Before March Madness Commences...Dub Save Me Soul...Pre-On-U

Was that as scary for you as it was for me? 

 

 

After a month of pop music I need some soul cleansing. So I'm diving deep into the pool of soul-cleansing Dub.
     "Ethereal, mystical, conceptual, fluid, avant-garde, raw, unstable, provocative, transparent, postmodern, disruptive, heavyweight, political, enigmatic … dub is way more than 'a riddim & a bassline', even if it is that too. Dub is a genre & a process, a 'virus' & a 'vortex'; it draws the listener into a labyrinth, where there are false signposts & 'mercurial' trails that can lead to the future, the past … or to nowhere at all."
          from the Introduction to Remixology-Tracing the Dub Diaspora by Paul Sullivan (a must-read for any Dubhead).

Here're some early Dub releases from Adrian Sherwood paving the way for that On-U sound.

In 1980 Sherwood founded the On-U-Sound Records label. It was a collaborative project involving Sherwood working with members of the original Creation Rebel crew plus various musicians from the Jamaican Dub & London post-punk scenes, such as The Slits' Ari Up, who helped form New Age Steppers, Mark Stewart (The Pop Group), Keith Levene & Jah Wobble (after PiL 1.0 split), Neneh Cherry, Vivien Goldman, & Steve Beresford.

Sherwood recalls:  
     "I remember having gigs and in the crowd you would have the Sex Pistols, The Slits, The Clash, Billy Idol … sometimes all these people at our gigs on the same night. The crowd would be watching the crowd! That's how I met Ari Up – we did The Slits tour with Don Cherry and Happy House. We were guests with Prince Hammer, then the next month we would support The Clash. We had a bit of a ground swell. We knew The Ruts through Misty and Roots. With a lot of this I was in the right place at the right time and a complete fan."

 

Before there was On-U Sound.

In 1977, Sherwood founded the Hit Run label with his friend Doctor Pablo when he was nineteen years old, which is when he began to showcase his own take on Dub. Sherwood's first proper studio experience was with Prince Far I's backing band Creation Rebel, which included drummer Lincoln Valentine 'Style' Scott (w/Adrian,below), a key member of the Roots Radics. Their first recording together was Dub from Creation (1978), made with the help of Dennis Bovell. Sherwood sold the records from the back of his car. 

 

 

These first two are on Hit Run Records.

On Dub from Creation: Tony Chinn - guitar; Clifton 'Bigga' Morris - keyboards; Doctor Pablo - melodica & percussion; Clinton Jack - bass; & Eric 'Fish' Clarke. 

 

Creation Rebel - Dub from Creation, Hitrun APLP 9001, 1978.
all decryption codes in comments

Side A -
Dub from Creation
Basic Principals
Rebel Rouser
Creation Vibration
Creation in a Iration

Side B -
Dub Fusion
Mirage
Liberation
Rising Star
Vision of Creation

 

 

 

 

At the same time, Adrian worked on Cry Tuff Dub Encounter, Chapter 1 , an album he had just finished mixing for Prince Far I , which was engineered by Dub producer & Gooseberry Sound Studios stalwart Mark Lusardi.

The first three chapters of Cry Tuff can be found here.

While Dub from Creation is a fairly traditional-sounding Dub album, the follow-ups, Rebel Vibrations (1979), the classic Starship Africa (truly unique in that it was mixed with the effects before the beats) & Psychotic Junkanoo (1981) grew progressively bolder in terms of using sound collage techniques to weave elements of world music, industrial noise, & ambient sounds into the Dub blueprint.

On Rebel Vibrations: Crucial Tony - guitar, bass, & percussion; Bigga Morrison - piano, organ, synthesizer, & percussion; Doctor Pablo - melodica & percussion; Lizard - bass & percussion; & Style Scott - drums & percussion. 

 

Creation Rebel - Rebel Vibrations, Hitrun APLP 9004, 1979.

Side A -
Rebel Vibration   
Jungle Affair
Hunger & Strife   
Ian Smith Rock (Dub)

Side B -
Diverse Doctor   
Mountain Melody   
Black Lion Dub   
Doctor's Remedy

 

 

 

 

On Starship Africa: Bigga Morrison & Fatfingers - organ & piano; Doctor Pablo - melodica & synthesizer; Tony 'Tsungirai' Henry & Lizard - bass; Charles 'Eskimo' Fox & Style Scott - drums; & Ranking Magoo & Sucker - percussion.

 

 

Creation Rebel - Starship Africa, 4D Rhythms 4DLP1, 1980.

Side 1 -
Starship Africa:
     Section 1
     Section 2
     Section 3
     Section 4
     Section 5

Side 2 -
Space Movement:
     Section 1
     Section 2
     Section 3
     Section 4

 

 

 

 

On Psychotic Jonkanoo: Crucial Tony - guitat, bass & vocals; Lizard Logan - bass & vocals; Eskimo Fox - drums & vocals; & Ranking Magoo - percussion & vocals.

Although given the On-U catalogue # ON-U LP4, it was not originally released by On-U Sound.

 

 

Creation Rebel - Psychotic Jonkanoo, Statik Records STAT LP4, 1981.

Side One -
The Dope
African Space
Chatti Mouth
Threat to Creation

Side Two -
Highest Degree
Mother Don't Cry
Yuk Up
Drum Talk 

"People get warped by dub … and they never recover." – Ian Penman

Madness coming soon,
NØ

This One's On-U

 

A friend of mine who had been MIA for a couple years recently contacted me. It was great to hear from him again. He, like myself, is a big fan of all things On-U Sound.

 

In the past I have posted a good amount of Singers & Players, but like my friend, Vacuum Pumping has been missing in action here. Jonder asked if I would rectify that short-coming & I am only too glad to oblige.

Singers & Players – Vacuum Pumping, On-U Sound On-U LP39, 1988.
all decryption codes in comments

Side A –

Run Them Away

Lighthouse / Dreamworld

Holy Scripture

To Be Fee

Side B –

I Don’t Want AIDS

Boof Um Baff Um

Pneumatic

These Eyes

While I’m at this thing, here are a few other On-U treats for you to enjoy.

In 1982 Adrian & Co. issued the Discoplate series of 10" singles, DP1 – DP6. There are actually only five 10" releases. I don’t know why, but DP5 is a 12" EP of three tunes from Mark Stewart & Maffia. Here we go…

Prince Far I / Singers & Players - DP1.

Side A –

Prince Far I / Singers & Players – Virgin

Side AA –

Singers & Players – Danger

Bim Sherman / Singers & Players - DP2.

Side A –

Revolution

Side AA –

Too Much Work Load

Creation Rebel – DP3.

Side A –

Independent Man

Side AA –

Creation Rebel

London Underground – DP4.

Side A –

Strange Things / Conspiracy

Side AA –

Why Do Fat Men Have Such Skinny Thoughts?

Mark Stewart & Maffia – Jerusalem EP DP5.

Side A –

Jerusalem

High Ideals & Crazy Dreams

Side B –

Welcome to Liberty City

Noah House of Dread – DP6.

Side A –

Murder

Side AA –

Stand Firm

Next I thought I’d offer my friends, visitors, lurkers, & leechers Andy Fairley’s only credited 'solo' album, System Vertigo from 1992. 

 

The late Andy Fairley had probably the most distinctive vocal style of any artist to record for Adrian Sherwood. In the early 1980s, art school dropouts Howard Purse & Doug White landed in Bristol, UK. There they masterminded the creation of the band Fish Food. Joined by local drummer Dan Swan, ex-Cortinas, & poet Andy Fairley, the group began cooking up their fractured slices of surreal beat. Always on the fringe of the Bristol scene, the four rehearsed in their squat, a haunt for the likes of The Pop Group, Pig Bag, & Scream & Dance.

Andy Fairley was a modern-day poet; a shrewd observer of the injustices & insanities of the modern world. His lyrics tackled issues such as the state of politics, privatization, & the plight of the under-classes. His raw vocal delivery perfectly & powerfully complimented the issues he addressed.

During the 1989-1993 period his voice was a familiar feature of Sherwood productions: Gary Clail; Dub Syndicate; & Keith LeBlanc among others. When not reciting his own verse in full, he was often sampled for use in-the-mix, often regaling the sonic qualities of the recording or giving a MC-like shout to the artist, On-U Sound, or Sherwood personally.

Here are a few that anyone familiar with the On-U catalogue have probably heard:

"This sound system comes to you with fuel injection!"
"Your head will become a crazy bulbous punch bag of sound!"
"Targeting your brain with sonic thrust!"
"This is the precinct of system. This is the precinct of sound!"

System Vertigo is a collection of his writings set to solid rhythms built by Adrian Sherwood & the Little Axe alums Skip McDonald & Doug Wimbish with a cast of others.

Fairley left On-U in the mid 1990s & vanished back into the Bristolian aether from which he had emerged. Sadly little else was heard from or about him until news of his death in 1999.

Andy Fairley – System Vertigo, On-U Sound ON-U LP61, 1992.

Side 1 –

I Stopped the Clock

System Vertigo

Ghost

The Election Pt. 1

Side 2 –

You Look at Life

Audio Visual Attack

The Election Pt. 2

A Nation Responds

Fun & Games

The Song of the Phoenix

False Start

Finally, a compilation of various On-U Sound celebrities on On-U Sound Celebration.

Various – On-U Sound Celebration, Trance Records TCCD 9 00662 O, 1988.

Tracklist –

The Deal (intro)

Stopping & Starting – Voice of Authority

Quante Jubila – Prince Far I & Creation Rebel

Dreams are Better – London Underground

Silent Mover – Playgroup

Last Sane Dream – Creation Rebel / New Age Steppers

Make a Joyful Noise – Singers & Players

AllaLa Dreadlocks Soldier – Singers & Players

Love I Can Feel – Creation Rebel

Creative Involvements – Creation Rebel

Deep & Mintyful - Playgroup

The Dice – Judy Nylon

Woodpecker Sound – Jah Woosh

Final Frontier – Creation Rebel / New Age Steppers

Independent Man pts. 1 & 2 – Creation Rebel

Epic Sound Battles – Playgroup

Feeling Wild – Voice of Authority

Knock the House Down – Voice of Authority

Thanks, Jonder, for the nudge,

NØ