‘Mirage’ is a musical phenomenon that arises in the atmosphere due to refraction and total internal reflection of analog sound rays at the boundary between layers of trance of varying density, tribal ambient, and futuristic dub. Thanks to this effect, the observer sees imaginary images of distant objects that are normally hidden behind the horizon, as well as their distorted shapes or reflections.
Legowelt & Takafumi Noda aka Mystica Tribe with their third Noda & Wolfers album, this one is for the real dub headz.
The Birmingham master, Mick Harris, arrives with his first vinyl installment of his “Culvert Dub Sessions” series. Mick has taken to the studio desk with his live hands on mixing approach and conjured up 8 tracks of classic, deep, slow rolling dub techno in the traditions of the greats. Think heavy nautical dub outs, windswept delays, low ends to make you seasick, high freqs cutting through the scenery, this is Harris at his finest. No holds barred, sincere electronics from the gut in pure form. A perfect soundtrack for a chilly fall sunset on the river bank.
By the end of the 1970s Linval Thompson had cut out a successful dual career for himself as both singer and producer. Naturally he moved in the dub field as well, getting further use out of rhythms he used in his other works. Dub had begun strictly as an album format with limited pressing runs for scene insiders, but it had swiftly gained the interest of the rank and file reggae buffs. ‘Negrea Love Dub’, originally released in 1978, is a cornerstone in the reggae dub scene. The sound of the ten dubs featured here is hypnotic and its effects are euphoric to say the least.
Mystic Jungle is back with a new album of free-spirited forays into solar-sonic fantasy. Dario di Pace’s third LP, ‘Sunset Breaker’, has been in gestation for a long while and reflects an arduous journey through studio closures and multiple recording locations. It also shows the stylistic variety that results when a set of songs develops over several years. Despite this difficult journey, Mystic Jungle has produced a rich and multi-colored display of sounds and styles, resulting in his most diverse and adventurous musical narrative thus far. Standout dance tracks like “Secrets” and “Some Lovin’” feature disco beats and body-moving grooves, with searing guitars, sultry saxophones, and layers of loved-up lyrics and call-and-response vocals that add to the magical motion. Meanwhile, “Innervision” and “Twilight” draw inspiration from lovers rock and neon new-wave dub pop, where yearning vocals, ecstatic pixie hooks, and liquid fuzz leads intertwine with fantasy synths and exotic string instruments from faraway lands. On sunbaked, stoner tracks like “The Road” and “Get Me Higher,” Mystic Jungle blends harmonizing passages of 60s psychedelia, radiant summer soul, and low-down zoner jamming.
The Infinite Wheel are a visionary duo who emerged from the DIY and Anarcho-Punk underground of the early ’80s West Country scene. Both members have been deeply involved in numerous influential projects, releasing chart-topping music under names that are instantly recognisable. But it’s their groundbreaking work in the ’90s that truly captured the attention of Midnight Drive label. “Java Dub / Enviro” are immersive, longform explorations that stay true to the dub tradition – expansive soundscapes that pull the listener in, treating the mixing desk as an instrument in its own right. Thunderous basslines and cavernous echoes intertwine with tribal percussion and celestial ambient synths, creating a rich, enveloping sonic universe for both deep listeners and dancers alike.
Tokyo based Mystica Tribe is an electronic producer and melodica player who blends his own unique ‘Far Eastern’ dub style reggae with techno. He heads up his own label but has also dropped heat on the likes of The Hague’s SD and here brings the heat to a vital new 7” on Jamie McCue’s Moon Garden. ‘Rising Tide Dub’ has lush harmonica leads and oodles of echo and reverb that sinks you in deep to the cavernous bass. ‘Current Swell Dub’ then steps it back to an even more silky and liquid rhythm with dainty chords and gentle dynamic drums. Both these cuts are heady and soulful in equal measure.
The second album from Noda & Wolfers on Nightwind Records is here. With “Evil Fades In Echo” the Japanese dub melodica virtuoso Takafumi Noda aka Mystica Tribe meets up with Danny Wolfers aka Legowelt again for an unique concoction of digital dub acid hall with raw lo-fi synth wave. Buckets of echo, crumbled tapes, mind altering phasers, luring spring reverbs, sloppy hythm boxes, heavy intense bass and the ever mystifying melodica playing from Noda bring this project to a new level.
Sosilly is back and they’ve brought some local aussie legends to join them on a cosmic outback bush boogie with 4 x epic dub-olicious, psych rock, Afro disco jams.
OTTO is back with a Maximal Super Sound Maxi 12″ on Eine Welt. The label, run by Alexander Arpeggio concludes this 12″ series with an obscure banger by the Berlin-based Organ Band OTTO. On the A-side: Obscure uptempo Italo Madness, bassline-heavy, and featuring dirty vocoder Ansagen. On the other A-side: a driving and full of surprises midtempo groover with mysterious german voodoo ritual chants.
Island style electronic dub from the Mad Professor. Originally released in 1985 on the same Ariwa imprint. True D.I.Y. business from this UK dub pioneer.
‘Instrumental Dubs #2’ is a deep dive into the world of the Dub version and beyond. The A side has a distinct boogie feel, starting slow with a George Kerr produced cut from 1984 followed by a Brit Funk-esq instrumental from Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes originally released on the Philly World label (home to ‘Voice of Q’). The A side closes with the ‘Sweeter’ instrumental mix of Boogie bomb ‘Loving Sweet Devotion’ by Idiater Edwards. The B side opens with ‘H2S04’ from Mad Professor that defies categorisation, sitting somewhere between Electro, Disco and Dub. Last but by no means least there’s an uptempo Dub mix of Original Rockers ‘Push Push’ making its first appearance on Vinyl having only been on the CD single release first time around.
Ada Kaleh, the Romanian composer and DJ, follows up on his recent releases for R&S Records and Apollo with a brand new single, ‘Unravelling’. Featuring the vocals of Fela Kuti at his most potent, ‘Unravelling’ also includes a featured performance from Eric Leeds, the American saxophone player most noted for his work with Prince, both in the studio and as part of the Purple One’s touring band.
Höga Nord Rekords presents “Totem Och Tabu”, the debut album of Swedish electronic psychedelia artist Datasal. The sound is built around repetitive sequencer loops and programmed beats where electric bass, electric guitar and flute improvise around a theme, creating a sound that is best described as cosmic flute house.
Funk The System! The recipe is simple: Dig deep, listen to your heart, record everything you got on a dusty old desktop computer, leave it to simmer for the time of a pandemic, and if it’s still fresh, serve it up on the finest plate of black wax! This collaboration started in Düsseldorf in the year 2018. Locked up for a week in the Flanger Studios, Wolf Müller and Credit 00 recorded everything: from the jaw harp to smartphone apps, chopping up GDR Jazz breaks and squeezing the Funk out of every synthesizer and drum machine at hand. You will hear the open mindedness towards all sorts of musical influences from the first note. Each of the five tracks showcases a wild mix of flavours: Disco Reggae, B-Girl Breakbeats, Protest Folk, Subway Funk, Tabla Rhythms, you name it… they’ll take it and shake it! It is obvious these two got sonically socialized and educated by the multiculturalism of Hip-Hop in their early days.
Höga Nord Rekords celebrates a decade of deep diving into both local and global pools of underground music. During this 10 year long period, Höga Nord Rekords has proven that music both has high cultural relevance as well as supplying instant kicks. Common for the label mates are the slightly screwed approach to genre and sound, with creativity and surprising takes on song structures and tonality. The label has from day one searched for, and signed creative people making music that is not for everyone. Höga Nords reach has and never will be the mainstream and the well-known, rather going deep and wide underground, reaching those who need music to survive and not just as a fund to pass time.
Om Unit and TM404 have both been researching production and compositional elements in the crosshairs of dub and acid for the last few years – Om Unit most notably with his Acid Dub Studies 1 & 2, and TM404 with his Acidub album in particular.
Froid Dub continues to explore its synth-lined slowed down digi-dub cave flooded with waves of echoes and acid bleeps. From begging to end, bass lines and flanged delays sail over deep waters, seemingly barely disturbed by the minimal pump of the synth-wave track Not Loved.
Glasgow’s Seated Records return with more archival Scottish New Wave material; this time, in the form of Pop Wallpaper’s disco-not-disco interpretation of the Shuggie Otis classic, ”Strawberry Letter 23”. The Edinburgh band first released ”Strawberry Letter 23” in 1986 as a double A side 12” alongside original song, ”Nothing Can Call Me Back”.
The Hipodrome Of Music 