Fast FWD>

>into dub.

Check that Mad Professor sample bouncing around at the beggining of the aformentioned omni tune!

Voiced by Sister Audrey of the prof's Ariwa camp, that 'awawawawawa' vocal sample crops up in a bunch of early 90s UK dance tracks, and it's got me wanting to listen to many others from his classic 80s Dub Me Crazy releases that I remember really liking.

If Sampledelia's taught a man anything it's that that this song at least must be a seminal one for people in the right circles back then (or at very least very readily available for ripping the sample from).

I didn't really used to rate the 80s UK dub guys compared to Scientist and Prince Jammy's Jamaican stuff from round then - I suppose because it was nothing like the much more subtle approach of the JA artists' dub stylings. But coming back to the tunes now with a whole heap more interest in these humble shores I really like them - precisely because that they are so different! That not at all subtle eccentricity and heavyweight digi / loopyness.

The Shaka scene from 1981's Babylon gives a great depiction of that exciting and specifically UK reggae-ness which was so clearly a big sound on the streets (and pirates) of London Town in all its different forms throughout 1980s - and as an obvious ( / the definitive?) precursor to the eventual and fateful jungling up of raves in this country it has not been appreciated nearly enough by myself in recent years.

These sounds aren't simply being sampled over and over (thanks uncarved.org) - 'British youts in the 80s / 90s,' soundbwoys like Dillinja, Lemon D, The Bug and Heatwave, all wax lyrical about Jah Shaka, Aswad, Adrian Sherwood, Mad Professor, Lovers Rock, Iration Steppas et al at least as much as they do about King Tubby / Lee Perry / Augustus Pablo and all of the critically acclaimed and widely admired and written about JA massive.

Check this recent King Midas 'Lovers Rock' mix by long time Industrial-Noisemaker and Ambient expert done calmed down again again Kevin Martin aka The Bug alongside Dub Poet type Roger Robinson.

These UK artists are fusion artists first and foremost, constantly adding to and expanding on their musical roots and culture with all sorts of newness on top of the music legacy that's being inherited (not at all unlike their counterparts overseas mind, just in a way that's consitently different to them).

This tradition of producing music never stopped (bit of a jump obviously, but you follow me right?, and the same sh*t is still very much going down today (>get me...).

I really like that, and as such nowadays I will rep it when I see it. That's why I'll be listening to lots of 80s UK reggae music this week.

Just so you know.