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.