Adrian Sherwood Never Trust a Hippy
Using subtle filters, complicated audio transformations and stereo manipulations, London dub hooligan Adrian Sherwood brings […]
Using subtle filters, complicated audio transformations and stereo manipulations, London dub hooligan Adrian Sherwood brings the music into the 21st century. Sherwood’s been around for a long time, using his On-U-Sound label and collaborations with others on a variety of projects, among them Tackhead, Dub Syndicate, Bim Sherman and Samia Farah. On what is remarkably his first solo album after two decades of collaborative productions, he keeps the quality level high while paying even more attention to the minutia. Though it has to be categorized as a dub album, the rhythms are driving and dancehall-inflected, rarely falling into dub’s laid-back, blissed-out groove. Guests like Sly & Robbie validate the reggae grooves, while Pakistan’s Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali brings a Middle-Eastern flavor that adds to the already worldly selections. While remaining respectful to dub’s roots, Sherwood generates innovative ideas in each song-like it or not, you have to respect his experimentation. Never is an album that blossoms with each listening.