Back catalogue: Reggae

Review: A bold exploration of communication through sound, that blends experimental dub with a conceptual approach to human and machine connection. Across six tracks, N1 Sound delve into the tension between digital precision and organic imperfection, crafting a record that rattles both body and mind. Opening with 'Horizontal Hang', the album immediately grabs you with a bass-heavy, crystalline tone. 'Such Love' brings a guitar-driven groove, while 'Intuition Dub' pays homage to dub legend Jah Shaka with wicked bass notes and a rhythmic pulse that digs deep into the genre's roots. 'Us All' offers a meditative break, using sparse melodies and a deep groove to push the dub formula into new, melodic territory. 'Joy' disrupts the calm with a chaotic, post-dubstep soundscape that tears through expectations. The closing track, 'Mauzy', is a fractured yet hopeful conclusion, capturing the album's overarching theme of evolving technology and shifting human connections. With this album, Spiritual World strikes a delicate balance between vintage Roland Din Sync inspiration and forward-thinking production, resulting in a record that feels both timeless and pioneering.

Review: Bass Culture - the reggae label, not the French house imprint - collaborates with the incredible Natty Nature on this new release which come son a nice hand-numbered 12". The A-side features an extended vocal version which is a powerful statement of intent reflecting Bass Culture Players' (which features top musicians like Adubta, Javi Arkotxa, General Soria and Carlos Amalgamah) core philosophy. On the B-side, Bass Lee pays homage to the golden era of 70s roots reggae with an instrumental clavi and melodica cut. The release concludes with a dub version, showcasing the raw energy of the rhythm section crafted by Bass Culture Players.

Review: Night Owls return with a second wave of 7"s, delivering a fresh take on two classics by Aaron Neville under the featherlight sway of infamous record producer Allen Touissant. Reimagining 'Hercules' alongside 'Tell It Like It Is', the duo once again poke at the seams of the cine-funk sound, enlisting powerhouse collaborators - Alex Desert & The Lions, and vocalist Asdru Sierra - on both sides of this blistering 45. The B especially brims with a busty bonhomie on 'Tell It Like It Is', rewiring the OG song's current flows to a throughput of smooth reggae and cumbia.

Review: This is a 7" gem that comes on random coloured vinyl and is a great new chance to own a classic bit of reggae form the 90s. The legendary four tacker was first dropped back in '94 by this cult German Ska band and it has plenty of attitude that encourages you to stay rude yourself. 'Stay Rude - Stay Rebel' kicks off with big horns and uptempo drums, 'Tour De France' keeps the pressure on and 'Love Song' strips things back a little more with a more laid-back and swaggering sound. 'Girl (Tango)' has a more playful and funky edge with some sumptuous sax leads.

Review: Richard Norris loves a series. The former Grid man and noted psychedelic music afficionado has umpteen on the go at present, including ones dedicated to meditative ambient sounds ('Music For Healing') and modular experiments ('Abstractions'). Then there's his dub-wise and 'outernational' music series, Oracle Sound, which here reaches its fourth - and possibly strongest - instalment. Highlights are plentiful, from the languid and woozy head-nod of opener 'Connected Dub' and the intoxicating, flute-sporting musical mystery of 'Earthsea Dub', to the up-beat dancefloor dub of 'Maximum Dub', and the sub-heavy, near dub techno pulse of John Carter hook-up 'Ceefax'. That one also comes accompanied by alternative takes by both Norris and Carter.

Review: After a long a post-COVID quest to repurpose his music as a vessel for healing, Richard Norris (The Grid, Beyond The Wizards Sleeve) tops up the fourth edition of his oracular, thinking-man's-dub Oracle Sound series. Volume 4 describes its the nine dub versions as "outernational, widescreen versions", and if by widescreen Norris means the stereo field, then this is realised with abundant clarity on the outset that is 'Connected Dub', on which ample effects riffle across a club-readied plod, as a knowing gravel-voice suggests a paternal spirit guide keeping watch over the reels. 'Earthsea Dub' continues, nodding to Ursula Le Guin's fictive planet through sloshing water FX and ticklish 808s, while the three closing 'Ceefax' bits take teletext retro-nostalgia headspaces to the extreme. Jon Carter's Guest Mix is a special closing freakout, one that could convey itself well even over copper wire, never mind the now ubiquitous fibre-optic.

Review: Led by Sir Bald Diddley, the Nine Ton Peanuts blend a variety of Jamaican and soul-inspired sounds, offering a rich mix of old school ska, r&b, rocksteady, reggae and Jamaican boogie. Diddley, whose work has notably cropped up in Stranger Things of all places, conducts in the band a performative style of uncured freshness, one that could only emerge from the quest to produce 16 originals, as opposed to the all-too-tempting covers. Energetic four-horn attacks characterise their sound, as 'Jerk Chicken', 'A Fistful Of Peanuts', 'Drugs Mule' and 'She Loves My Shiny Head' cram no end of film and music references into titles and tracks, culminating in a transgressive but bountiful mood of buccaneering reggae piracy.

Review: Japanese digital dub legend Takafumi Noda and Dutch synth wizard Danny Wolfers (best known as Legowelt) reunite for a great second album under the Noda & Wolfers project on Nightwind Records. This album blends digital dub, raw lo-fi electro and acid influences into a captivating, deviant sound that is rich in wild, untamed synths which collide with rough rhythm boxes as seductive spring reverbs dissolve into space echoes. Intense bass crumbles over decaying fuzzy tapes and Noda's haunting melodica melodies elevate the album to new, mesmerising heights. A fascinating fusion of creative worlds.