Dub Syndicate
Acres of Space
(Lion & Roots)
This new album of dub reggae mayhem courtesy of Lincoln “Style” Scott and his crew of master blasters should win an award for most accurate album title. Scott is an acknowledged modern master in this style having worked closely with On-U Sound impresario Adrian Sherwood on many recordings. Dub Syndicate has now fallen almost exclusively under Scott’s control (Sherwood is credited with mixing and adding samples) and it’s his vision and skill that drives these dozen radiant grooves. Every track ripples with earthy beats, atmospheric aural adornments and atmospheric bass. The guest vocalists (Capleton, Big Youth Little David, Jah Bless and especially Luciano) adorning some of the tracks give this album more of a commercial flavor than is usual for Dub Syndicate, but thankfully they avoid the staccato-stutter delivery that currently drives Jamaican pop music. The aspect of aural space in a recording of this nature is paramount and Scott proves that at this point in his career he rightfully deserves respect for his production skills. It probably helps that he is a top grade drummer since it is the purity of the rhythm section that makes this kind of music so appealing. Excellent as usual.
Jeff Monk
Acres of Space
(Lion & Roots)
This new album of dub reggae mayhem courtesy of Lincoln “Style” Scott and his crew of master blasters should win an award for most accurate album title. Scott is an acknowledged modern master in this style having worked closely with On-U Sound impresario Adrian Sherwood on many recordings. Dub Syndicate has now fallen almost exclusively under Scott’s control (Sherwood is credited with mixing and adding samples) and it’s his vision and skill that drives these dozen radiant grooves. Every track ripples with earthy beats, atmospheric aural adornments and atmospheric bass. The guest vocalists (Capleton, Big Youth Little David, Jah Bless and especially Luciano) adorning some of the tracks give this album more of a commercial flavor than is usual for Dub Syndicate, but thankfully they avoid the staccato-stutter delivery that currently drives Jamaican pop music. The aspect of aural space in a recording of this nature is paramount and Scott proves that at this point in his career he rightfully deserves respect for his production skills. It probably helps that he is a top grade drummer since it is the purity of the rhythm section that makes this kind of music so appealing. Excellent as usual.
Jeff Monk
The MONk 2009 View: Truth be told I have always been a huge roots dub and reggae music fan. It came mostly from punk rock but even before that Bob Marley, Lee Perry, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer and many others were all on my radar. We're talking the early 1970's folks and when punk went two-tone a few years later it all really made sense to skank and pogo all at the same event. All these years later I still have the same tunes on my personal playlist and as the decades progressed dub and reggae has seemingly only got better. That along with the copious amounts of high-level re-issues on cd and dvd make collecting and enjoying this music all the better. Weed or non-weed accompaniment completely optional! Jah Guide! Oh, and ps - you can't be a white rasta. No matter how much weed you smoke or how many Jamaican pals you may have it's just simply not possible so please DON'T TRY...it's just embarrassing.
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