Jah Bami ADD

Review

Album Review: Suns Of Dub - Far East Dub

11/06/2015

by Gardy Stein

Turn to the East!

This timeless Rastafarian demand has found a new organ. Produced by HIM Emperor Haile Selassie I himself (I am just quoting the credits here!), the prolific Suns Of Dub present us with a journey to the Far East. Even though they are a relatively young formation, created in 2010, their name is certainly not unknown to you. Diverse collaborations with the who's who of Reggae music (e.g. Major Lazer, Chronixx, Protoje, Mighty Crown, Inner Circle, Clive Chin, Jesse Royal, Sizzla, Queen Omega, Prince Alla, Jah9, Midnite…) as well as appearances on some of the best-known stages around the world have brought the duo Addis Pablo and Ras Jammy to international attention. For their debut project, they teamed up with Trinidadian singer Jah Bami and the Dub Assassins, a band around NY-based artist and producer P-Dub. The result is a 12-track album that is not only easy listening but indeed message music, a fact that already becomes clear from the cover-artwork by Mexico's Dub Iration, displaying the detail of a photograph of the young Haile Selassie (ca. 1935).

Despite the semblance of similarity (which, in part, might be due to the fact that it's just 4 basic tunes that are repeated, dubbed and voiced), there is a lot of diversity going on, only of a subtler kind. The pieces reveal their depth at second glance (or rather hark), opening a universe of interpretation and discovery to the attentive listener. Harar Melody, for instance: we spot a tender xylophone peeping out coyly from behind the dominant, beautiful melodica theme, which in turn is picked up by the dreamy voice of Jah Bami in the subsequent Unconditional Love.

It is clearly audible that the instrumentals are hand-made and the vocals are not drowned in auto-tune, but it is exactly these little imperfections that make the album such a warm, intimate experience. Their soft "Roots Dub Reggae approach", as the press release calls it, is expressed most strongly in Selassie I Wisdom and especially the corresponding Dub – turn up the speakers and let yourself be blown away!

Far East Dub is certainly not an album for sybaritic partygoers, but if you count yourself among the growing Reggae intelligentsia, enjoying conscious jam sessions and upful reasonings, then this might be just the musical accompaniment you've been looking for.

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