Back catalogue: Dub

Review: The newly formed Dreadlionsmusic label out of Austria debuts here with a fresh EP featuring the eponymous producer Dreadlionsmusic. They take charge of two tunes - the first features the mic work of Fitta Warri on 'Full Control' which has fleshy drums wobbling backwards and forwards and natty dub vocals with some fresh and futuristic synth work next to classic chords. Dreadlionsmusic then offers up a dub take, as they also do of the second tune 'Heart & Soul'. The original is another bit of well-made dub steeped in tradition but with fresh production bringing it right up to date.

Review: French electro dub investigators Froid Dub made quite the splash with their debut release An Iceberg Cruising The Jamaican Coastline. They took some time to deliver a follow-up, this year's Deep Blue Bass, but now they're back in quick fashion with a further mini-LP of head-nodding meditations. As ever, the magic lies in their fusion of DIY synth explorations with the time-honoured processing of true dub music, and the duo's earnest appreciation for the roots of the sound shine through in their approach. 'Treasure' has a rawness to it which chimes with some of the early crossovers between UK soundsystem styles with techno, such as those achieved by Iration Steppas. There's a more obvious backroom slant to the placid pace of 'Dub It Naturally', but as ever there's a spiciness to the synth work which puts it in a different zone to straight up dub. If you value dubwise abstractions, this record is a must-check.

Review: Given the anger in the United States surrounding the antics of President Trump, it was almost inevitable that we'd see a cover version of Roy C Hammond and the Honey Drippers' Nixon-era funk bomb "Impeach The President" at some point. It's a great cover, too, with Fysah Thomas providing a sassy, venomous lead vocal over a fine, horns-and-drumbreaks-heavy funk backing track courtesy of backing band The Get Down Underground. On the flip they completely re-build the track, re-casting it as an authentic dub reggae workout complete with delay-laden vocal and horn snippets and an all new rhythm track. It's rather brilliant all told and arguably even better than the A-side version.

Review: On their latest deep dive into the archives, Re:discovery Records has dipped into the vaults of techno producer Dietrich Schonemann, serving up selected tracks from two projects active between 1993 and '95: Portotype 909 (a trio that also included Jason Szostek and Taylor Deupree) and Facil (a collaboration with Abe Duque). Two tracks from the latter take pride of place on side A: the sparse, creepy, sub-heavy, ambient techno-goes-electro shuffle of 'Tree Frog' and the gorgeously sparkling, slow-motion IDM dreaminess of '700x7'. Prototype 909 is celebrated on side B, with the dreamy deep space chords, bustling breakbeats and psychedelic acid lines of 'Transit' being followed by the pitched-down TB-303 chug of 'Planet S' and the intergalactic IDM laziness of 'Same Place'.

Review: Re:discovery records are a 'chillout' techno label committed to reissuing lost gems from the 1990s and repackaging them for the modern listener. Their sound is downtempo and minimal, usually opting for more experimental post-EBMmy takes on the techno and electro sound. Emblematic of their focus is this new rerelease from Prototype 909 and Facil, 'Excerpts From 1993-1995', which slows many stock techno components down to a snail's pace; '700x7', for example, brings balearic moods to an otherwise bass-heavy kick-centric beat skeleton, the latter of which could otherwise have only come from the post-industrial bassweight that techno brought. 'Transit', meanwhile, is a pinnacle of acid trance. We advise you listen.

Review: During the pandemic lockdown, Fat Freddy's Drop looked themselves away in the iconic Michael Fowler Centre in the band's hometown of Wellington, New Zealand. There was no audience as a reflection of the weird times, but they still set to jamming out a wealth of conscious songs of freedom and hope for a generation. Their whole studio was relocated to the venue along with an MPC and allowed the band to turn out slow burn classics like 'Soldier', 'Hope' and 'This Room' as well as test drive 'Avengers', which was a brand new track in the making.

Review: Froid Dub's new album Deep Blue Bass on French label Delodio is as deep as the Mariana Trench. The bubbling bass and gurgling synth lines bring a new aesthetic to digi-dub that places you at the centre of the cavernous and aqueous sound worlds. Mystic synth leads take the mind away up top as those bottom ends rumble on in an atmospheric fashion. Tunes are subtle marbled with acid lines and echoes, digi-dub bleeps and icy hi-hats that all help oil the rhythms and accent the basslines. A superb work.