The Groove Thief

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:

Dub Breakah thankfully hasn’t literally done that to dub music, instead producing a slew of strong riddims as well as some fierce tracks. The “Beast Riddim” is definitely my favorite: the skanking guitar intro leads to a nice and heavy track, which as “Babylonbuster (Dub Breakah Remix), is pushed towards anthem status with the ruff vocal reminiscent of Buju Banton. “Roots Riddim,” the most recent production, features some smooth horns and a mellow breakdown. “Tribulations” is another great track, some true reggae dub that sounds hazy in all the right ways while vocal samples echo occasionally alongside a relentless beat. “Jah Freedom Riddim” is another solid effort, and there’s more glorious reggae dub tracks available up on Soundcloud.

Jstar, perhaps the dancehall’s most eclectically-influenced remixer, reaches far afield on his latest project, embracing the gypsy-funk of “Balkan Reggae” by Mahala Rai Banda. These are next level beats, simultaneously haunting and upbeat. A few more recent collabs are worth checking out as well, including a remix of Reggae Rajahs’ Johnny Osbourne dubplate “Buddy Bye” and the mashup hip-hoppery of “Marijuana Situation.”

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)

High Rollers pile on the bombast on their trap remix of “Touch Me.” Far removed from its electro origins, this track is thick on the low-end, features barking (which always make a bulldog happy), and of course a crucial vocal sample. This is late-night dirty dancing music, and each break-down and bass drop simply verifies that. Free download, should be worth keeping an eye on these guys:

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):

On The Ice Tower In Dub, the Erik Sumo Band re-explore and reinvent their 2011 album The Ice Tower, taking it to epic heights of dub and disco. The excellent track “The Ice Tower Is Melting Dub” begins with jangly guitars before a pulsating beat and drums come to dominate.  Funkiness is also emphasized, before and after moments of dub chaos, whether with late-90s era house vibes, the machine-drum siren calls of goth-pop, or oddly-captivating glitch-pop - “Love You / Hate Myself Space Disko,” “Monkey Burns Down Hollywood (Adam Meszaros Remix),” and “Chains Of My Dub,” respectively.

“Monkey (RamaxRemix)” is the quintessential track here, building up to a sweaty disco beat that keeps pounding even as melodic synths are layered on top of it. It is a definite shame that this Hungarian psych-pop band has already broken up, but at least this is a strong final musical statement. Available for stream or free download from Bandcamp:

Del The Funky Homosapien is rightfully a hip-hop legend, turning West Coast gangsta-rap on its side to create intelligent and relevant music.  He’s now 2/3 of the way through a free mixtape series, West Coast Avengers, where he features samples exclusively from a single artist.  The latest installment is all Fela Kuti, loops created out of catchy horns and percussion pieces from the afrobeat maestro.  Del’s voice commands your attention, commenting on everything from the internet to his own awesomeness.  Each track clocks in at 2 minutes, so this entire free LP will disappear in less than 20 minutes, but each track is quite enjoyable.  Volume One is all P-Funk inspired, appropriately enough, so it sounds much more as one would expect than Volume Two…