DUB SYNDICATE

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Review written by Smaël Bouaici on Friday, April 04th 2008 - 15 313 views Adrian Sherwood is an astonishing fellow. A little white guy from London, he first managed to enlist the services of Grandmaster Flash's Sugarhill Gang, turning them into Tackhead. Early in his career, Prince Far I took him under his wing, allowing him to build up some street credibility in reggae, and to create the legendary On-U Sound label. It was at a show by the late Prince Far I that Sherwood met Style Scott, drummer of the Roots Radics. In the mid-80s, the duo formed Dub Syndicate. Naturally, with their address books, the list of contributors is impressive. Over the last two decades, Dub Syndicate have played with people as diverse as Jah Wobble, Mark Stewart, Lee Perry or Michael Franti. Proof that talent doesn't wear out, their last album "No Bed of Roses", released four years ago, was one of the most accomplished of their career. For that record, Style Scott had gone off to record in Kingston, hiring Gregory Isaacs and Cornel Campbell along the way, before handing the tapes to Sherwood for a mix studded with echoes, at times very rhythmic and often wild. Today it is Rob Smith of the mythical English duo Smith & Mighty who uses the same method and takes the masters of Dub Syndicate's finest tracks back in hand, with new versions, such as this Time by Capleton, whose voice picks up echo and is joined by a harmonica. With an impeccable mix, the record is a string of hits. Junior Reid, Cedric Myton of the Congos or Big Youth get the same treatment, always in the open-mindedness of Bristol that characterises him. It is a pleasure to find Yasus Afari and his dub poet style on Jamaican Proverb, or Luciano, who arrives all in delay and demolishes the place on One in a billion. A missing link between England and Jamaica, this record should reconcile all the schools of reggae.

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