On-U Sound 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: We last heard from African Head Charge back in 2011 with the album Voodoo Of The Godsent. Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah and Adrian Sherwood's experimental dub project has since enjoyed a brief archival run of cuts from the early years, which took us back to 1981 and their My Life In A Hole In The Ground album, but now we're being treated to a fresh listening experience. This time, Noah is leading us on a psychoactive trip to his hometown in north Ghana, Bolgatanga, and the mode of transport is a mesmerising tapestry of percussion and dub wise processing, all stitched together with the flair and continued inspiration of two true originals and life-long collaborators. It's as good as that promises to be, and then some.

Review: The musical worlds of Africa, Jamaica and London collide as African Head Charge - the project put together by On-U Sound icon Adrian Sherwood and Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah (of Jamaican heritage but with longtime roots laid down in Africa). Their first new material in 11 years, it's a sonically fascinating mix of cultures and sound approaches, with Sherwood going for subtle, light touches on the dub front rather than the full on echo chamber madness more usually associated with the style. Single 'A Bad Attitude' is a great example of what's going on here - warped around the edges rather than from the core, as philosophical utterings and exotic (to us anyway) instrumentation get into the On-U groove.

Review: Creation Rebel were the original On-U Sound house band, laying down some of the definitive riddims in the early days of Adrian Sherwood's voyage into dub. 40 years on from their last record, the trio of Crucial Tony, Eskimo Fox and Magoo have reunited with Sherwood at the controls for another masterclass in heavyweight sounds from a crack team of players. Originally they formed as a backing band for the late Prince Far-I, and some of his unmistakable tones manifest on this new record from archive tapes, while Daddy Freddy brings his famous fast chat flow to proceedings and Italian synth player Gaudi crops up on occasion too. Rather than dub-by-numbers, this is an exploratory record which takes in different grooves and influences, all filtered through the expanse of space-time manipulation the dub wise approach inspires.

Review: A comprehensive reissue campaign of the key albums by Creation Rebel, the original On-U Sound house band. The series encompasses out of print and much in demand UK dub reggae albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s, all highlighting crucial early production work from the mixing desk of Adrian Sherwood. The band's post-reformation, 2023 album Hostile Environment, is thrown in for good measure. This mammoth 6xCD edition houses five dozen tracks of indelibly experimental dub and reggae tracks, many of which tend towards the spacier and more cosmically-intoned ends of the dub tradition, which was above alive and kicking at the height of the genre's fame from the late 1970s onwards, and spearheaded by none other than group members Clifton Morrison, Eric 'Fish' Clarke and more.

Review: For the first time since 1982, Creation Rebel's Psychotic Jonkanoo is made available on vinyl. Curiously first released on the primarily post-punk oriented Glaswegian label Statik, their sixth album here keeps to the usual eight-track formula, yet hears a softer discographic progression; compared to their earlier works, it is less prodding and weighty, and instead opts for a headroomier and more reverb-laden atmosphere, through which the album's distinctive and novel call-and-response chants can peek. Bandleader Crucial Tony was aided on the vocal front by harmonies from other group members, in a style reminiscent of Black Uhuru, plus the occasional guest such as John Lydon of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Limited providing backing harmony (!) on 'Mother Don't Cry'.

Review: As part of a rather comprehensive looking back and reissuing of some of Creation Rebel's best and most enduring albums, On-U Sound pay due homage to their one and only in-house band. Close Encounters Of The Third World is one such album; it was first released in 1978, and draws a titular link between alienation and privation. The eight-track LP collates the instrumental talents of Lizard The Wizard, Dr. Pablo and Crucial Tony, and hears a fantastic mixing job by none other than Prince Jammy. With an initial charge to 'Know Yourself' before externalising the pilous inner monologue with 'Natty Conscience Free', Creation Rebel here demonstrate a stage of collective soul-searching and a subsequently serene set of songs.

Review: Yet one more classic eight-tracker to now be reissued via Creation Rebel's home label On-U Sound, Rebel Vibrations was their third album for Hitrun and followed up 1978's Close Encounters Of The Third World and Dub From Creation. Similarly lackadaisical and spaced-out to its predecessors, Rebel Vibrations nonetheless charted a slight upping of the weighty ante - with bass parts becoming more prominent and starker - and a refining of the delays and FX as they sit in the mix.