What: “Jah Rootikal Steppers” by Jah Rootikal Steppers
Netlabel: Dubkey
The artwork for this November 2013 release has a bit of an “old school” look to it, including what appears to be a worn cover. That is a little misleading though; while the music certainly is inspired by the past, it has a very modern sound and production sheen.
Jah Rootikal Steppers is a band organized by Si Gains, who is located in Grimsby, England. The Steppers facebook page describes them as “a consortium of dub collaborators inna roots vibe!” While there are other contributors on this album, Si composed, recorded, mixed and produced all the tracks. The band bio indicates Si became a big reggae fan back in the 70’s and has collected lots of relevant vinyl since that time. Based on this group of songs I’d say he has certainly picked up some pointers about what makes good dub.
As I hinted above, you get lots of classic dub sounds (bass, melodica, etc.) with modern production and electronic elements. There is a nice flow to the entire package, but three tracks in particular jumped out to me. First is “Jah I Up” with its slower rhythm and subtle drums (and that wonderful melodica), followed by “Babylon Can’t Control I,” which picks up the pace a bit. It might be the extra element of a djembe played by Sam Aisthorpe on these two tracks that brought them to my attention. I also like the very next track “All A Dub” which throws in some vocal elements (both clean and dubbed out) and lots of interesting sounds, including some horns, that roll this track into a more “out there” dub production. But really, you can’t go wrong with anything on this album.
The Dubkey netlabel was founded by Manwel Tabone in 2009 to present free roots reggae and dub music. He says “the intention is to share the good vibes with as many people as possible!” A worthy goal if I’ve ever heard one. Manwel T’s fingerprints seem to be on most of the labels offerings, including one nice mix on this release of the track “Zion Judgement.” Manwel’s mix sounds like it may be stripped back a little bit from the original and also plays a little more with some of the sounds. It’s subtle, but nice to see someone who doesn’t feel the need to throw every sound and twist into the mix to make it interesting. Respect.