May 01, 2007

GET THESE!

Though best known nowadays for releasing excellent albums covering the Studio One stalward, I always find SoulJazz records to be even more interesting when they enter new areas. These newbies are always incredibly fresh, right on top of things or sometimes even ahead of times. Furthermore, and this is both strictly personal as well as odd, the label always seems to come up with a release that's closely connected to my current musical interests. Don't know what that says about me though...

For now I'm on the lookout for these two gems:

VARIOUS ARTISTS: RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE
Lately my interest in reggae seems to have slighty shifted from the roots rock reggae 70's style into the 80's rub-a-dub. Don't know why, it's just the way it is. And as it also happens to be, this 80's rub-a-dub was the main source of sampling for many producers of early (ragga) jungle. Mix that with my heavy crush on dubstep, which itself, for a great deal anyway, is rooted in the same ragga jungle, and you have a picture perfect. Souljazz now releases an album that's aiming to be the "story of jungle and its connection with Reggae music." Don't know if they succeed in reaching that goal exactly, since it's quite a bold statement to make, but it still is wicked to hear some of them "oldie hits" like DJ Zinc's "Super Sharp Shooter" and Cutty Ranks' "Limb By Limb" again. The rest is, how could it not be, way up to par:

1. Asher Senator — One Bible
2. Ninjaman, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man and Ninja Ford — Bad Boy Lick A New Shot
3. M Beat With General Levy — Incredible
4. Barrington Levy & Beenie Man — Under Mi Sensi (X-Project Remix)
5. Ragga Twins — Ragga Trip
6. Poison Chang — Press The Trigger
7. Shut Up And Dance — No Doubt
8. UK Apachi & Shy FX — Original Nuttah
9. Ragga Twins — Illegal Gunshot
10. DJ Zinc — Super Sharp Shooter
11. Ben Intellect With Ragga G — Oh Jungle
12. Cutty Ranks — Limb By Limb
13. Ragga Twins — Tan So Back


VARIOUS ARTISTS: BOX OF DUB: DUBSTEP & FUTURE DUB
Dubstep. A scene that's still very much in motion and in progress. Exciting, new, fresh and almost every new record is a blast. Sceptics like to go 'round wondering how long it'll take for this scene to blow up "just like drum 'n bass did," but I'm not one of them: I just go along, dig in and enjoy every little detail of it. Dubstep is, as I wrote before, the best new thing in music that came about in 5 odd years or so (it seems I too can come up with some bold statements :-)). It's a deep love. An expensive cost also, since I buy a lot of 10"s and 12"s these days, not just to keep up or update my collection, but merely for the sheer excitement every record keeps giving me. Like I said, deep love. SoulJazz gladly does their part and is about to offer us a collection of newly recorded dubstep anthems. All new, all fresh and probably: all good.
Can someone please send me an advance copy now??!!

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