A Brief History Of Dub

... according to Adrian Sherwood, that is.

Having taken The Collapse Of Everything and The Grand Designer EP through the Bandcamp Friday checkout and looking forward to a weekend of Sherwood infused sounds, on a whim I've created a 45-minute Dubhed selection of Adrian's previous work with other artists.

Some old, some new, some familiar, some less. All heavy duty and guaranteed to satisfy your dub palette.

1) Jungle (Album Version By Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Adrian Sherwood): Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate (1987)

2) Down In It (Singe) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood & Keith LeBlanc): Nine Inch Nails (1989)

3) Death Of A Party (12" Death) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood): Blur (1998)

4) To Let Go (Adrian Sherwood ON-U Sound ReMix): R34L, Mark Pistel, Adrian Sherwood (2022)

5) What Silence Knows (Unreleased Version By Adrian Sherwood & Style Scott): Shara Nelson (1994)

6) Danger Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2023)

1987: Time Boom x De Devil Dead: 1

1989: Down In It EP: 2

1994: Uptight EP: 5

1998: Bustin' + Dronin': 3

2022: To Let Go EP: 4

2023: Reset In Dub: 6

A Brief History Of Dub (44:59) (GD) (M)

Everything Playing At Once

"How did I get here?" as David Byrne once said. I know what he means. It's been a pretty crappy year in many respects, but music - and blogging about music - has been my salve, my safe space, my springboard back into the, at times, sheer madness of the wider world.

"What, no mega-mix?" as Ernie Goggins commented yesterday. Well, I'd always planned a Dubhed selection to sum up 2023 and see in 2024. Thankfully, it's not a 24-hour marathon attempting to squeeze everything in. Instead, it's a much more ear-friendly party mix at a smidge over an hour, sampling 17 tracks (and one interview snippet) including one song which didn't even make yesterday's end of year list!

This may be the only place today where you will hear Balearic, post-punk, downtempo, travelogue, dub, house, alternative, r 'n' b, politics, jazz and psychedelia all cut and pasted together. As I said to Ernie, more manic- than mega-mix. I think it turned out surprisingly well.

 

I have no plans for Dubhed to slow down in 2024, so expect more of the usual make-it-up-as-I go-along nonsense on a daily basis, inspired as ever by the music that soundtracks my life and keeps me going through good and bad times. 

On that note, a massive thank you again to you all for your continued support this year, it really means a lot. I hope that however you are spending New Year's Eve, it's a good one and that 2024 brings you much joy and happiness.

 

Happy New Year!

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Bliadhna Mhath ùr! 

Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise Dhuit!

Bonne Année!  

Ευτυχισμένο το νέο έτος!

Feliz Año Nuevo!  

Щасливого Нового року!

 

1) Ride A Cloud (Xavi's Campfire Mix - Khayem's Nice 'n' Splicey Edit): The Woodentops ft. Kyoko Sato *

2) Master Of Time: Jah Wobble

3) That Time Of Night (Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown Dub): GLOK ft. Shiarra

4) Lack Of Sleep (Pye Corner Audio Remix): Maps

5) Cleanse Your Guilt Here: Algiers

6) Somehow It Feels Important (Auren Remix): Hairdressa

7) Tender Years: Robert Forster

8) I Laugh Myself To Sleep: David Holmes ft. Raven Violet

9) "do you wanna know what's changed about the music industry?": David Holmes **

10) Many Hands (Retroforward Dubbin' Hands Remix): D:Ream 

11) Brigada (Single Version): Bárbara Boeing ft. Phil Mill

12) Baba Louie: Jaimie Branch ft. Akenya Seymour & Kuma Dog

13) Go On Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom

14) 3rd Highlands And Islands Tour: Julian Cope

15) wifi: Spare Snare

16) There Will Be No Crying: Cleo Sol

17) $1 One Vote!: The The

18) Sunday's Cool: 10:40

 

Everything Playing At Once (1:02:45) (KF) (Mega) 

 

* This is possibly the laziest edit I've ever done. I've simply laid a copy of the mix on the other, with a 20-second delay and (roughly) beat matched. I like the repetition of Kyoko Sato's voice, so this version stayed in. 

 

** A snippet from Edith Bowman's interview with David Holmes earlier this month. Well worth an hour of your time.

Version On The Extreme

Sorry, a bit later than usual posting this, due to a Clan K excursion last night and a bit of a lie-in this morning. A warning: this is a big one,  you might need a Thermos flask and packed lunch to get you through.

 

Oh, this is difficult. Even trying to nail down some of my favourite versions - covers, remixes and reimaginings - of 2023 has proved to be an insurmountable task.

Therefore, I've picked out just 23 listed alphabetically by artist. Some I've been enjoying for many months, one in particular (The Woodentops) was a last minute addition, having belatedly discovered it via Swiss Adam's year end run down at Bagging Area.

Strap in, there's a wild ride ahead!

Jango Mango: Ademarr & Joseeph

 

EP released via Roam Recodings in July, featuring the original version plus standout remixes from Darlyn Vlys and Iñigo Vontier.

 

Tender (Cover of Blur): The Anchoress

For the past year or so, Catherine Anne Davies released a cover version per month, available for a limited time on Bandcamp. Many of them were subsequently collected for this year's excellent Versions album. 

Tender, originally released in 2021, didn't make the album cut but it did get a physical release in April, as the third of a series of limited edition EPs. The EP has long since sold out and the song has vanished from t'internet. To give you a taste of how good it is/was, here's an extract (KF) (Mega).

Gorgeous, isn't it?

Njalo: Cee ElAssaad ft. Bongi Mvuyana

Morrocco meets South Africa with stunning results. Njalo has been burning a hole in my speakers since February and comes in three versions: the original full vocal, dub and instrumental; all superb.

 

 

Yeah x 3: David Holmes ft. Raven Violet 

I could have picked any of David's singles, whether with Unloved or Raven Violet, as highlights of the year, to be honest. Yeah x 3 was released in November, with a diverse range of remixes from Panda Bear & Sonic Boom, Jordan Nocturne, X-Press 2 and a couple of beauties from Gary Irwin aka The Vendetta Suite.

 

  

Rusalkas (Transglobal Underground RMX): DjClick & Masha Natanson

 

I was down a specific Transglobal Underground rabbit hole, which led me to the Violins Against Bombs RMX album, featuring 10 reworks of the original 2022 album by TGU along with Fluo Sobre, Rafael Aragon, Dunkelbunt, MiRET and Recycler. Now available as a name your price/free download, so what have you got to lose?

 

 

Unchanged (GLOK Remix): Dot Allison

Dot Allison meets Andy Bell on a dub excursion that evokes yet avoids mimicking the majesty of One Dove. Released in June and a perfect companion piece to their respective releases this year.

 

 

Other Skies: Electric Blue Vision

 

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Sean Johnston and Duncan Gray have been on fire this year with standalone remixes and releases. However, when they come together as Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown, the listener is in for a dub excursion par excellence.  

 

Other Skies, the second single by Electric Blue Vision by Emilia Harmony and Jesse Fahnestock, broke cover in November, the sublime original also channeling the spirit of One Dove. The remixes took the song in wildly different directions, all worth the trip.

 

  

Confessions Of An Ageing Party Girl: Emily Breeze

 

A 2020 single and highlight of this year's Rapture album, March saw the release of a remix by Massive Attack's Daddy G (Grant Marshall) and Robot Club (Stew Jackson). Not available on Bandcamp but available through most of the usual places. 

 

If you're a regular visitor to the essential music blog No Badger Required - and if you aren't, I urge you to start right now - then you'll have spotted that I referenced it over there as my track of 2023. Thanks, SWC!

 

Cello Song (Cover of Nick Drake): Fontaines D.C.

I was slow to listen to Fontaines D.C.'s second album Skinty Fia this year - my mistake - and to their singular take on the Nick Drake back in March. My fellow blog travellers have written about why this is the epitome of what a great cover version should be and they are absolutely spot on. If I heard this in complete ignorance, I'd think it was a stunning song. The fact that it may inspire listeners to check out not just Fontaines D.C. but Nick Drake can only be a good thing. 

Cello Song features on the album The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs Of Nick Drake, which I could easily have included in my list of favourite compilations yesterday.

Shakatak: Gaudi

Woah, come back. If you're worried that this March 2023 release is a tribute to the '80s white English jazz-funk band, rest assured. Daniele Gaudi delivers another colossal slice of dub, especially on the 'ReRub' version.

 

 

Pez (bdrmm Remix): GIFT

This all started with A Place To Bury Strangers, specifically their remix album See Through You Rerealized which featured separate remixes by GIFT and bdrmm. I wasn't familiar with either band and little trawl of Bandcamp unearthed their respective back catalogues. The two come together on this remix, released in August as a precursor to GIFT's debut album, Momentary Presence, a couple of months later. Check 'em all out.

 

 

Dirty Hugs (Richard Sen Remix): GLOK

The Pattern Recognition album got a 3-track remix EP in March, a great month for releases, in retrospect. Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown and Tom Sharkett from W.H. Lung set the bar high but Richard Sen has no difficulty in holding his own and taking the original 20-minute trip on a wild chase through the city's nightlife.

 

 

 

A Night In Siolim (A Space Age Freak Out Remix): H​ö​gt I Tak

Paisley Dark Records have been a go-to with each release, not just for the high quality electronica but the calibre of remixes. Label boss John Paynter proves that you don't need to outsource to produce something quite special, as his Space Age Freak Out remix from December amply demonstrates.

 

 

I Am The Fly (Cover of Wire): Jah Wobble

The Wob made a raucous return (not that he's ever been away) with a slew of new albums in 2023, August's A Brief History Of Now revisiting his punk/post-punk stylings with fellow traveller Jon Klein. Their cover of Wire's I Am The Fly was an unexpected treat, Klein on vocals and Jah Wobble working his usual bass magic.

 

  

And, as a bonus treat, here's the man himself showing you how it's done (and yes, Mike, he is playing more than one string!)

 

Arabiklan (Rude Audio Remix): James Rod

Another top notch Paisley Dark remix package, this time in May, with an artist that I wasn't that familiar with. James Rod provides two classy originals with Synthetic Glory and Arabiklan, handing them over to Mindbender, Hunterbräu, H​ö​gt I Tak and Man2.0. Rude Audio aka Mark Ratcliff delivers a blinder.

 

Trading Places: Jezebell  

 

I've written previously about Trading Places, issued as a pair of EPs in April, offering up 'daytime' and nighttime' versions. All excellent, but the 6PM version gets a special mention for the delightful cameo by Siouxsie Sioux, expertly woven in by Jesse Fahnestock and Darren Bell. Available as a name your price/free download.

 

 

Phoenix (Cover of The Cult): JIM

First off, apologies that I've completely forgotten which music blog introduced me to this cover version and JIM (Jim Baron) in general, as I doubt I would have found him or the rather lovely Love Makes Magic album otherwise. Originally issued in June, the 10-song album included this fine cover, swapping bollock rock for Balearic acoustica to brilliant effect.

 

 

Bridge To Heaven (Sonic Boom Bass Remix): John Massoni

Another chance discovery this year whilst searching for Sonic Boom related items was his collaboration with John Massoni on the 8-track EP, Think Of Me When You Hear Waves. A further Sonic Boom remix of Bridge To Heaven, stretching things even further to just under ten minutes, shimmered into view in August.

 

 

Willow's Song (Richard Norris Ritual Mix): Katy J Pearson 

Katy J Pearson recorded a whole bunch of covers for The Wicker Man EP, released in October to celebrate the film of the same name's 50th anniversary. Katy had originally recorded Willow's Song as the closer of her 2022 album Sound Of The Morning and the Richard Norris remix came out in June this year. A strong contender for remix - and track - of the year and perfectly aligned with his own mighty dub workouts as Oracle Sounds.

 

Edge Of The Edge Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom 

August - another solid month for great music - saw the third iteration of the Reset album, following the original and 'Songbook + Instrumentals' versions. Here, Adrian Sherwood puts the entire thing through a dub rinse which promises much and somehow manages even then to exceed expectations. Much as I love Noah Lennox and Pete Kember's collaboration, Reset In Dub takes the music to another plane of existence.

 

 

Expansions Dub (Cover of Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes): Prince Fatty ft. Shniece McMenamin

Not the only cover version that Prince Fatty shared in 2023 though arguably one that I wasn't expecting at all. With Shniece on the mic and Fatty at the controls, the listener is in safe hands and the dub version feels even more like a big aural hug. Another August highlight.

 

 

Fitzroy Avenue (BFP Acid-Flex Mix By Bedford Falls Players): Warriors Of The Dystotheque ft. Joe Duggan

 

We're on the home stretch now with yet another Paisley Dark winner, going all the way back to March. This is a generous 8-track digital EP, with a bonus hidden ninth 'No Effects Vox' version, i.e. just Joe Duggan. Tons of great remixes by Mindbender, H​ö​gt I Tak, Hunterbräu, Ed Mahon, Jezebell and this one from the ever excellent Mark Cooper aka Bedford Falls Players.

 

 

 

Ride A Cloud (Coyote Remix): The Woodentops 

The Woodentops released Ride A Cloud, with remixes by Coyote and Andres y Xavi, in June and somehow I managed to miss it completely. Thankfully, Swiss Adam to the rescue with his own end of year round up meant that I discovered this wonderful 3-tracker and it's ended up here just in time to wind things down after that marathon workout.

 

  

Tomorrow, I'll be trying hard to pick some more 2023 favourites. Heaven help me.

Forever At The Push Of A Button

An hour (and five minutes) of Sonic Boom, all purchased within the last 12 months.  This selection and post comes with an inexcusable pun warning. Watch out. Here it comes. Wait for it...

 

I was a late b(l)oom(er) - sorry! - when it comes to Pete Kember. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was aware of but didn't particularly buy into Spacemen 3, Spectrum or Experimental Audio Research, literally or metaphorically. I was subsequently enlightened.

More recently, I've been enjoying Sonic Boom's run of new releases via Bandcamp, a real purple patch, not that I'm suggesting that there have been any fallow periods, far from it. In 2022, Pete teamed up with Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear from Animal Collective to produce the heady delight that is the album Reset. A 'Songbook Instrumentals + Remixes' companion was released late last year and a further iteration 'Reset In Dub', the entire album dubbed up by Adrian Sherwood, is released in full on Friday. Scroll to the bottom for my Dubhed selection, which starts off with Sherwood's wonderful rework of Whirlpool and includes further selections from the original and 'Songbook' albums.

The rest of the selection includes artists that are familiar to me (hello again, Pye Corner Audio) or that I've heard for the first time via these purchases. 

Sunray aka Jon Chambers has teamed up with Sonic Boom on a couple of occasions (including a fab cover of Ocean by The Velvet Underground). I bought Sonic Boom's mix of Music For The Dreamachine (Phase One) last week as a 2023 release, only discovering when writing this post that the track was in fact released as a one-sided 12" way back in 2000. No matter, it's twenty four and half minutes of pure bliss and sounds very now.

Veik is a trio comprising Boris Collet, Vincent Condominas, and Adrien Legrand, hailing from Caen, in the heart of Normandy in France. This is one of several remixes from their Surrounding Structures album and, by contrast with Sunray, is a breathtaking brisk remix coming in at under four minutes.

A Place To Bury Strangers have been around since the early 2000s and, after several line-up changes, are currently a trio of Oliver Ackermann, John Fedowitz and Sandra Fedowitz. Until last Bandcamp Friday, my APTBS collection was limited to a couple of remixes of their own songs and a few of them remixing others (Andy Bell, Grinderman and bdrmm). They've been dubbed elsewhere as the "loudest band in New York" and who am I to argue?

 

I'm still working my way through the mammoth remix companion to sixth album See Through You, featuring fresh takes by the likes of Trentemøller, Xiu Xiu, Annie Hart of Au Revoir Simone, bdrmm (repaying the favour) and Andy Bell in his GLOK guise, the latter the one that drew me to the album in the first place. The Sonic Boom remix of Love Reaches Out included here is a standout and if you buy the digital edition, you get a bonus Sonic Boom remix of My Head Is Bleeding. Cranial injuries are clearly an issue for APTBS, one of the few older songs in my collection being To Fix The Gash In Your Head. You need a health and safety risk assessment, mate.

 

David Holmes always delivers a beauty and his remix of Panda Bear and Sonic Boom continues that trend without hesitation. Taken from the Songbook Instrumentals + Remixes iteration of Reset.

 

John Massoni is another artist that I'd not heard of before last week but who, like Sunray/Jon Chambers, previously collaborated with Pete Kember in 2000 (with The Sundowner Sessions EP). The pair returned for this year's Record Store Day with an album, Think Of Me When You Hear Waves, which I've purchased digitally. It's a beautiful excursion and I'll be looking out for more of Massoni's recordings on the back of this.

 

If you're similarly inspired, I've included Bandcamp links - YouTube where not available or in the case of Edge Of The Edge, the official video because it's just to much fun - and all tracks are available for purchase there or elsewhere digitally and in some cases physically. Money well spent, in my opinion.

 

Thanks, Pete!

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Whirlpool Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2023)

2) Saturation Point (Sonic Boom Remix): Pye Corner Audio (2022)

3) Music For The Dreamachine (Phase One) (Mixed By Sonic Boom): Sunray (2000)

4) Edge Of The Edge (Album Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2022)

5) Difficult Machinery (Sonic Boom Remix): Veik (2023)

6) Love Reaches Out (Sonic Boom Rererealized): A Place To Bury Strangers (2023)

7) Gettin' To The Point (David Holmes Remix): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2022)

8) Sun (Sonic Boom Mix): John Massoni with Sonic Boom (2023)

2000: Music For The Dreamachine (Phase One) EP: 3

2022: Let’s Remerge! EP: 2

2022: Reset: 4

2022: Reset (Songbook Instrumentals + Remixes): 7

2023: Reset In Dub: 1

2023: See Through You Rerealized: 6

2023: Surrounding Structures Remixes EP: 5

2023: Think Of Me When You Hear Waves: 8

Forever At The Push Of A Button (1:05:47) (KF) (Mega)

Remergency On Planet Earth

I've been looking forward to Let's Remerge! by Pye Corner Audio since Swiss Adam teased one of the tracks, Saturation Point, over at Bagging Area at the tail end of September.

 

The legend that is Sonic Boom has remixed three songs from parent album Let's Emerge! into sixteen and a half minutes of aural beauty, gently cascading notes, droning synths and guest Andy Bell's guitar coming further forward in the mix, the pace picking up from opener Haze Loops through Saturation Point finally reaching the euphoric, pulsing, uptempo Warmth Of The Sun. 

Let's Remerge! was released yesterday and is available via Bandcamp (digital only, the orange vinyl 10" sold out on pre-orders ages ago) and is highly recommended.

Of course, having just one release in a week could be considered slacking off, so Martin Jenkins also gifted a brand new Pye Corner Audio track, Firewalk, available for free/name your own price. There are echoes of Let's Emerge! but with a sinister, unsettling edge, befitting it's release on Hallowe'en.

 

The Closest Thing To Organised Mass Zombie-dom

The summer - and perhaps more specifically, the festival season - has seen a steady stream of new music from 'old' artists, invoking the spirit of the 1990s with some frankly quite spectacular bangers.

 

The seemingly indefatigable Orbital has this year finally been able to properly celebrate three decades, including the release of 30-Something. Eschewing the usual 'best of' compilation, the collection comprises their own '30 Years Later' reworkings alongside remixes by David Holmes, Jon Hopkins, ANNA, Shanti Celeste and Joris Voorn amongst others.

 

Inevitably, there are a couple of new tracks, including Smiley, which goes right back to Orbital's origins, sampling ITV's 1988 World in Action documentary A Trip Round Acid House (including an interview with 20-old year Paul Hartnoll). The song's title pays tribute to the Smiley Face symbol, officially 50 years old in 2022, which was used in the legendary DC Comics series Watchmen in 1986-1987 and subsequently associated with Acid House. A great song and a brilliant video.

Not to be outdone, Leftfield is also back with Pulse, a precursor to new album This Is What We Do. Originally a duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley until 2002, Barnes restarted Leftfield in 2010 and the current iteration has now been going as long as the original incarnation. The pre-release buzz is already comparing the new album to Leftism; in a nod to the latter, Lemn Sissay returns on one track and mirroring Toni Halliday (Curve)'s guest vocals, This Is What We Do features Fontaines D.C. frontperson Grian Chatten.

 

Pulse reminds me more of Phat Planet than anything off of Leftism and I love it. Pulse sounds fantastic on headphones, I can only imagine what it's like in a club or festival setting.

There's already been a lot of excitement and praise for Reset, the inspired collaboration between Panda Bear and Sonic Boom, and with good reason. Lead single Go On was an absolute blast and follow up Edge Of The Edge is just as wonderful, channeling Brian Wilson and, unsurprising given the artists involved, a mind-bending video. There is an online listening party for Reset tonight, ahead of the album's digital release on 12th August. The event includes a live chat with Sonic Boom and premiere of third single/video, Danger. I've only heard two songs so far and I'm already expecting Reset to place high amongst my favourite albums of 2022.

No video for the new single by Four Tet, released yesterday (10th), but I had to include it. Kieran Hebden has been promising some "unreleased bangers" since the end of July and Mango Feedback was included in his rather fine Glastonbury set which I managed to catch on BBC iPlayer. Mango Feedback is another track that is feels very now but also evocative of an earlier era. I immediately thought of Found Sound-era Spooky remixed by Todd Terry. Watersmyth is perhaps more 'typical' Four Tet, a pulsing, bleeping ambient trip that fades out after four minutes but could easily go on and on and on.

 

New kids on the block (no, not them!) Jezebell have been on a roll since their first release, Thrill Me - was it really only November 2021? Hot on the heels of July's Jezebellearica EP, 30th September sees the release of the Jezebellectro EP on quality Berlin label Nein Records. Lead track Dumbell is available to preview now and it's another cracker. Built upon a sampled break from a classic 80s 12" that I haven't yet featured here but spookily enough name checked last week, there are other recognisable samples dropped in that make for an inspired six-and-a-half minutes. The EP includes two remixes of Dumbell by Ian Vale and ADJ aka Andy Jaggers, plus another new track, the intriugingly-titled The Jezebell Spirit. I honestly get a big smile whenever the latest Jezebell release drops and they are currently keeping 'em coming!

If you like what you hear, you can buy or pre-order from the following outlets (as ever, other retail options are available):

30-Something by Orbital (deluxe CD via official website)

This Is What We Do by Leftfield (pre-order exclusive vinyl & CD via Rough Trade)

Reset by Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (Bandcamp)

Mango Feedback / Watersmyth by Four Tet (Bandcamp)

Jezebellectro EP by Jezebell (pre-order via Bandcamp)