One of last years highlights in music was Reset, a collaboration between Sonic Boom and Panda Bear. It was a retro based album using fragments of music long gone by to create something really new. Because of the quality of the songs and the variety of ideas in them it was played often at my place. Now they return with a dub version of this album. Adrian Sherwood on the controllers made these songs more brighter than they were by adding strings, horns and additional piano to this versions. Not bad way to start into another hot and sunny Sunday.
In the early 90's African Head Charge were signed by On-U-sound label and released some great albums. Now On-U activist Patrick Dokter compiled songs from this album and reworked them. The result are songs that are more dubbier than the originals.
Now, finally, I have one-week vacation. No appointments, meetings and project works more for the next days. When I take a look at the development in the bank I work in I come to the knowledge that a lot develops to the negative. More and more jobs are stroked, departing employees are not substituted any more and the work is distributed to less and less employee. A part of my work consists in defining the work routines to this change anew and introducing them. A lot would be easier if was available according to time for the introduction. But, as usual, everything should function immediately. Often I came home after ten, twelve hours working and have no muse to continue my blog.
Todays track is the newest release by Austrian electronic artists Sofa Surfers. The band exists since 1997 and their music is hard to describe. Hardly influenced by Dub and Techno they added over the years elements of downbeat and Trip Hop to their sound. Beyonder Girl a dark track, menacingly, lascivious. From the track there penetrates a brisk, almost quite bigbeat-like rock energy, at the same time he emits a sensitivity, above all transported by the song. Wildly combination, deep, down and dirty.
It's a long time ago since I posted some reggae/dub at this place. What doesn't mean that I don't listen to this kind of music. I'm often in this kind of music - especially when the day is almost over. A few days ago I listened once again to Dubsetter the collaboration between Lee Perry and Adrian Sherwood. This record is still fascinating and worth to played from time to time and contains everything a dub record should have: massive bass, smooth voices and a spaced out dub.
Listened to BBC 6 Music the other day and they played this fantastic remix from Jon Hopkins 'I remember' released on RSD. I really like this dubby version with it's little piano parts in it.
The last week I have a contribution in this series posted which has concerned psychedelic music in the farthest sense. Today I am back on earth again with a musician that I love all over the years. He started with an album full of reggae track and explicit political lyrics to turn a few years later into the funk and soul scene. Jan Delay is a German singer, songwriter and producer whose stylistic range includes mainly hip hop, reggae, dub and funk. He started with a band called Absolute Beginner. I first recognized him with his first record by his own name in 2001. His record Searching for the Jan soul rebels was tribute to Dexy's Midnight Runners first record with a similar title. When I have heard the album the first time I was simply overpowered, because I would not have thought that a German musician can have such a feeling for reggae and dub. Not only that he created his own style in music he wrote some lyrics that impressed me as well. I could agree to this left-wing influenced statements until now.
After this record it was very quiet about him, although he played several big open air festivals in Germany throughout the years. He came back with a totally different style. Also singing through his nose the way Bob Dylan used to do it his whole life he returned with a new sound. Changing from reggae and dub into funk and soul. With his record Mercedes Dance he entered the charts again and it was a high recommended record in this kind of music. But if you would ask me, which kind of Jan Delay I like most you would get the answer: I like more his reggae style than his funky style.
It is two weeks ago when I arrived in Sri Lanka. Since then I did
nothing more than sitting by the beachside and watching waves. I know it
sounds boring but I just wanted it in this way. I needed some time to get my regular business
out of minds and sort private life. Imade many minds about me, my life,
my planes and the future. Also wanted to see how C.'s business is
runninng. It is very hard to start a little business down there because
for everything you want to fix you need a straw man. And a dummy like
this is hard to find, in fact to find someone you can trust is very
hard. But finally we found a person we hope we can trust to. Right now
we plan to buy a house and start running a little guest house with a
little restaurant. We also looked some houses and finally found the ideal
place.
After all I had a real good time here, especially at Christmas eve. They
are not really into celebrating this day but for the western guests
they decorated the beach with lights and placed some trees on the beach.
In the evening they booked a DJ for party Normally they play some
Techno and House. Because I am very close to the owener of the beachbar
I got the chance to use the equipment for an hour and play some of my
tracks. I offered them a mix of reggae, dub, balearic and some of Drew's
dance tracks as well. Was funny to do this again.
May all of you have a good start into the new year and stay well.
Today's band shows another style German musicians are able too. Seeed is a band founded in 1998 in Berlin consisting of eleven musicians. The mostly play dub and dancehall in accordance with marching band and a sound system. Starting in their early days with untypical instruments like saxophone and trombone they developed their preferences for heavy bass and computer programmed Riddims. Their first big appearance was in 2001 as the opening act for R.E.M. in front of the Cologne cathedral in front of 70.000 people. That was the day when I first noticed them. Me and a few mates went to Cologne to have a little fun over there. Not knowing that the town would be crowded from people from all over Europe. Reason was that R.E.M. made a tour through Europe playing in front of extraordinary sight - and for free. We saw people who came to the place at lunchtime waiting for more than eight hours until the show start on a very hot Saturday.
From then on they get more famous and their records reached the top of the charts in Austria and Germany. That they are an extraordinary live band is maybe one of the reasons the was invited as the leading act of the opening ceremony of the football world cup 2006 in Munich. The songs I've chosen will speak for themselves and I'll present them as video-clips because they are awesome too.
Enjoy and have a good weekend
Walter
This is their version of a song that was known by Black:
Because I haveto workonly twodays and thenhaveseveral daysfree I do my job very relaxed. So I think I post another dub-influenced song. This one is from Primal Scream's 1997 record 'Vanishing Point' when Bobby Gillespie turned into dub, ambient, krautrock and dance. Still a very good record after the years. This song was released on the 2009 Japanese edition of the lp. The lady on the picture is Ellen Church - the first female flight attendant
