Dub 331 Items

Beat smith RED ASTAIRE (AKA FREDDIE CRUGER) returns with some crucial instrumental cuts from the 3 volumes of the "NUGGETS FOR THE NEEDY" series. The NUGGETS INSTRUMENTALS DLP features 'FOLLOW ME","MOVE YO ASS","COME DOWN " & more sounds of Lo Fi Hip Hop, Downtempo & Latin in full color jacket!

RED Astaire (aka Freddie Cruger) drops the 12 more dope tracks influenced by classic reggae, hip hop, R&B, downtempo and dub vibes. Includes several hard to find/out of print gems including "ghetto Hell", "mambo EL Kingston" and a previously unreleased version of his classic "follow ME". Full pic sleeve. Don't miss!

Kazufumi Kodama is a Japanese trumpet player and producer for some of Japan's earliest and most influential dub groups. His claim to fame is the work he did with the group Mute Beat in the late 80s, many articles citing this group as the very first dub group to exist in Japan. Even if this isn't true, he certainly pushed the genre to its most popular in the country. His current band "Kodama And The Dub Station Band" released their first cover album "Tomoshibi" in 2023 from P-vine, and now some finest songs are released on 7inch ep! This 7" ep includes a cover of Bob Marley's classic 'Is This Love' which inspired Kodama to make a covers album. Bob Marley's positive vibrations are arranged as an instrumental song and made into a dynamic and excellent cover.

Kazufumi Kodama is a Japanese trumpet player and producer for some of Japan's earliest and most influential dub groups. His claim to fame is the work he did with the group Mute Beat in the late 80s, many articles citing this group as the very first dub group to exist in Japan. Even if this isn't true, he certainly pushed the genre to its most popular in the country. His current band "Kodama And The Dub Station Band" released their first cover album "Tomoshibi" in 2023 from P-vine, and now some finest songs are released on 7inch ep! "You’ve Got A Friend" was written by Carole King for her album "Tapestry" in 1971, and Kodama & Dub Station band arranged the masterpiece as a dub song.

A mixtape of Studio One 12" singles, including some very rare stuff. All recorded from vinyl.

In with the old & out with the new..

For the second 7" on Berends Records, Miss Beulah joins The Hippo Brothers for Don't Turn Away. The b-side features the instrumental Grab Your Hat.

One of the goals of our label is to create special connections and this release is perfectly matching this. Around a couple of years ago we started discussing with our friend Daniel Tuffs from Shaolin Sound (uk) about joining forces to create some positive musical projects , between the various ideas we asked him to create for us an heavy Roots or Rub a Dub riddim and what we got in return exceeded our expectations...Fyah RUB A DUB , a new style of riddim that gave us a sure feeling about who to ask to voice it! Awa Fall , also known as Sista Awa , I guess for many needs no introductions , she is a super talented and versatile singer based in north Italy with countless musical contributions. We remember seeing her years ago , still very young and already felt she had a great artistic future ahead. So it is! We are glad 100% to have her included in this project , part of our little label's family. Be ready for her Powerful lyrics as this riddim deserves! Sounds Heavy!

Dubwise is handled by Shaolin Sound too

Released on CD and digital on the 21st May 2021, this eagerly anticipated LP from I Grade Records immediately soared to the number one position in the iTunes reggae charts. The LP is now being released on 12" vinyl and cassette tape courtesy of Before Zero Records.
Polarities is the 13th and final full album of new material from Vaughn Benjamin and I Grade Records, the culmination of a 20 year working relationship that began with 2001's Nemozian Rasta album, which was Midnite's 4th album released to date at that time.
Polarities was produced jointly by the Zion I Kings production team, with Tippy I of I Grade at the production helm, alongside Vaughn Benjamin himself.
The album also includes two notable guest features: Tiken Jah Fakoly of Ivory Coast on "Everything Bless" and Chronixx of Jamaica on "Black Carbon", which were both released in 2020 as the first singles off of Polarities.

This one is a special dedication to Marcus Mosiah Garvey, as it was him - through his actions and words - who has continuously been inspiring a many people scattered around the world. It features Milton Henry - a distinct voice from Jamaica, well known for his works with Wackies - on a recut of the classic ‘Words Of My Mouth’-riddim by UK dub legend Disciples with an equally deep reinterpretation by Italy’s dub veteran Buriman (Moa Anbessa) on the flip side. A tune called ‘Modern Prophet’, telling the story of ‘old Marcus’ to the ones who have an open ear and heart, young and old. As a little extra the A side holds a melodica version by Dubiterian, while the B side ends with a sax cut by Sax N Dub. Both sides were transferred to 1/2inch Tape for extra analogue warmth, and mastered and cut with care by Star Delta, UK.

Alter Echo & E3 return for their third chapter on ZamZam with a dark, low-slung steppers featuring the one Rider Shafique of Bristol’s esoteric Young Echo crew. AEE3’s first collaboration with a vocalist, “Heights” provides a rockstone riddim for Rider to step forward with a powerful lyric, a declaration of principles and intention to trod outta Babylon, tearing off mental chains along the way with total focus on the destiny of liberation for those with the will to persevere. Rider’s presence transforms every track he graces into pure message music, as heard in recent months on collaborations with Gorgon Sound, Ishan Sound, Gantz and more.

"Heights" rocks with swirling atmospheres and pointillist detail, powerfully psychedelic dubbing at once organic and metallic, always with fundamental dub principles anchoring and propelling forward, ever forward. The version “The Sound Tonight” strips the vocal out completely, using that space to push the kick, bass and ricocheting snares further forward with extra dub flourishes, mirages, and sample grinding.

This essential album is a standout in the world of dub, reggae, and sound system culture. Featuring a remarkable collection of 10 powerful vocal tracks and 10 profound dub mixes that highlight Alpha Steppa's unique and innovative production style. Bringing together a global lineup of some of the most exciting voices in contemporary reggae, from Jamaica, the UK, Zimbabwe, the Seychelles, Brazil, the USA, Senegal, Italy, and Spain. “Collision of an Ancient Mind and a Modern World” intertwines the rich heritage of dub reggae with a vibrant, futuristic musical landscape.

Classic heavyweight speaker-distressing digital roots `n’ dub business from The Disciples with vocals courtesy of the late great Jamaican singer Creation Stepper aka Willy Stepper, whose voice graced many a 70’s roots reggae classic such as `Kill Nebuchadnezzar’ and `Homeward Bound’. * Mixed and produced by Russ D in the Disciples studio in 1991 but only getting a release in 2013 on the Disciples Vintage label, which promptly sold out.

Kumar, former lead singer of GRAMMY-nominated roots reggae band Raging Fyah, meets Switzerland’s The 18th Parallel on this album filled with Golden Age of Reggae-inspired riddims and positive roots lyrics and energy. Kumar has recently appeared on a number of releases, including as a guest on Jesse Royal’s GRAMMY-nominated Royal and Winta James’ Gratitude Riddim EP. The 18th Parallel, based in Switzerland, is the house band for Fruits Records and recently released music with Max Romeo, Big Youth, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Derajah, Micah Shemaiah, and Joe Yorke. The album is mixed by Tippy I and JAH David of Zion I Kings.

The third solo album of the Italian producer is released eight years after his previous At Song Embassy, Papine, Kingston 6, an album/documentary recorded and filmed in Jamaica back in 2015. Over this eight-year span, Baldini intensively toured through Europe, United States and Latin America, and worked as a producer for artists like Mellow Mood, L.A.B., Forelock, Noiseshaper, Imperial Sound Army, Dubblestandart, and for well- established reggae labels like Pressure Sounds and Echo Beach. Differently from his previous albums, in which Baldini’s approach was tightly linked to the tradition of Jamaican dub (and where his works focused on re-editing and re-purposing materials coming from different sources), the starting point for the beat-making of In The Shell was the writing of original music, a blank page on which to develop every single track. This time, the core of the production and song-writing is rooted in the creation of instrumental tracks in the studio; only at a later stage did Baldini look on the outside, establishing the necessary connections and collaborations for the entire album. The shared element among the songs in the record is the use of a palette of ethnic sounds and samples, recorded and archived by Paolo Baldini himself during his various trips to Africa, and on which he later carried out his unique electronic production and post-production work – the distinctive feature of his musical aesthetics. The personal and family ties that led the Italian producer to visit Sub-Saharan Africa, and especially Senegal, granted him an exclusive observation standpoint on day-to-day contexts which are usually not accessible to those who don’t have a key to participate in the family life of these communities, and allowed him to respectfully use this advantage to record original and unique samples.

The second 7” introduces to the world The Mighty Gravillons, an obscure vocal trio bringing us right back to the golden days of roots reggae. With powerful and thought-provoking lyrics, ‘Crumbling World’ is a desperate cry to the world we’re building for the next generations. How can we leave such a world of wars, political conflicts and environmental crisis to our kids? The B side shines by it’s simplicity: The 18th Parallel invited one of their favourite musicians of today’s reggae scene to blow his spellbinding saxophone, Anant Pradhan. The legacy of Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso or Cedric Brooks has found its worthy embodiment. New York saxophonist graces us with ‘Peace Treaty’.