King Tubby Presents: Niney the Observer - Dubbing with the Observer (Attack, 1975 / Greensleeves, 2014)

If you're like me, every time there is an Osbourne Rudduck reissue, your reaction is "yeah yeah yada yada, more of the same". Well, give this one a shot. It's a nice mix of all the nuances that make his work so important. There are many moods and tempos represented here.

Originally released on the Attack label in England in 1975, and reissued by Greensleeves a few months back, this stand-alone dub album features heavy and stark one-drop rhythms as well as some bouncy Bunny Lee. Most of the tracks are from songs by Dennis Brown. This is a fun one. Atonal dissonance in parts, some really uptempo joints and even a killer tom-based funk jam. It's quite refreshing. This is definitely going to be a staple of my summer repertoire.

BASS: Fully Fullwood, Flabba Holt,Familyman Barrett
DRUMS: Santa Davis, Carlton Barrett
GUITAR: Chinna Smith, Tony Smith, Bingy Bunny
LEAD GUITAR: Hux Brown
KEYBOARDS: Keith Sterling, Gladdy Anderson
HORNS: Bobby Ellis, Tommy McCook, Vin Gordon
PERCUSSION: Skully Production for Niney The Observer - Dubbing With The Observer
PRODUCED BY: Niney
RECORDED AT: Dynamic, Channel One, Federal, Randys, Joe Gibbs, Harry J
MIXED BY: King Tubby

R.I.P. Wayne Smith

Recently I've been obsessed with Reggae that was produced at the beginning of the digital age. Enamored with those Casio beats, I've been researching many different riddims. In 1984, while working with King Jammy, Wayne Smith stumbled across a pattern in a Casio MT-40 home keyboard. In their capable hands, the pattern became 'Under Mi Sleng Teng', and wasa huge hit across Jamaican soundsystems, thus launching the digital dancehall revolution.

Today, Wayne Smith has passed away. His manipulation of the artistic 'accident' will not be forgotten. I can't get enough of it. This late 80's sound just continues to blow my mind. For the unfamiliar, I've cited some examples below:





Here's a latter version of the riddim by Cocoa Tea that happens to be my favorite:



And a killer 45 / 12" dj mix of digital riddims recently performed by Raime: