The Groove Thief

The Groove Thief - 0:20 Massive Mix

Here’s 20 minutes of bangin’ reggae straight from Hong Kong! Huge tracks from Krak In Dub and Mungo’s Hi Fi bookend an uptempo modern digital mix with featured instrumentals and riddims from Black Chiney, Dub Breakah, FreeRoots & Youngheart, and Riddim Tuffa. A literal anthem appears from High Tone and Pupajim alongside a classically-inspired track from Collie Buddz, a tough vocal from The Beast, and Numa Crew’s alter-ego Gangsta No Play. Made for a mixxtape battle, this is loaded with choice tracks.

Available on both Mixcloud & Soundcloud as well as DIRECT DOWNLOAD.

The Groove Thief’s Special Guest Mix for Dub.com, Dubkast #48, is now out! This is a heavy-hitting dub odyssey that features talented modern artists alongside classic innovators. From the origins in Jamaica to the current global scene, places as diverse as Argentina, Australia, Germany, Hungary, Mali, South Korea, the UK, and the USA are all represented. Steppers to roots. Original cuts, remixes and two exclusive mashups. The future of dub is the present.

DIRECT DOWNLOAD, or right-click to DOWNLOAD or stream via Dub.com.

As a preview, here is a mashup, Mungo’s Hi Fi vs J. Holiday - Hydro In Babylon:

DUBKAST #48 Tracklisting:

1. Vibration Lab - Tribulation Time (RSD Mix)

2. Dubagroova - Space Pilot (Original Mix)

3. Dubagroova - Sir Trombom (Original Mix)

4. Alpha Steppa - Steppa Razor (Peter Tosh)

5. Sublime - Steppin’ Razor

6. Scientist - Cry Of The Werewolf

7. Augustus Pablo - East Of The River Nile

8. Jstar - I Heard It Dub (Grapevine)

9. Mungo’s Hi Fi vs J. Holiday - Hydro In Babylon (TGT Mashup)

10. Cotti vs. Musical Youth - Run Dutchie (TGT Mashup)

11. Stagga - Freight Dub

12. Negritage! - Digi Dub Eraaaaaaaa

13. DU3normal - Riding (Original Mix)

14. DU3normal & DuBioLin JaM - Spring Clouds

15. Aston Barrett - Steppers Rock

16. Upsteppers - Tanuki’s Side Of The Tracks

17. King Tubby - A Yard Dub

18. Tinariwen - Tenere Taqhim Tossam (Four Tet Remix)

Ancient Astronauts, Germany’s poly-dub explorers, have recently released two free funky tracks off of their Orion Nebula Remixes album. Their own Tuffist Mix of “Give It To You” feat. Monsoon has a heavy bass-line and reverberating vocals that create the type of future/past dance-floor the group has become famous for. Greece’s Timewarp Inc. lets the plucky bass take over on their remix of “Anti Pop Song,” before horns and echoed voices are unleashed halfway through the track. As some extra goodies, check out the album snippet mix and the video for “Give It To You” (Subatomic Sound System Remix):

Dirrrty electro-funk band Chromeo are currently between albums, so in addition to a nice thank you video for their fans, they’ve also released a pair of older mixes up on their Soundcloud account.  Their 80s-inspired cheese-pop is so funky that any negative influences are washed away in a sea of clever lyrics, huge synths, and dancefloor beats.  Enjoy both Le Mix (2003) and Un Joli Mix Pour Toi (2005) from this fine Canadian duo:

BOOM! The Groove Thief (that’s me!) *finally* releases a new proper 30-minute dub/reggae DJ mix in an effort to increase ear-satisfaction around the world.  Featuring big tracks covering roots to digital to funky/electro to deep bass, with plenty of Asian-influences, “The Groove Thief Meets Wu Xia For Dim Sum” criss-crosses the reggae stratosphere.

Wu Xia translates to “armed hero” - one who has apparently found himself venturing into the depths of Jamaican-influenced music.  Dim Sum, meanwhile, is delicious traditional Cantonese food.  I was fortunately able to meet the former for the latter, and this is what ensued:

Reggae classics include cuts from The Observers, Tapper Zukie, and my own mashup/remix of Mickey Simpson w/ a riddim from Fira.  The musical themes are all appropriate: Mungo’s Hi Fi and Pupajim examine social issues, Solo Banton and Stylo G get their brag on, Backbeat Soundsystem fuel the party, Lutan Fyah takes the law into his own hands, and Roots Manuva and Alpha Steppa investigate some low-end dub theory.  I found correlations between tracks that might not appear together in a live show but work well in a fine-tuned DJ mix.  A lot of late nights went into this, so I hope you enjoy it - and please share!

DIRECT DOWNLOAD

Aram Scaram / Citizen Sound is a passionate dub advocate, mixing and producing some wicked tunes.  I was tipped off about the track “Seasons Change,” which is a smooth slightly digital upbeat summer-time reggae jam with Melodic & Jahdan Blakkamoore, but the true gem here is the fresh beast-of-a-reggae-and-dub-mix* Sucka For The High Grade which just magically appeared on Mixcloud.  The mix starts heavy, gets a little funky, meanders through Mungo’s Hi FI territory, basses up, and then ends on some classic vibes.  Great stuff, as are the latest two riddims “Sound Man” and “I Know A Little Sound.”  Much more on Soundcloud.

*props go to compound modifiers for their ongoing support of over-hyphenation in music reviews

Alpha Steppa may officially be out of control.  The dub-technician, currently residing in Korea, continues to release huge huge steppers dub/reggae tunes.  I really try not to multi-post on artists, preferring to continue the hunt for the most elusive and awesome music out there, but in the last month several new tracks, dubs, and a full hour-long mix have surfaced, all of which are well-produced and intelligently-designed enough to deserve their own write-up.  Alpha Steppa Japan Tour 2012 Promo Mix is a swirling assault of echo and bass, that perfect balance of slow and fast that makes steppers so appealing, full of original tracks, remixes, and other worthy heavy bass tracks.  ”Highest Grade” (Original & Dub) continue the collaborative effort with Flex Zagazzow that began with “Alpha Steppa Sound,” while another collaboration, with Addis Pablo takes the future-past vibe of Steppas Records to a whole new level.