The collision of dub, founded in the antics of Jamaican engineers and DJs, with the ever-expanding varieties of techno was a given; the prodigious output of Bill Laswell certainly laid the groundwork, with Jah Wobble coming up in support. While these bridges might well have been enough, Jamaican music itself had undergone a metamorphosis with the appearance of dancehall, ragamuffin, and computer styles that more and more pushed reggae and dub into more tightly programmed arrangements. The resulting unchecked cross ...
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The collision of dub, founded in the antics of Jamaican engineers and DJs, with the ever-expanding varieties of techno was a given; the prodigious output of Bill Laswell certainly laid the groundwork, with Jah Wobble coming up in support. While these bridges might well have been enough, Jamaican music itself had undergone a metamorphosis with the appearance of dancehall, ragamuffin, and computer styles that more and more pushed reggae and dub into more tightly programmed arrangements. The resulting unchecked cross-pollination resulted in a flavor of dub that was new and punchy; as often as not, the basic rhythm simply kept going and going, while performers and engineers worked on the other sounds and tossed in a major dollop of synthesizer squalling for good measure. This two-disc set provides the listener with a variety of approaches, including a couple of more traditional efforts such as Zion Train's "Follow Like Wolves." In a number of other cases, the point is less hewing to anything like traditional dub rhythms; the method is the issue (the connection made by Laswell, who applies dub methodology in whatever context he likes). Alas, more than a little space is given up to more traditional techno, trip-hop, and trance, losing the dub aspect in the process. The System 7, Astralasia, and Eat Static entries definitely don't fit with the genre. Overall, however, this is a good selection of artists and cuts drawn from many of the more interesting labels (such as On-U Sound.) ~ Steven McDonald, Rovi
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