Various Artists Essential Dub
Reach Out International Records has been an alternative outpost for dub since the early ’80s, […]
Reach Out International Records has been an alternative outpost for dub since the early ’80s, when the Manhattan-based imprint began issuing cassette-only releases. This overview of the label’s output showcases work from the musical margins, indicative of the ways dub is reinterpreted or used as one piece of a greater musical whole. It’s the rare album that juxtaposes hardcore legends’ Rasta leanings (Bad Brains’ “Leaving Babylon”), Middle Eastern-tinged beats (Badawi’s “Turbo Auto Drive), a poet’s fiery instrumentals (Oku Onuora’s “Dub Out”), and an innovator integrating with late-’70s New York punks (Terrorists’ “Anittoo,” featuring Lee “Scratch” Perry). While calling everything here “essential” is a reach, together these tracks comprise an alternative history of dub’s evolutionary adaptations and mutations.