Dub Colossus

I have, to tell the truth, become very bored with what passes for ‘Dub’ over the years – far too much echoey FX and far too little of the musical form that the Dub is supposed to re-imagine. Dub came out of dope and as the strength of the dope grew then the musical nature of the dub became less.

Only the masters of the form can make the dubs we have here work: building an entirely new entity around the most basic of samples from the original but still leaving you the echoes of the original piece.
The result, is a stunning new piece of music that stands up in its own right but definitely does not ignore the music that originated it.

This set has tracks from both of the Dub Colossus albums and the style of the dubs is akin to the ‘earthbound but looking to the stars’ style of The Abyssinians as well as the light touch of the Mighty Diamonds and they have added Mykaell Riley from Steel Pulse, Nick Van Gelder from Jamiroquai and the Horns of Negus brass section to the original Ethiopian musicians of ‘Addis Through The Looking Glass’. The end result keeps the stunning Ethojazz of the originals but adds in fabulous bass from Dr Das and Bernard O’Neill (Syriana).
The music is incredibly rich and full, never plodding and due to the quality of the original numbers, never feels as though the dubs are pointless or overblown.
Favourite track is probably ‘I’m In Love With A German Film Star’ with its Farfisa organ sound or the voudou feel of ‘Crazy In Dub’ while ‘What Time Is Dub’ has a real Joe Perry feel to it.

If you are a fan of the style then this is essential and if you are into Dub Colossus then it is a great companion to the albums. All told, a real winner for me.