VP レコード& CD

Review: Joe Gibbs is a legendary dub producer and African Dub Chapter 1 is one of his most all-time classic albums alongside fellow production heavyweight Errol Thompson. The pair is better known together as The Mighty Two and while this first chapter of their dub collection is vital, it is no better than the ensuing two which you should also hunt down and purchase. This fully licensed issue sounds superb when cranked up loud, as it should be, and has suitable fat low ends and plenty of irresistible Jah vibes that will sink you in deep to the sofa or get you nodding along in no time.

Review: Legendary dub producer Joe Gibbs - who famously worked with fellow roots and reggae heavyweight Errol Thompson as The Mighty Two - joined forces with The Professionals for this, a fourth volume in his African Dub chapter series. It has now been remastered by VP after many years of arguing over who owns the rights and gets pressed up to this lush green slab of vinyl. All 1- dubs are as deadly as you can imagine with lefty low ends, absorbing rhythms and the spirit of Jah very much present and correct. A vital album for any self-respecting dub head.

Review: First released in the UK by Tottenham-based Atra Records in 1974, The Black Breast Has Produced Her Best Flesh of My Skin Blood By Blood has long been considered one of the edgiest roots albums of the period and a must-have for serious reggae collectors. The album resulted in its creator, the sadly departed Keith Hudson, being dubbed "the dark prince of reggae". Listening back to this welcome reissue, it's easy to see why. For starters, the lyrical content is highly politically charged and righteous, while Hudson's weighty musical arrangements are far more trippy, hazy and dimly lit than those found on most roots reggae records of the period. This edition also includes three additional tracks not found on the original release, plus exhaustive sleeve notes from Hudson biographer Vincent Ellis.

Review: Dub's new prince-god-king Jammy's latest album is a steppers' answer to pestilence. 'King Jammy Destroys The Virus With Dub' is a COVID-purging tour of sheer bass, showing off the antiviral properties we didn't know the Pangaeic Jamaican genre had. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper 21st Century dub record without Jammys paying tribute to his roots; here he revisits the work of several golden age greats, including Hugh Mendell, Junior Delgado and Sugar Minott, for a slew of humourously headsy dub wedges like 'Quarantined In Dub', 'A New Normal In Dub', and, yes, 'Dub Tribute To All Hospital Workers'. You get the picture!

Review: This album is the sonic distillation of a compelling backstory. Chancing on a vault of archived recordings by iconic reggae producer Bunny Striker Lee, modern dub producer and next-gen icon Prince Fatty (Mile Pelanconi) jumped at the chance to remix the versions in his own image, passing the tracks down to the modern listener (and the spirited torch of Lee's dub zeitgeist in the process). Fatty is said to have fed the audio into the analog realm for a true remixing; feeding each recording through a carefully built audio analog system similar to that used by King Tubby. The result is a crisp, modern dub masterwork, which Fatty himself acknowledging the songs' status as classics, but nonetheless admitting, "it's nicer and fresher to hear a new structure..."

Review: VP serve up a special vinyl reissue of this legendary The Upsetters album from 1978. It has been specially remastered for the occasion and the whole thing was of course produced by the late great Lee 'Scratch' Perry. It was the last record he did in his legendary Black Ark studio before he closed it down (and later burnt it down thinking it was possessed by evil spirts). It is another superb highlight of his skill on the studio mixing desk, with taped out dubs, hissing hi hats and meandering melodies that burrow deep into your brain and body.