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| Dub Rascals Volume 2 Dub Rascals Volume 2 on Little Rascal Records (Release date: 9th of March 2007) presents a diversity of dub and bass music produced by artists from Australia and New Zealand. Bass, skanks, tweaks, reverb and delays are the elements of the music and collaboration is the compilation's main theme. Dub Rascals Volume 2 tracks are produced by collaboration between label artists/producers, Jerry Mane and Spiral Soundsystem plus contributions lisensed from artists, Drew-id (Brisbane), Alf (Sydney) and Beam Up (Melbourne). The tracks encompass a wide and varied range of styles under the dub and bass music banners. Opening track Dubbo – Promiscuous (Drew-id Remix) mesmerizes the listener with grooving, mellow and concious dub sounds with a warm bass and smooth vocal, setting the standard and preparing the listener for the quality of sounds to come. Track two Babylon Bush-Ska by the Dub Rascal Soundsystem gets your head nodding to the uptempo brass skanks and ska rhythms as it delivers a strong message about a warmongering US President. The message stays in the music, though a somewhat different message in track 3 – Everyday by Jerry Mane with strong beats, bass and vocals. The vibe gets deeper with the next few tracks by Drew-id and a minimal track – Give Me Space by Pickle, which has deep dub bass and big skanks which could be likened to some of the output by infamous dub/electronic duo, Rhythm & Sound. The Drew-id tracks showcase a musician and producer with a great understanding of the dub sound with top notch production and clever musicianship, combining the realness of acoustic instruments with the tastiness of digital production. Drew-id brings us the best of both worlds with a distinct Australian sound. Things start to get a bit twisted and trippy with track 7 – Always Dub With A Buddy by Jerry Mane, which takes you away to scenes of sticky tropical heat and smokey hashish and opium sessions with its Bombay style flutes and heavy bassline. Once again Jerry Mane shows through his diversity that he is one of the top producers of dub and drum and bass music in this part of the world. Melbourne artist/producer Beam Up brings on some steady dub and big bass with track 8 – Suuluup. Beam Up trawl the rich seas of traditional musics of the planet and beam down messages from the future to compose. Beam Up also have releases out in Japan (Bus, Soul Fire), Australia (Earthcore, Kooky, Green Ant, Kryptonites, If?, PBSFM, Zomba), UK (Noodles, Corroborree), and the EU (Hymen). These tracks are definitely the meat in the Dub Rascals Volume 2 sandwich. Jerry Mane brings us more smokin dub and even nastier and heavier bass than his previous tracks with track 9 – Smokers Riddim, urging those inclined to 'light one up' and enjoy the rest of the album as it should be experienced. Sydney based artist, A.L.F lifts the tempo on track 10 – Strangers; top production, smooth skanks, subtle melodies and a subby bass showcases the talent of this 'big city' producer whom has also had releases with Elefant Traks like The Herd, An Elefant Never Forgets; SheBeenBasscodes Below The Above double CD; Forefront 2 on Falcon Beats; Foreign Dub DNBBQ Compilation; Congo Natty Outernational LP; Cook'n'Kitch & Monfly Remix 12". DJ A.L.F. lets his warm, chunky, bass swingin' beats-a-rollin' steadily. Jerry Mane keeps the bass rollin and lifts the tempo more into drum and bass territory, but still keeping the dub vibe, skanks, samples and fx tweaks with track 10 – Viper Dub. Pickle trips things out again with an interlude which flows into 3 more great Dub Rascal Soundsystem tracks which bring the dub back into full swing with big bass and plenty of tweaks, fx and delays. The Dub Rascal Soundsystem are a Cairns based live/electronic band including Spiral on bass, Symonard on percussion and Jerry Mane on turntables, fx and programming. D.R.S play a hybrid of dubbed out live music, mashed with thier own programed creations. Track 15 – Jungara Jungle Juice hints at the location the compilation album was produced in, with tropical samples, big bass and tribal rhythms played by drummer and Dub Rascal, Symonard. The track crashes to a solid end – finishing a solid album. The 'little rascals' have managed to put together a big album full of top grade production, big bass, concious messages, all the dub elements and a positive vibe which encourages collaboration and lisensing between Aussie and Kiwi dub and bass producers. Volume 2 raises the bar from Volume 1 (released in June 2006) and should be well considered by fans of dub, drum & bass and electronic music with basswise qualities. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |