If On-U Sound could be said to have had a house band, it was Dub Syndicate. That by itself should be enough reason to buy this record (it was for me) – talented reggae players plus Adrian Sherwood at the controls equals some of the spacey-ist, trippy-ist, and all around awesomiest dub you’ll ever lay your ears on. The only complaint I can utter is that at three songs and 16 minutes I’m left wanting more.
Kristófer Rodriguez Svönuson is no stranger to the Icelandic music scene, the percussionist well-known for contributing beats to various jazz and big band combos. But his new release, Primo, gives him the opportunity to call the shots, and I’ll tell you this – he runs the table.
If I have to put a stylistic label on the music, it’s probably Latin jazz. But there’s more here, much more. Certainly there are South American influences, but also Caribbean and more than a hint of reggae as well, a dash of salsa, a splash of bop, all of it coming together in pure groovy perfection on “Combo Macondo”, a brilliant jam that you wish would simply go on forever. Not surprisingly, the percussion work on Primo sets the tone, Svönuson’s arrangements mixing styles and instruments to change the mood and provide the foundation on which the various guest artists can participate. The side A closer “Interlude” is almost (but not quite) percussion free, but even here the slight wisps of skins season the horns just right, like that perfect pinch of salt on a freshly grilled steak. The B side is bit more restrained, as if the A side was daytime and the B side was evening. The pace is slower, the temperature cooler. One side is rum punch, the other is scotch on the rocks. Both enjoyable, just in different ways.
If you’re looking for a copy of Primo, the best place to start is probably Reykjavik’s Lucky Records – the shop put the record out under their own Lucky Records label, so they’re bound to have it in stock.
Sometimes fate forces you to buy a record. A few weeks back we were in Hiroshima, Japan with plans of stopping at Dumb Records. When we got there they weren’t open yet so we decided to head back up to the main street and just wander around for a bit, but then right there on the corner we spotted the sign for Stereo Records and figured we’d just go check them out first. Stereo Records is a great shop – small like most record stores in Japan, but well organized and full of awesome stuff. I pulled a 12″ called Robot War out of the Japanese Pop/Rock section simply because it looked interesting, and imagine my surprise when I flipped it over and saw that it was recorded at On-U Sound and produced by none other than Adrian Sherwood. My love for all things On-U is not a secret, and this just seemed like the perfect conjunction of events, as if the universe was trying to tell me that I needed this record. And who am I to argue with the universe?
A blend of dub reggae and electronica, Sherwood’s fingerprints can be felt all over Robot War. And is that Gary Clail I hear repeated saying “Robot War” throughout the song? He isn’t credited, but it sure sounds like him and he would have been hanging out doing other stuff at On-U during this period. The B side track “Stiff Wheel” puts aside any notions of reggae and instead comes at you like a cosmic dub space jam, the strong bass line keeping the beat while everything else flares off all around like a fireworks display. Some classic On-U stuff.
People are generally surprised to learn that Iceland has an above average quality reggae scene. After all, the style is associated with a warm semi-tropical island, not a cold moss-covered one. Is there something about the style that speaks to the islander experience? I don’t know.
Before the recent wave of Icelandic reggae being led by bands such as Ojba Rasta, AmabAdamA, and RVK Soundsystem, there was Hjálmar. Formed in Keflavík in 2004 the band released a string of successful albums through the 2000s, many of which are considered all-time classics in Iceland.
Ferðasót, released in 2007, was the band’s third full-length album. I was fortunate enough to run across a fantastic quality copy on eBay the other day for a more-than-reasonable ten bucks, so there was no way I could pass it up. I hadn’t listened to them much over the years other than their 2013 album with Jim Tenor, the heavy Dub of Doom, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. And I have to say… it doesn’t sound very reggae to my ears. There are some elements here and there, but overall it has more of a folk or world feel to it. “Nú Er Lag” is about as close as we get to traditional reggae.
Reggae is one of those all-purpose genres to me. Having some people over and want to have a good time? Put on some reggae. Want to sit around and chill and zone out? Put on some reggae. Reggae music is like the bird in the recurring Portlandia skit. No matter what the question is, the answer is “put a bird on it”. It goes with everything.
After a record-breaking rainy winter, the Seattle area is about to break another weather related record, this time the most consecutive days without any measurable precipitation – something like 51 straight days. I think well break the record next week. Plus it’s been been super hot by our standards, and most folks (including us) here don’t have air conditioning. So the other night when it got up to 84 degrees… inside our freaking house… Holly requested some reggae because it seemed to fit our sweaty moods. But you know what? We decided to crank the volume on Uprising, pour a couple of ice-filled cocktails, and go sit on the step right outside our sliding door to the backyard instead of sweltering in the living room. And it was pretty perfect (but still hot).
I’m no expert on the Bob Marley catalog. That being said, to my ears Uprising is a very spiritual album. It’s there in the lyrics with songs like “Coming In From the Cold,” “Zion Train,” “Forever Loving Jah,” and “Redemption Song,” (♠) but it’s there in the music as well. There’s a certain musical southern Christian spiritualism (and I’m talking something more raw and visceral, not more refined church music), but done with an island aesthetic and a Rastafarian sensibility. Was some of that driven by Marley’s cancer diagnosis in 1977? I don’t know… and cancer certainly didn’t seem to slow him down until 1980, the same year Uprising came out. It’s hard to believe we lost him when he was only 36.
“Redemption Song” is the zenith of the Marley catalog, the kind of song that transcends race and geography and gender and [insert something here]. Certainly the African slave experience is a cornerstone of the song, and I’m not trying to minimize that influence or co-opt it; but the message quickly expands to encompass everyone. Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery / None but ourselves can free our minds. And that’s why it resonates so strongly across so many lines – the concept of feeling lost and forsaken and needing to find hope to help carry you through is a universal one. Better advice and truer words have never been spoken, and Marley’s soulful delivery makes me tear up a little every time I hear it.
Exodus may be more highly regarded, but I’ll take Uprising every time.
(♠) Of course there’s also “Pimper’s Paradise,” though the lyrics are hardly pro-pimp nor do they paint a pretty picture of the lives of women who have pimps.