Dubmatix ADD

Review

Album Review: Dubmatix In Dub

05/01/2014

by Gardy Stein

Dub is on the rise! While the genre has assembled a steady international following over the last two decades (with pockets of fervent supporters in Poland and France, of what I am told), its cradle Jamaica only recently re-embraces the playful deconstruction and re-combination of musical elements. Popular example for this development is Sly & Robbie's Underwater Dub, and it can be expected that a lot more is on the way.

After 2014 has already seen Dubblestandart in Dub and William S. Burroughs in Dub as well as several other Dub specials, the European ambassador-label Echo Beach (celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year) now delivers a spectacular Dubmatix in Dub. The Canadian sound-puzzler has taken advantage of the long dark winter nights to exclusively produce the 12 pieces of the album, brought to light right on time for the summer ahead.  

Introduced by DJ Dapper Dan, the opening track Circus Maximus Dub gives us indeed the impression to sit under a vaulted and colourful canvas, especially if you happen to associate extended trips into the Dubiverse with Sound System Tents of last year's festivals. Well, let the show begin!

The following eleven tracks are every bit as like- and listenable as the first one, with a heavy focus on horns and – of course – driving bass and drums. Actually, the whole album is a very moving experience, containing beats that should not be confined to the after-work-chill-out at home but brought to the dance-floors worldwide.

Vocals are used sparingly (credits go to Earl 16 in track 3 and Dennis Alcapone in track 11) and seem to be understood as an additional instrument rather than the deliverer of a message. A good old friend is encountered in Mad Massa Gana Dub, and I caught myself starting to intone "There's a land far far away…" immediately after the first notes hit.

Recorded, mixed and mastered at The Dubfactory (Toronto), the whole production carries Jesse King's exclusive handwriting and is given additional glamour by live instrumentalist such as Paul White, Ian Avery, I Sax, Dave St. Jean or members of The Heavyweights Brass Band.

Although Dubmatix in Dub is by far not the only release of the label (in fact, Echo Beach is putting out one album every month until the end of the year), it is certainly one of the highlights that has the potential to lure Reggae- & Dancehall-hardliners in front of the Dub speakers! 

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