journey taking you through different atmospheres kept together as a whole. The collaboration with prestigious Jamaican musicians like the late Ronald Nambo Robinson
on trombone, who played with Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Burning Spear, Sly & Robbie and so many others, and Glen Da Costa, the saxophonist of Bob Marley & the Wailers and Zap Pow, add an authentic depth to this album

Dubquake Records aren’t simply doing a reissue, these new remastered editions are a complete upgrade from the original release: for the first time, the whole 15 tracks previously only available on the CD are getting pressed onto a double LP (only 8 and 10 tracks featured on the original vinyl releases). And icing on the cake, the artwork on the inner leaflet is made of old school pictures and flyers, taking you straight down memory lane. A crucial double release!

Dubquake Records aren’t simply doing a reissue, these new remastered editions are a complete upgrade from the original release: for the first time, the whole 15 tracks previously only available on the CD are getting pressed onto a double LP (only 8 and 10 tracks featured on the original vinyl releases). And icing on the cake, the artwork on the inner leaflet is made of old school pictures and flyers, taking you straight down memory lane. A crucial double release!

Dope 12! Both tunes taken from early 80's LP tracks... HEAVY!!

De la musique engagée comme il y en a peu mais qui ne laisse pas la musicalité pour autant.

Varié et truffé de bons artistes et de futurs chants révolutionnaires?!!!!

After more than a year of support from the likes of Loefah, N-Type and others, 'Winter is coming' is Coki's 10th instalment on his Don't Get It Twisted label.

Fresh from being played on his USA, Australia and New Zealand tours, something to lift the lock-down spirit.

South London-based band Soothsayers are set to release their ninth studio album 'We Are Many'. Held together by heavy basslines, solid grooves, and socially and politically charged lyrics; the album takes the listener into different sonic spaces with elements of dub, Afrobeat, improvisational jazz and electronica.

The initial steps in recording 'We Are Many' came in January 2019 when the band's founders - saxophonist Idris Rahman and trumpeter Robin Hopcraft - set out on a journey to Brazil. With executive production in the Sao Paulo studio by renowned music journalist and author David Katz, they hooked up with bass player and producer Victor Rice who they'd met sharing the bill at Freedom Sounds festival in Cologne, Germany a year earlier. Victor organised a session in Studio Traquitana, home of acclaimed Brazilian band Bixiga 70, and invited a selection of local musicians. Percussionist and singer Ligia Kamara contributed lyrics and melodies written in the studio, and drummer Bruno Buarque, guitarist Joao Erbetta and bassist Victor provided some solid, personality-driven input. Fresh and vital, what came out was a fascinating blend of Soothsayers' dub and Afrobeat mixed with distinctly Brazilian inflections.

After arriving back in the UK, Idris and Robin set about creating the remainder of the album in a different, yet complimentary way, and called on the services of Wu-Lu and Kwake at their The Room studio in South London. Things started to take shape very quickly, Wu-Lu and Kwake combining Soothsayers' music with electronic elements, while also referencing elements of the current UK jazz scene.

When lockdown hit in March 2020, there was still a lot of work to do in order to complete a full album and Robin and Idris set about working on tracks with their musicians remotely. Having time to consider the album as a whole, they found strong connections between the music recorded in Brazil and the tracks recorded in London and they set about fusing and combining these elements further into a satisfying whole.

UK based Sengalese singer Modou Toure was enlisted to guest on one track while percussionists Satin Singh and Maurizio Ravalico were engaged to help affirm a sound-world where Brazilian flavours, such as the low-end Surdo drum, were combined with sounds more readily associated with reggae and Afrobeat.

Soothsayers' three part vocal harmony is a defining factor in this album. With strong references to the vocal styles of reggae legends such as The Gladiators, Mighty Diamonds, Heptones, and Abyssinnians; it has benefited from the long-standing friendship between Robin, Idris and Julia Biel. Lyrics, melodies and harmonies were presented, discussed, explored and recorded at Idris' and Julia's home studio in Streatham in a relaxed and positive way, with concepts from social and political commentary turned into powerful songs.

Themes cover political observations of Trump and beyond alongside Brazil's president Bolsanaro (Rat Race), speaking out against increasing levels of violence from the Brazilian government towards its native and indigenous people (Love And Unity) and keeping hopeful despite the impending horrors of a no-deal Brexit (We Won't Lose Hope).

Elsewhere they discuss striving to create space for meditation and reflection against the background noise of 24/7 news and social media (Move In Silence), the daily grind (No Sacrifice) and workers' rights (Slave), while highlighting those that fall through the cracks in society and end up without a permanent address, what led to this and how close we all are from this happening (One Step Away).

'We Are Many' represents a positive and uplifting statement in the face of challenging times - the overriding force, power and positivity of the music to continue forward, pushing the boundaries of musical concepts into the future.

"Whilst heavy questions of life and death and the future of our species surround us all, music is a guide that can help us perceive the challenges in a different way - a guide that can help us towards a deep inner peace. If we listen, music can help light the way. We hope you will listen, and we hope you will experience the joy, meditative power and beauty in the connection of different musical cultures that was experienced in the creation of this album."

- Idris Rahman and Robin Hopcraft

The next single on All Nations Records is a tremendous stepper riddim of French dubmaker Higher Meditation now based in Leicester UK. Veteran UK singer Kulture D from the local underground scene rides this rough riddim smoothly, calling out the almighty one to set everyone free. His prayer is still resonating deep in mind when entering the dub version of this track with the help of a subtle melodica line.

CRUCIAL! *also highly limited with floppy disk artwork and spinning fantascope magic by Ellen G – C:\>ECHO not to be missed!

Two heavily dub-encrypted data packages by disrupt, retrieved from Jahtari deep storage and transferred to 7″ floppy disk for the very first time.
On side A 'Chip on Fire', a 2005 favourite, mutates through it’s dramtic arc with hypnotic bass pressure, exploding psycho-synths and CPU-straining mind bender moments until reaching an intense conclusion. 'Jojo’s Skank', the desperate battle against a merciless metronome on side B, gives a nod to the immortal ‘Monkey Island’ adventure game soundtracks by Michael Z. Land (1990 / 91). For those who know…

Rivertones - the recorded music of Caught by the River - have repressed their classic 2012 Dylan Thomas-in-dub 7" Under Dubwood by the Dubwood Allstars.

Although Under Dubwood might seem an incongruous mix - the words of Dylan Thomas, the voice of Richard Burton and the studio sounds of King Tubby - the resulting single actually makes perfect sense - a gloriously woozy psychedelic skank that places Llareggub somewhere just outside downtown Kingston, JA. Since its release five years ago, Under Dubwood has been a staple on BBC6 Music and was used as soundbed music for the BBC's coverage of Dylan Thomas' centenary in 2014. It remains hugely in demand from the Caught by the River shop and has been sold out for the last eighteen months. The identity of the Dubwood Allstars remains a mystery to all at Rivertones.

On the B-side of the Under Dubwood 7" is River Theme by the Time and Space Machine (aka acid house stalwart Richard Norris of the Grid and Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve). River Theme is a hypnotic, fuzzed-up garage groove that's equal parts Dirty Water Club and Trash.

*Repress*

To celebrate 100 years of the Theremin, super producer Gaudi and friends have created an album of Theremin infused dub.

We present to you our eleventh release on 7” format, a collaboration between Ojah and UK singer Dan Bowskill, a.k.a. Danny Vibes.

The A side contains the track “Rebels”, a modern roots vocal performance by Dan over a new steppers riddim. These lyrics first appeared on his collaboration with Russ Disciples in 2014 and is now given a completely new perspective and delivery over this riddim.
On the B side we find a dub version as usual, in this case an instrumental dub,
mixed live in analog by Ojah at his studio in London.

* First appearing on A&O’s album `King and Queen’ in 1991, `Pure and Clean’ became an instant classic, with Jah Shaka cutting the track and running it on dub. Fast forward to 2013, Partial Records release it on 45 for the first time backed with one of the Shaka-championed dub cuts,
it remains the best fastest selling 7” on Partial.
* So, all good things come to those who wait. Partial have repressed it with 300 only copies available, with a tasty hand stamped outer sleeve.

Livity Sound present the 'Magnetic Service' EP from Azu Tiwaline exploring the intersections of Berber music, dub culture and techno hypnosis across four mesmerising tracks.
Fresh from the acclaimed Draw Me a Silence LP on IOT Records and collaborating with musician and sound artist Cinna Peyghamy, this new record further explores the hypnotic percussion and mystique of the Tunisian Sahara, a hybrid sound playing on contrasts and nuances, light and dark with echoes of techno minimalism and modern dub.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground music.

The Nassau Sessions were recorded in Nassau Bahamas in March of 2013 using zero analog equipment. This debut 7" features four sedated, rum-fueled dubs by Double Pelican Man.
The sounds chosen are familiar to the Dub Reggae lexicon. Deep sub bass, guitar chords, synth bleeps and clacking percussion. All drenched in echo and reverb, each ingredient added with careful consideration to the mix. The rhythms tumble and sway confidently. Grooves are proudly extended, while the occasional overdub effect gives each track a paradoxically haunting undertone.After inhaling these tracks, your perception of time may be altered. Seconds slowing to minutes, minutes drifting towards the open sea and out into the abyss. Suitable for a euphoric afternoon smoke or a back room deal. The Nassau Sessions will be one of the most distinguished dub EP's you will hear this year.

* Dubplate style from The Disciples and Boomshackalaka Sound System from the early 90’s.
* In-demand heavy-weight instrumental in-a Jah Shaka style.
* Featuring 3 mixes for maximum speaker distress.
* Strictly limited to 300 copies only.

Here comes the « Wonderland of Green Riddim » from Fruits Records’ studio band The 18th Parallel. This one is a super heavy rub a dub riddim played in the Roots Radics early 80’s traditional style. Double 7” single, the first record features the legendary Jamaican vocal trio from Studio One and Black Ark days, The Silvertones, singing the roots anthem « Wonderland of Green » and an extra killer dub mix by French wizard Westfinga on the B side. The second record features the big bad DJ Burro Banton with « Living In a Wonderland » and the instrumental version on the flip side. A must have double 7” single for all selecters!

"Double releases are a tradition in the house of Krachladen Records, the home of the new Sublabel Krachladen DUB. The 12" split EP „Dub Rosin Vol. 01“ will be released at the same time with 4x 7“ vinyl release „normal dub“ from a rocket in dub. The Dub Rosin EP opens a series of split EPs and compilations, which are reserved exclusively for DUB musicians and will be released 2-4 times a year at irregular intervals. On Dub Rosin Vol. 01, A and B side will be shared by the Düsseldorf IDM masters GRAPH with two and a rocket in dub with three previously unreleased tracks.

For 15 years the Düsseldorf IDM duo GRAPH (Stefan Jürke & Jens Beyer) has been engaged in the search for sounds beyond trends within electronic music. They experiment with sound and rhythmic structures that are constructed and deconstructed with the help of digital and analog tools. They constantly contrast the precision of digital music tools with improvised textures, surfaces and "beats", thus creating extraordinary and always danceable soundscapes. For Dub Rosin Vol. 01, GRAPH have provided two brutal but at the same time very peaceful and atmospheric tracks in which they experiment with Dub elements in a refreshing way and remain true to themselves despite all innovations. Deep and deepest subbasses fly around your ears, embedded in a trippy and organic soundspace.

The three tracks of "a rocket in dub" form a kind of bridge between the old and the new tracks (if music could talk, italic 32 vers. normal dub, KLD 001). Themes and harmonic schemes of the old tracks are reworked to versions, provided with new drums and percussion and thus updated. The tempo is a bit slower, but the hypnotic effect of repetition is still the main focus. The third short track was created as a friendly homage to Düsseldorf (for F.S.), a hint of a theme."

On this new 7" on All Nations Records, French undercover talent William Stepper teams up with veteran DJ Little R to deliver a powerful message on refugees struggling to reach safer shore. “No Place On The Boat” gets an even more meanings through the deep riddim of Simon Nyabinghi. The devastating dub mix on the flip of this single makes it a people’s favourite since its first play a couple of years back as a dubplate.

Barry Issac- Herb Street / Chazbo - Herb Melodica / Dave Crispy Horns - Herb Horns / Herb Street Dub

Green Vinyl Repress

The Geneva based combo Cosmic Shuffling strikes again with two superb Ska instrumentals taken from the "Magic Rocket Ship" studio sessions. The album release has been postponed due to the COVID crisis, but it’s our pleasure to give you a glimpse of what’s coming soon. These two cuts will not be on the upcoming album, 7" single exclusive, with beautiful silver ink labels! Pure fireball to make you dance and twist during the summer.

Dubbing Sun x Echo Ranks x Radikal Guru bringing the conscious vibes once again.