Collected below are some interesting records I’ve come across over the last month. If any of them catch your interest you can pick up copies at the Dubwise Vinyl Shop.
London Pirate Radio Adverts, 1984-1993, Vol. 1
Great to see this get a vinyl release after appearing on tape last year. An unmissable collection of London pirate radio adverts and jingles from the 80's and 90's complied by Death Is Not The End which will, depending on your age, either bring a smile of nostalgia to your face or provide a portal into a past dimension. As well as the expected ads for club nights, raves and record shops there are also some weird and wonderful curve balls included here such as the dating chat line for ravers and a reminder of the joys of renting a VHS in the pre-Netflix era. An intriguing and important historical and cultural document as well as a lot of fun. Samples available to listen to on my Instagram.
Brother Resistance - 'Rapso Take Over'
Fantastic one of a kind record from Trinidad's Lutalo Masimba, a.k.a. Brother Resistance, that brings together reggae, disco, funk, calypso and poetry all wrapped up in a healthily dubwise production approach. Recorded in London and mixed by veteran reggae engineer Syd Bucknor it was originally released in 1986 via Lutalo's own Masimba Connection records and this is its first official reissue since then thanks to Left Ear Records. Check out opener 'Star Wars Rapso' and its cosmic masterpiece of a dub 'Wars In Space Dub' for a flavour of the delights to be found on this hidden gem.
Melody Souljah – 'The Creeper'
Fantastic atmospheric heavyweight steppers from Melody Souljah. Really love the dub on this which brings the icy synths to the forefront and reminds me of some of the classic Mixman synth driven dubs found on the early editions of his amazing Dub Series LPs. Top notch 7".
Interplanetary Criminal - 'Move Tools'
Welcome and much needed repress of this aptly titled killer 12" from Interplanetary Criminal originally released in 2019 on Banoffee Pies. Packed with 4 bass heavy UKG influenced bangers that are guaranteed to cause total dancefloor devastation.
Fantastic and properly far out LP from Jahtari bossman Disrupt that takes you on an intergalactic dubwise odyssey through sci-fi field recordings, space funk, lost synth soundtracks, celestial ambience and (of course) bass. Ace cover artwork too.
Little Harada - 'Worries & Problems'/'I Want To Rap With You'
Two tasty early 90's digi-dancehall nuggets from Little Harada available on 7" for the first time. Produced by Wackies affiliated Sonny 'Sabwackie' Ochiai and originally released in 1990 on Japan's Tachyon Records. A-sider 'Worries & Problems' is classic bouncy digi at it's finest with some seriously dextrous vocal delivery from Little Harada whilst on the flip things slow down for the more soulful and infectiously sing-a-long 'I Want To Rap With You.' Great little double-sider.
Pretty Sneaky – 'Pretty Sneaky' (MEA036)
Another vital addition to the mysterious Pretty Sneaky series of vinyl transmissions with this one released on the Meakusma label being particularly and pleasingly dubwise. As is customary none of the 4 tracks are named but it's tracks 2 and 3 that really leapt out at me as something special, offering complementary yet opposing ying and yang like interpretations of dubwise electronic explorations with track 2's darker post-punk influenced bass driven journey contrasting nicely with the sunny slo-mo ambient dub-house offered by track 3. Both equally compelling in their own unique ways.
Hugh Mundell - 'Africa Must Be Free'
One of the greatest roots anthems of all time from Hugh Mundell served up on 10" alongside four additional dubs and instrumentals courtesy of the mighty Augustus Pablo. Essential.
Ambient Warrior - 'Dub Journey's'
Brilliant and much needed reissue from Isle Of Jura of the cult and much in demand 'Dub Journey's' LP by Ambient Warrior. Originally released on the Lion Inc label in 1995 it brought a refreshingly global and experimental perspective to 90's dub production and has stood the test of time extremely well resulting in it being on many people's wants list (including my own) for quite some time so it's great to finally be able to pick it up at a reasonable price. Loads of fantastic stuff to be found here ranging from the beautifully mellow drifting 'Night Flight Over Trieste' to the seismic bass of 'Oceanic Dub.'
John Fitch & Associates - 'Romantic Attitude'/'Stoned Out Of It'
Jah Fingers reach beyond their normal realm of reggae and dub into the world of funk and soul with the reissue of this much in demand 45 originally released on the Beacon label in 1969. It's one hell of a record to kick proceedings off with - absolute stone cold killer psychedelic soul on the A-side with 'Romantic Attitude' and then on the flip is the ace chugging blues psych-funk of 'Stoned Out Of It'. Served up in a picture sleeve reproduction taken from the original Spanish pressing. Unmissable.
The Ventilators - '80's Unreleased Tracks'
Really interesting collection of previously unreleased tracks from 80's UK reggae band The Ventilators. I really love the distinctive sound on this which beautifully captures the moment when reggae, post-punk and pop began to overlap in the UK. I don't know much about the band but on the strength of the tunes showcased here you feel that they could have quite easily gone onto great things following in the footsteps of the likes of Aswad, Steel Pulse and Matumbi with their distinctly British take on reggae.
Augustus Pablo/Youth Dellenger - 'Skanking Easy'/'Downtown Rock'
I've featured this one previously on Dubwise Vinyl. Tasty 10" containing four different takes on the Soul Vendors 'Swing Easy' by the mighty Augustus Pablo. Particular highlights include the nice and heavy dub 'Skank Version' as well as a rocking DJ cut in the form of 'Down Town Rock' featuring a youthful Dillinger on the mic.
