Back catalogue: Reggae

Review: A long-standing figure on the London jazz scene, trumpeter Harry Beckett kept his music fresh over a long career, and none more so than on his debut On-U Sound release in 2008 produced by Adrian Sherwood, which invites reggae and dance music influences to happily live alongside his modal jazz flavours. Now reissued posthumously, The Modern Sound Of Harry Beckett tracks the legacy of this contemporary jazz eminent, who passed away in 2010. Beckett channels both his Caribbean roots and trumpeting abilities, offering a novel confounding of sparse, skittish beats verging on digidub, with spryly slick soundings of the horn. Made up of isolated recordings laid down by Beckett, and then celebratedly combined with dancehall and dub movements afterwards, our fave has to be the unabashedly dubstep godsend, 'Like You Didn't Know', which spreads Beckett's horns out to virtuosic effect, against a wickedly womping wash.

Review: For those familiar with manchester sax player Birchall's previous forays into dub, this album offers a deep dive into the analogue 70s Jamaican dubbing techniques that have defined the genre, paying homage to the trailblazers like King Tubby and Errol Thompson. The source material is heavily percussive, resulting in a collection of dynamic, dubby drum workouts that seamlessly blend live drumming in the Count Ossie style with drum machines that recall Lee Perry's experimental approach. A highly anticipated dub companion to Nat Birchall's acclaimed Dimension of the Drums LP, this continues in a similar spirit of the previous. Drawing inspiration from classic dub albums like Keith Hudson's Pick A Dub and Winston Edwards' King Tubby Meets The Upsetter at the Grass Roots of Dub, Birchall reimagines the tracks with roots dub precision, incorporating fresh horn lines and hand drums to enhance the album's authentic, organic vibe. The LP includes two distinct mixes of a new rhythm track that wasn't part of the original album, adding an extra layer of excitement for listeners. Birchall once again handles all aspects of the albumiplaying instruments, recording, mixing and masteringiensuring a deeply personal touch in every track. All in total, eight tracks of instrumental dub bliss that transport you back to the golden era of reggae's most inventive sound.