BILL LASWELL — Dub Meltdown (review)

Album · 1997 · Dub/Ska/Reggae

4/5 · 2012-03-18
Matt

There is not much that Bill Laswell has not had a shot at. Rock, Funk, Ambient, Punk, Jazz, World Fusion, Cuban, Celtic, Spoken Word and the list goes on but like most gentlemen with an appreciation for good music he has a real penchant for Reggae but he prefers the Dub primarily due to it electronics, as well being one hell of a great place to really thump up your electric bass with room shattering effects. 1996 was the year of this Drum n' Bass extravaganza named "Dub Meltdown" which was released by Word Sound Recordings with their main man for tha label under the pseudonym of "The Eye", doing what the album states as chronic/ sounds/ pressure which is most likely adding lots of those little electronic touches. The Eye is actually "Skiz" Fernando Jr and an old friend of Bill's and Bill actually back in 1993 gave Skiz a thousand bucks to get his new Word Sound label going with recently a dedicated new vinyl hip hop label "Black Hoodz" added to his music resume recently. The actual main man though for the album is the addition of Style Scott on drums, yes that one from Adrian Sherwood's ON-U Sound label and the man behind Dub Syndicate. Style Scott was originally a member of The Roots Radics who did many a studio session back in Jamacia in the early 1980's. The two other musicians listed are Capt. Kowatchi on percussion and Prof. Shehab placing his samples. Bill Laswell also not only plays glorious pounding bass but is adding Loops and fx programming and also doing seven of the eight track's mixing with Prof Shehab mixing only the one "Aeon".

Eight great hypnotic, thumping numbers are within the album "Dub Meltdown" with "Crooklyn Dub Syndicate" coming in first with that distinct Reggae electronic echo over the rythmn but soon all those electronic noises are injected with who I presume to be Style Scott adding fragments of spoken word within the dub which also has the addition of beautiful booming bass from Bill's guitar and the foundation of Style Scott's drumming which has been only slightly touched over with electronics as this could have gone through the mixing board or he could have used either triggers on his drum kit but one thing he keeps a beautiful spaced time right throughout this tune, "Crooklyn Dub Syndicate". The next is "Fourth Column", Style Scott's drum workout with some brilliant stuff from Style and more devastating bass booming from Bill with an injection of loops and electronic sounds at various times throughout the dub which keeps Style Scott's drums at the fore right throughout. "Aeon" is the only dub not mixed on the album by Bill Laswell but Prof Shehab who gives us the Doctor Who synth sound at the begining of this slow hypnotic pounder and this is one great mix that just seeps right through you in that great dub hypnotisng method. The fourth track is my favourite dub perhaps due to its slightly faster time or is it the sound of electronic sirens placed throughout but "Emergency At The Plant" sounds just like that with the electronics additions over some great drum n' bass. Still another four fabulous dubs to be played on the album with "A Greater Source Of Power" being being the pick with it's cock crowing introduction and the addition of tablas from Capt. Kowtachi mixed in with all those spoken word echo's, electronic effects and the glorious drum n' bass from Bill and Style over this wicked riddim.

Bill Laswell is musically a Forest Gump box of chocolates as you do never know what you are going to get but here we did not pick the ginger one but one with caramel and nuts by that I mean not so the music styles but my comprehension for the music from all the albums that Bill Laswell has created with varying degrees of listenability as some to be honest I think are dreadful while others I rate close to masterpiece status but one thing whatever Bill Laswell does it has his originality stamp on the production and I myself are always curious to hear what he has created next. This for me is one of Bill's better ones and cudo's must go to Style Scott from Dub Syndicate. If you are interested and enjoyed this album I highly recommend Dub Syndicates albums "Stoned Immaculate" from 1991 and "Echomania" from 1993 with both being on Adrian Sherwood's label, On-U Sound. Great music.