The Groove Thief

Dub Caravan and Hornsman Coyote unite forces for an inspiring dub journey. “Tribute to the Fathers,” with its skanking guitar and brooding trombone, makes Breath of Peace instantly captivating. The well-produced tunes continue from there: “Natty On Board” is mellow yet uplifting, while “Innocent Blood” and the matching instrumental is also solid. “Burning In The City” has a nicely layered and funky groove; “Make I Win,” the second vocal track, is catchy, with the right blend of roots tradition and innovation, while the Version lets the horns shine. Other standouts include “Air Raid,” which has the air of a spy film, “Spanish Town,” which mixes Latin horns and strong percussion, and “Egypt,” which is heavy in all the right heady ways. “Trail of Tears” and “Machine World,” the final two tracks, add Native American influences and crunched guitars, respectively, to lead this adventure to its close. This album is loaded up with impressive tunes - and while the groove is clearly and rightfully a priority, the quality of musicianship and attention to detail rewards multiple listens of these lush dubscapes.

Dubmatix has just released Rebel Massive, a huge album loaded up with classic reggae influences and modern dub wizardry. That alone is impressive, but then the guest vocalists really shine: from legends like Eek-A-Mouse, U-Roy, and Horace Andy, to dnb standout Tenor Fly and the versatile Longfingah. Where to start…

Oh yes, the anthemic “Pull Up Selector” which comes fully-equipped with a fun and frenetic video:

Big bass, great vocals, this is what a reggae single needs to be.

“Black Market War Dub,” the only instrumental, more than holds it own, full of Dubmatix’s distinctive style of slow crushing bass and well-crafted layers. “Seeds of Love & Life” (feat. Luciano) is another stormer, and the early W~rm Dub Mix is spectacular as well. Lots of great tracks here, all sorts of reggae vibes to satisfy!

Here’s the full album preview, plus that remix and a jungle version from Marcus Visionary:

Jstar is releasing a cleverly-titled compilation of his bass-laden remixes and dubs later this month on vinyl. Already streamable, these are some heavy tunes covering a wide spectrum of low-end theories. Remixes: from the dubbed-out hip-hop of Dj Vadim’s “Watch That Sound” (feat. Emo) to the horn-laden reggae-hop of “Ya Ya” from The Empty Heads feat. MC Sirreal to the mellow smoker vibes of “Ten Feet Tall” by Mr Dero / Farina Miss. Jstar takes Madness into late-night dubby-electro, Dub Terminator feat. Ras Stone into bad man territory on “Bad Mind,” and - the definite standout - Capitol 1212 feat. “Oh me, oh my this is Tenor Fly” into the land of mystical grooves, complete with an epic vocal-led break. The instrumentals aren’t exactly slouching, The Unlimiters’ “Loophole” ventures into psychedelia yet mantains a dub aesthetic, ”Fish Finger Tentacle Dub” builds up to some glitchy grooves while “Regulate Rock (Jstar Dub)” ends the album on a super funky note that feels restrained at four-and-a-half minutes. Jstar is at a crucial crossroads of dub, reggae, and bass, where a myriad of influences can be blended together to still produce a cohesive track, and here, a surprisingly cohesive album:

NagualX pushes dub forward into the realm of jazz, while keeping a strong focus on heavy riddims and basslines. With several strong tracks, including the recently released and fittingly-titled “Be Strong,” alongside a live party dub and two “Illegal Dubplates” mixes, there is a lot of fresh interesting music available from this artist. Hailing from France, NagualX captures the vibrancy of the country’s strong dub/reggae movement but wisely avoids predictable trappings of the genre and instead has forged a very unique sound, perhaps most comparable to some of the jazzier cuts from Attack Released. Well worth the listen:

2000 Tons of TNT re-imagine the vintage on Reggae Mysteria. Funky upbeat instruments like the excellent title track and the following “Cougar Communion” are sharp and well-polished, the latter featuring some wicked keys. While certainly retro-inspired, this is an updated and varied take on the past as the garage-rock of “Shot In The Dark,” the slightly-Eastern funk of “Tiger Uppercut,” and the well-passed melody on “Rabo De Toro” all show. This is dirty garage rock with ample funk and early reggae influences, but great cuts like “Electric Pyramid” don’t deserve to be pinned down by genres. “Theme For Ambu” features some nice heavy drumming and another wicked keyboard solo, before “I’m Feeling Lonely” closes with its skanking guitar. This is a unique mix of musical styles, coming out of San Diego, CA, that is pushing the past forward in all the right ways. Hopefully their follow-up, expected in 2013, will continue the inspiring trend:

01/01/13 UPDATE: Here’s two new tracks (currently available for free) as a new album preview:

DJ Enso may be famed for running the revered club XXX and for throwing down banging late-night bass-music sets, but he can also assemble one mean mixtape as he proves with Future Dancehall フューチャーダンスホール Vol. 1. Drifting between jungle, hip-hop, and dancehall, the success of the ongoing “Future Dancehall” nights is elevated to a higher level through studio production and the inclusion of some of Hong Kong’s choicest MCs. XXX-regular Rahyym joins Ngabo on Major Popular’s “The Ruler,” 10z and Kafe Hu appear on a Dub Phizix & Skeptical track, while local Cantonese legend Masta Mic, EKORB, as well as my regular partner in crime MC Loki Dolo combine forces on an exclusive Enso refix of DJ Zinc x Dope Skillz. Big tracks from Rebel MC, Million Stylez, Collie Buddz (DJ Yoda remix) and The Bug keep the beats heavy while the styles switch. Hopefully this will become an ongoing series since Hong Kong is certainly in need of more mixtapes and proper releases…

The mix is available on Soundcloud, or you can DIRECT DOWNLOAD and get the jungle-thug (?) artwork as well. Enso recently appeared at the Clockenflap music festival, so check out his bass-fueled live mix as well:

This Friday night 07/12 Germany’s iLLBiLLY HiTEC roll into Hong Kong with MC Longfingah to drop their digital reggaetronics upon XXX. Also on the bill are Blood Dunza, Christian Di Phat Selekta, and yours truly The Groove Thief. I’ll be starting the night off from 10:30 to midnight with funky dub building up to digital reggae. A True Skool x Heavy Hongkong collaboration, this is going to be a fun night of BYOB house-party reggae vibes. Come early, stay late, and drinks are closer now that 7-11s been supplanted as the nearest convenience store…

Check out my review of iLLBiLLY HiTEC from earlier this year, and here’s a new video to get you warmed up: