Back catalogue: Dub

Review: Matthieu Chedid and Seu Jorge's long-running collaboration reaches a new peak with this latest release. A-side, the track 'Parioca' brings together the duo's signature stylesiChedid's French flair and Jorge's Brazilian rhythms, resulting in a seamless fusion of groove and melody that invites listeners into a warm, joyful world where their distinct musical identities meet. The B-side's dub mix of 'Parioca' takes things in a deeper direction, layering hypnotic rhythms and atmospheric textures that open up the track, creating an expansive, dubby atmosphere. It's a perfect companion to the original, showing the depth and versatility of their musical partnership, which continues to evolve after more than a decade of collaboration.

Review: Emotional Response facilitate a new, prickly post-punk come dub fascinator by Shelter aka multi-instrumentalist Alan Briand. Helping redefine the term "digidub" to muted but compelling effect, this wry, checkered release themes each of its track titles after chessboard pieces, perhaps reflecting many of the power moves (rook castlings, last-minute pawn queenings) that have defined Briand's career so far: he's already demonstrated a dexterity in straddling several styles, from ambient, Balearic, improv and even acid Indian raga. All recorded live, this new, fuzz-packed release betrays an undying love for a particular dub sound: 'Kings, Knights & Rooks' fleshes hugely cosmic synth swells out of initially wan beginnings, whilst 'The Queen's Sacrifice' goes on to upend minimality entirely for maximal cavern-verb and 'Shutting Out Bishops' stars as the B-side's wackiest mumble-toasting; all tracks pay homage to a long, territorialising and power-hungry digidub tradition, with Prince Jammy, Alpha & Omega, Bush Chemist and Jonah Dan all namechecked as influences.

Review: Anyone who has followed Emotional Rescue knows it has always does a fine job of documenting pock punk and UK punk dub's early years, in this case showcasing the previously unheralded work of Skinbat Scramble, who emerged from the mundanity of the Home Counties to converge on London during the early 80s. Core members Mark Eason and Fergus Crockford were simultaneously inspired by the speedy punk thills of the Roxy Club and the Two Tone scene of ska and reggae which ran alongside it, as well as counter cultural heroes of the generation before like Gong and Velvet Underground. They got to work distilliing slow tempos, experimental sounds, dub and much more into leftfield rhythms, and while the likes of 'Basement Voltaire' - all echoing electronics, high frequency blips and merciless drum machines - or the Clash-in-dub workout 'North By Northwest' are rooted very much in the Cold War/Thatcher years, their individuality and experimental vibe mean they've endured remarkably well. Scramble to get yourself a copy.

Review: Disco-infused reggae and soulful grooves are on the agenda as Prince Fatty takes to the controls with regular vocal colllaborators Shniece and Horseman along for the ride too. For the Disco Deception album, he raids the reinvents various classics in the image of his own signature low-end energy and impeccable production, giving us original and dub mixes to choose from in several cases. His version of Krfatwerk's 'The Model', which features both Shniece and Horseman, was an underground smash when it emerged a couple of years back and sounds as vital as ever. 'Fever', made famous by Peggy Lee as far as 1958, gets some soul-stirring vocals from Shniece, and Tom Browne's 'Funkin' For Jamaica (NY)' is a glory of funky basslines to shimmering horns. A magnetic atmosphere that keeps listeners engaged from start to finish, all with character to spare.

Review: That the musical backlog of Hopeton Overton Brown took on a clinical name in the popular imaginary was not an accident. Before becoming known as Scientist, he was also known as the "Dub Chemist", owing to his technicality, incisiveness and exactingness in the studio. This is not, however, licence for us to prescribe, daresay dub, a too-rigid image of or name for the sound-doctor-as-artist; and it's releases like 'Direct To Dub' that prove this intractability, this willingness to break from the main. In sharp contrast to Scientist's albums - which are more or less studio opuses, and bear the marks of grand concept and perfectionism - 'Direct To Dub' is a much rawer direct-to-dubplate - and thus direct-to-dome - set of tracks. In the release's preceding sessions, Brown was joined by Amsterdam-based trombonist Salvoandrea Lucifora and backing vocalists Alyssa Harrigan and Peace Oluwatobi; prior to their arrival, he went about taking the studio apart and reassembling it to his specifications. The result was a liver take on Brown's talents; playing less the cold trepidation of a pharmacist, and more the carpal quickness of a spin-doctor. Brown, of course, knew that even the apparently 'cold' attitude of removal connoted with mixing and engineering was in itself a performance: "In dub mixing, the engineer now becomes the artist and it's a performance that the engineer do," he himself said in the run-up to this Night Dreamer reissue.

Review: This is the first reissue of Scientists' groundbreaking 1983 LP The People's Choice, which was the debut album created on King Tubby's then-new and soon-to-be legendary 16-track mixing desk. Featuring ten powerful dubs from the dubmaster himself, it opens with the masterful 'Everlasting Version' which is a fierce take on the iconic You Know A Rude Boy/Survival rhythm. The tracks were produced by Roy Cousins and recorded with the Roots Radics at Channel One and then taken to Tubby's studio for final dubbing perfection. This release really is a cornerstone of dub that very much captures the vital era's sonic innovations and Tubby's unmatched production skill.

Review: Death by Tickling is a masterfully intricate new collaborative album from Scotch Rolex and Shackleton. The is the sort of brain boggling and mind melting album that demand to be listened to loud, in the dark, on a great sound system or up close on headphones. It's a melange of languid dance music rhythms with experimental synths and percussion adding freaky details up top. Full of wildly unpredictable changes and weird time signatures, zoned out trance music and darkened dub, cosmic synth freak outs and ferocious sound designs, this is a truly unique record on every level.

Review: Paul Dickow is the man behind the Strategy project and this album was first released by Khaliphonic in 2018 and now reissued on wax. The artist has long been thought of as a musical polymath who has spent his life immersed in hardware and crafting unique sounds across the dub spectrum. This record proves that and then some with a mix of dub techno, digi-dub and everything in between. The rhythms are deep and involving, the synths often icy and the percussion is just enough to elevate each tune next to sci-fi signifiers and cosmic motifs.