An Hour Of 2023 In Dub

While starting to consider the end of year lists of records, singles, albums, EPs and gigs it struck me that much of what I've listened to this year has been very dub oriented, the rhythms and sounds of Jamaica and its 2023 diaspora very much near the forefront of everything. As my list making began and the scribbling lengthened and grew, it seemed that a dub stop off in advance of the main event might be a good way to fill this Sunday's slot, an hour of dubby tunes to ease into the day as the week of the shortest days and longest nights approaches. There's loads missing that could have been included, not least the dubs of songs by JIM and Richard Norris' Oracle Sounds album, so this isn't definitive, it's just a version. 

An Hour Of 2023 In Dub

• Katy J. Pearson: Willow's Song (Richard Norris Ritual Mix)
• Rude Audio and Dan Wainwright: El Qasr Dub
• Justin Robertson's Deadstock 33s: Lone Raver In Dub
• Sonic Boom and Panda Bear: Edge Of The Edge Dub
• Stinky Jim: Quiet Spillage (The Long Champs Remix)
• Unloved: Thrill me (Justin Robertson's Temple Of Wonders Remix)
• Whitelands: Setting Sun (AR Kane Initiation Dub)
• Electric Blue Vision: Other Skies (Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown Version)
• Dot Allison: Unchanged (Glok Remix)
• African Head Charge: I Chant Too

Katy J. Pearson's cover of Willow's Song came out in several new versions as part of a five disc celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Wicker Man in June. Richard Norris' dub mix is seven minutes of peak 2023 dubiness, the bassline and Katy's voice and that haunting horn all pushed to the fore. Richard's Oracle Sounds Volume 1 has been one of 2023's highlights, an album of  first rate dub sounds and rhythms. Volume 2, due out in February, can be pre- ordered here. 

Rude Audio and Dan Wainwright's Psychedelic Science is one of 2023's best albums, a dub centred collision of South London and North Wales with Ram Dass, David Bowie, Ken Kesey and Ken Babbs and The Grateful Dead stirred into their dub stew. 

Lone Raver In Dub is one of Justin Robertson's from the vaults releases, out digitally as Part 4 of his Deadstock 33s Unreleased Volumes. Fast rocking dub from September 2023. 

Sonic Boom and Panda Bear's Reset album was remixed by Adrian Sherwood in full, the 60s bubblegum pop fed through the On U Sound dub machine to fine effect. Like Oracle Sounds Volume 1 an album that really reveals itself fully on vinyl. 

Stinky Jim's Social Awareness album came out as a follow up remix album in July, the original album remixed and dubbed out. Stinky Jim's dub comes all the way from Auckland, New Zealand, remixed in dub  style here by Welsh wizard The Long Champs. 

Unloved's Polychrome was a nine song album from early 23, a follow up to 2022's The Pink Album. The remixes followed a month later with Justin Robertson's taking the road to Scratch and Tubby, a rocking dub skank. 

Whitelands are a shoegaze band on Sonic Cathedral. In June a 10" single with remixes by returning shoegaze/ dreampop heroes AR Kane found its way into the wild, Rudy and Alex finding acres of dub space in among the wash of guitars. 

Electric Blue Vision, Jesse Fahnestock and Emilia Harmony, put out their Other Skies EP in November, an end of year hit in certain quarters of the internet, including this one. Hardway Bros and Monkton (Sean Johnston and Duncan Gray) often pull skanking rabbits out of dub hats when remixing together. This is among the year's best. 

Dot Allison's Consciousology, also on Sonic Cathedral, is an indie folk/ psyche/ dreamy meeting of melody and poetic lyrics. For this remix Andy Bell in GLOK guise found the dub heart of the song, somewhere in the similar cosmos as Brendan Lynch's 1993 remix of Paul Weller's Kosmos.

Aftican Head Charge's A Trip To Bolgatanga is a 2023 high spot, ten of the latest stop off points on Bonjo's four decade voyage with Adrian Sherwood.

Social Awareness

Last year New Zealand dub purveyor Stinky Jim (Jim Pinkney) released Spacial Awareness, a twelve track remix and dub excursion that left few stones unturned- I reviewed it here. Jim has been busy enlisting remixers to his cause and to celebrate his birthday two days ago, Tuesday, he released the remix album available digitally and hopefully on vinyl too soon. Social Awareness has sixteen remixes and dub versions, new takes on the tracks from Spatial Awareness. 

This one is by regular visitors to these pages Rude Audio. Sand Gestures (Rude Audio Remix) continues in the same vein as Mark's recent outstanding dub album with Dan Wainwright, Psychedelic Science, an album which blurred the lines between dub, The Grateful Dead, Ram Dass, The Merry Pranksters and David Bowie. Never one for brevity Mark's Rude Audio remix is ten minutes thirty seconds of bass, bubbling synths, rimshots, echo and tripped out forwards progression. There's an insistent synth squiggle that weaves its way to the front and pushes along with the rhythm. Click play and then let it run on and on. 

Another highlight is The Long Champs remix of Quiet Spillage, six minutes of electrifying dub sounds, woozy organ, descending bass and a twisted horn part- I love the breakdown at the end, everything dropping out to leave the kick drum rattling/ thumping away. The original version of Quiet Spillage is a delight, a funky exotica/ dub crossover, music for cocktails and grooving. 

Quiet Spillage

The sixteen track Social Awareness including remixes and dubs by Solar Tropics, Amamelia, Tim Prebble, Seekers International, Jefferson Belt and Strange Flesh among others is at Bandcamp. Happy belated birthday Stinky Jim. 

Spacial Awareness

Back in August Stinky Jim sent me his latest album, Spacial Awareness, flying through the ether from the other side of the world. His 2021 album It's Not What It Sounds Like was a box of dub and reggae treats and delights, recorded in Auckland, New Zealand where Jim lives. 

Spacial Awareness is a further twelve tracks of dubby goodness with plenty more going besides. First song, Avant Grades, skanks and shuffles its way in, echo shifting the sounds around in the mix. Steam Fish, with a vocal from Nazamba recorded at Tuff Gong in Kingston, Jamaica, is superb stuff, a solid riddim and the righteous, gravel on toast voice of Nazamba on top. Cry For The Ute is faster, gliding around beautifully, with melodica and sampled voices dropped in and out. Owner Face, with wheezy keyboards and  shifts into mid 90s downtempo territory. A distorted horn riff turns up, early 80s punk funk style. Le Creak and Runs On The Board return to the dubbed out sounds (Runs On The Board as a very Sabres Of Paradise bassline at the fore). Quiet Spillage is funked up exotica/ dub, double bass, piano and hiss. Loose Carry has some wonderfully clanky steel drums over clattering rhythms and a stuttering synth bassline, the riffs swapping places with each other and then piling up, breaking down, and then being set loose again. Bolshy Ballet is further out, industrial dub rhythms and space echo, and then a lighter middle section with spaced out melody lines. Spacial Awareness closes with Sand Gestures, a vintage drum machine sound puffing away, computer game bleeps flying in and the skank returning, reminiscent of Nightmares On Wax and Warp's dubbier output, music for late night downtime. 

Spacial Awareness is at Bandcamp, and selected digital retailers. Jim's Stinky Grooves radio show is highly recommended, promising (and delivering) 'broad beats and robust rhythms'. Last year's It's Not What It Sounds Like is here, dubby sounds for difficult times. 

Stinky Sounds

Over on the other side of the world from here, operating out of Auckland New Zealand, is Stinky Jim. He got in touch a few years ago saying nice words about this blog and we've communicated via the internet on and off ever since. Stinky Jim is a reggae enthusiast, a member of Unitone HiFi who have been making electronic dub in Auckland since the early 90s. Jim broadcasts his Stinky Grooves radio on the internet and via Mixcloud- you can find the extensive back catalogue of radio programmes here including his recent tribute to the departed Lee 'Scratch' Perry. Hours and hours of sounds to inspire and delight you. Jim was instrumental in bringing a host of leftfield artists to New Zealand, Adrian Sherwood and Andrew Weatherall, Money Mark and Roots Manuva. He's a one man, Antipodean pioneer with an encyclopaedic knowledge of roots, dub, post- punk and electronica. 

Stinky Jim has recently released his own album, a bewitching and enticing ten track album called It's Not What it Sounds Like. There's loads of dub business in the grooves, rhythms and echo and some lovely meandering melody lines, some sounding like they've wandered in from 1980s/ 90s computer games. Frying Symbols rides in on an outtasight rhythm, vintage organ and is doused in reverb- not unlike the more dubbed out Sabres Of Paradise tunes. Stunted Orbis is flighty melodic bleeps and snare drum and a really cool synth line. Album opener Flingers & Flayers is straight ahead dub reggae, a snatch of vocal floating in and out. Personal Space is five and a half minutes of space and echo, sounds and FX bouncing round the speakers. It's a thing of joy and well worth investigating. You can buy it at Bandcamp. 

Back in 1996 Unitone HiFi released an album called Boomshot, wall to wall 90s dub sounds recorded in New York and Auckland and a long way from where the youthful Jim Pinckney started out, Leamington Spa in Warwickshire.