Foshan Roots - Sky Warrior Dub

We are starting a new series of releases, exploring and re-discovering Springline Records, one of the most underrated reggae and dub labels. It has been operational from 2003 until 2012, releasing music on vinyl, on audio tapes and later in digital format. With artists coming mainly coming from the UK underground, the style of the label was strongly influenced by the Jamaican roots music of the 70s with a sound very kin to that of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Black Ark studio.

But the resemblance to Black Ark studio goes far more than just the sound and the music. After 10 years of operation, two vinyl releases and many tapes and digital releases the label stopped its operations. All releases were discontinued in 2013 & all master recordings were lost or destroyed or on purpose deleted/thrown away, with the owner of the label deciding to put an end to that musical adventure. What is left nowadays are some articles and reviews on the internet, reminding the era of a great label, which unfortunately did not get the recognition it deserved.

All this happened at the time when Dubophonic was just starting its own musical adventure in 2013. We don’t know if it was meant to be, if a higher force controls everything and connects everything together, but thanks to Gibsy Rhodes, owner of Springline Records, we got our hands on some crucial tunes found forgotten on a hard disc, which was saved from destruction. Ruff takes, dubplates, alternative cuts, demos and a few unreleased works; a true treasure to our ears!

From our new series entitled The lost archive of Springline Records comes Sky Warrior Dub. It was never released before, until today! Foshan Roots was formed as a studio band by Thomas Dewey and Brad Turner in the summer of 2012 in the UK, working together on various projects (Roots, Reggae, Dub). Being able to establish a great connection and to overstand each other telepathically, the musical workings just started flowing. The name of their band reflects the vibes of their music.

All recordings & mixes were done in their own studio (CAF Studios). Brad & Tom play all the instruments themselves, shared out equally, so to give a different feel each time. Sky Warrior Dub consists of nine dubwise tracks in a deep rootikal style, reflecting the mystical vibes of the band! Welcome to Foshan Roots, the peaceful ZEN-warriors. Enjoy the journey to Jah music!

01 Chuka Dub / 02 IP Man Dub / 03 Double Sword Dub / 04 Martial Dub / 05 Snake Attack Dub / 06 Sifu Dub / 07 Warrior Dub / 08 Shaolin Dub / 09 Dragon Fire Dub

Various Artists - Reggae Sunjam

The Reggae Sunjam Festival is being held every summer in August in Cyprus. It has been running since 2016 and it's aiming to be the biggest reggae gathering on the island of Cyprus. Organized by Dubophonic, the independent production team Easy Going Productions and Suzie Selecta the festival strongly supports the local reggae-dub scene, while it is dynamically reinforced every year with special international guests.

Artists like Professor Skank (GR), Dub Riots (GR), King Of Eye (UK), Haji Mike (CY), Dub Thomas (CY), Sensijam (CY), Med Dred (CY)  are just a few of the artists who attended the festival in the first 2 years of its life. The release is enriched with the music of Negritage (ARG), Bagjuice (NL), SKG's Dub Alliance (GR), Mr Zebre (FR), Red Star Martyrs (UK) and Rebel-I (PER).

This is a sweet memory of the great vibrations we had in these 2 years and we would like to thank all artists for the warm support and the massive crowd who was there to dance and celebrate with us. We love you all and we look forward to continue spreading the positive vibes, making this event the leading reggae festival in Cyprus!

01 Sensijam - Uhuru  / 02 Bagjuice - Don't Give / 03 Negritage ft. Christina Polycarpou - From Kyrenia with Dub / 04 Red Star Martyrs ft. Haji Mike - Dead Politiks / 05 Med Dred - Bal Ed Dred / 06 Dub Riots - Morning Lights / 07 King Of Eye - Spiral Dreams / 08 SKG's Dub Alliance - Get Up In Dub / 09 Mr Zebre ft. Rebel-I - Legal (Professor Skank remix)

O.L.M. - Book of Daniel

It was Around 2,600 years ago when a Judean teenager was taken captive by the rapidly ascending Babylonian Empire, a force of unstoppable military strength, great wealth and technological advancement. Normally such an event would lead to a life in misery as a slave … but God had something else in mind for this young man named Daniel.

 

Daniel, the teenager who had been taken captive, came to realize that God was miraculously working with him … but not only to preserve his life. God was revealing through him some major prophecies of future world-ruling empires. As a resident of the world’s premier capital city and AS an honored wise man in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court, Daniel demonstrated God’s superiority over the pagan gods of Babylon and left a legacy of faithful obedience to God in spite of grave trials and tribulations.

Inspired by the Old Testament book, Italian producer Orlando La Montagna adapts the story of Daniel and transforms it into a dub adventure, introducing different variations of the same riddim just like the different chapters of the book. Each track has a deep spiritual ambience; starting with “Induction in Babylon” where Daniel is introduced in the hard Babylonian system through a stepper-techno beat and ending with “Life Giver”, which sends the final message to our permissive society of power-hungry people … to a nation without God. Daniel's situation in Babylon sounds quite a bit like our own, doesn’t it? 

 

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever,
wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise 
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness 
and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors.
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king."  -   "Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream - Book of Daniel"

 

01 Induction in Babylon / 02 Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of Four Kingdoms / 03 Daniel in the Lion's Den / 04 Vision of the Beasts from the Sea / 05 War Chant / 06 Life giver

Negritage - Greetings From Planet Dub

Four years ago, back in 2013, the Argentinian dubbers Negritage made their first appearance on the label with Guetto Roots of Dub Vol. 1, an album recorded in “Cuca Roots” and in “El Fuerte Dub Foundation” studios, exploring the Jamaican roots and culture dub tradition. Their analogue style and their authentic sound was greatly appreciated by the listeners and the album remains until today the most downloaded release ever made by Dubophonic, with more than 25.000 downloads and still rising.

Fast forward today and the long awaited Vol. 2 is finally out. “Greetings from Planet Dub” stays true to the same roots and culture background with 6 vocal tracks and 11 dubs. Nevertheless new elements are incorporated in their style, in which eastern melodies blend into the Jamaican vibes and the melodica meets the mandolin and the lyre like in a musical playground, were the singers and players of instruments playfully communicate through their music.

Big up all the artists from all four corners of the world, who collaborated with Negritage and made this release possible: the original roots defender dub activist Jam York (USA), the mighty Sammy Gold (UK), the wise Ibel Campbell (JAM) delivering solid and conscious messages, tthe studio wizard and dub creator Med Dred (CY), sister Yuuri Bamboo (JPN) blazing those melodica vibes, Christina Polycarpou (CY) doing her magic on the lyre, the humble Mandlion (ITA), flute master Eter Dub (ARG) and the lyrical messenger Zion Irie (FR). All tracks mixed by Negritage in Argentina and mastered by Med Dred in Cyprus. Cover artwork by Negritage. Distributed by Dubophonic for free download.

01 Rainbow Dubbers / 02 Negritage ft. Eter Dub - Montana Brillante / 03 Negritage ft. Sammy Gold - Kingston Town / 04 Negritage ft. Yuuri Bamboo - Soul Stepper / 05 Soulful Version / 06 Negritage ft. Zion Irie - Lie Lie Lie (gueto discomix) / 07 Negritage ft. Med Dred - Kyrenia Dreams / 08 Negritage ft. Christina Polycarpou - From Kyrenia with Dub / 09 Negritage ft. Jam York - Stuck ina Babylon / 10 Melodica Knowledge / 11 Negritage ft. Eter Dub - Diente de Leon / 12 Negritage ft. Ibel Campbell - The Lazy and the Greedy / 13 Anti-greedy Version / 14 Negritage ft. Mandlion - Early Days / 15 Negritage ft. Jam York - You Do Your Thang and I Do My Thing / 16 Dub thang 

No Finger Nails - Quipu Remixes

 A “quipu”, was a method used by the Incas and other ancient Andean cultures to keep records and communicate information. In the ancient Quechua language of the Andes, “quipu” means “knot”. A Quipu is in fact a set of knotted loops, tied by a thicker rope supporting them.

 

Quipu is also a project created by Atome Primitf, a collective of musicians and "dreamers" from Europe, a project inspired by that same method of knots, stringing artistic ties and new collaborations, through cross-genre musical interpretations and audio-visual concepts.

In fact Quipu was born as an audio-visual concept. The four tracks of the EP started as original compositions of Atome Primitif, with the elements of voice, violin and acoustic guitar modeling an unplugged sound. Quipu traveled all around Europe, involving artists from different countries, each one adding their own personal knot, inspired by the compositions of Clelia Patrono.

Andrea Presicce aka No Finger Nails adds his own musical knot through his musical experience, ranging from Electronica to Dub. The EP consists of four remixed tracks, offering a very dub-ambient and mystical alternative, using the original organic sounds. The project expands also audio-visually, with videos and visuals being produced, on that same quipu idea. Dubophonic is very proud and honored to be part of this, tying its own knot in this continuously evolving project!

 

01 Hush / 02 Birds Above The Forest Call / 03 Cassiopea / 04 Quipu

Downbeat - Introspección

Downbeat is a project that mutates, changes with the time, transforms itself with life, without limits and without borders. Their second album takes the sound a step further towards experimentation. Downbeat look at their interior and connect themselves with genres they always got inspired from: Dub, Dubtronica, Jazz and Fusion.

"Introspección" is the beating of their heart, each heartbeat navigated by a different state of mind. Looking at oneself is like a magical journey within, guided by the mystical power of the ancestral plants.

The dub sounds are present throughout the album with atmospheric musical landscapes. This is not the typical dub album, trying to look like its coming out from an island ... this is the dub of the mountain ... the dub of the Andes ... the dub of the Aconcagua ... the dub of Las Heras. That's why it's hard, dark, cold and different. That is why it has power, hypnotism, strength and a sound of its own.

Let us navigate within ourselves, with the heart pulsating on each beat. Heavy Dub, experimental Dub, dedicated to the universe and its infinite power. A triangle for all to travel (SOUND-LIGHT-SHAPE)! 

DOWNLOAD

 

01 Heartbeat / 02 Ganjah Time / 03 Afrik / 04 Black Panthers /
05 I & I / 06 Dub Machine / 07 Introspección

DubRaJah - Reprise

Our first release of 2017 and the second one on the label by the Russian social anthropologist and ethnomusicologist Sergey Gabbasov and his project Dubrajah is coming your way. You already know his release from year 2014 entitled “Enkang”, though which we discovered the artist's ability to fuse a deep digital dub style with organic sounds, traditional African melodies and chants from the people of Maasai, Datooga, Hadza, Pemba and Zanzibar tribes.

The new album entitled "Reprise" uses the same musical recipe, but with different ingredients. It was recorded last year in Russia, Nepal and India and includes 8 new tracks by the Russian artist. By this album Dubrajah delivers his returning to the start and principal point of his researches – to Asia. Using sampled sounds from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Mongolia, we are led into a magnificent dub journey through Asia. New sounds and vibrations, new destinations and inspirations!

All tracks recorded in Jaisalmer (India), Sauraha (Nepal) and Moscow (Russia) in March/November 2016. Photography by Sergey Gabbasov.

 

01 Welcome to Asia / 02 Coconut / 03 Arusha / 04 Ganja Chai /
05 Dao Dub / 06 Mad Honey / 07 Citwan / 08 Deep Karnataka