Time to paws and relax with some sunny Sunday sounds from the last half-century.
A mix of familiar and unfamiliar, old and new, borrowed and blue, the common theme is that this top notch dub, perfect for soundtracking a day of doing as little or as much as you like.
Notably fewer complaints from the neighbours when this is booming from the Casa K sound system, too...
1) Rock In Dub: The Roots Radics ft. Gladstone Anderson (1982)
2) Dub Spring: Alien Dread (2017)
3) Secours Dub: Muflon Dub Sound System (2013)
4) Heart Beat Dub: Sly, Robbie & The Revolutionaries (1975)
5) Dub Of Correction: Jonah Dan / Alpha & Omega (2003)
6) Ariwacumbé ShaunVox Dub (Remix By Mad Professor): Frente Cumbiero (2010)
7) Iron Bar Dub (Album Version): Linton Kwesi Johnson (1980)
8) Go On Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2023)
9) Step It Up in Dub: King Tubby & Friends (1979)
10) Rasta Dub: Horace Andy (1977)
11) Harmoniser Dub: Dennis Bovell (1976)
12) Dub Of CCTV (Wolsey White Dub) (Remix By Gran Tourismo): Hard-Fi (2006)
1975: Hardcore Dub: 4
1977: In The Light Dub: 10
1980: LKJ In Dub: 7
1982: Radical Dub Session: 1
1994: Dub Gone Crazy: The Evolution Of Dub At King Tubby's 1975-1979: 9
It was another five years before I was exposed to LKJ's writing, thanks to an inspirational English teacher who saw some glimmers of hope in the rag tag jumble of spotty teens facing her. I can't remember which selection of poems she chose, though it's fair to assume that Inglan Is A Bitch may not have been one of them.
I was nine years old when Inglan Is A Bitch was transmitted on BBC2 and there's no way that either my parents would be watching OGWT or that I would be allowed to stay up that late to watch it with them.
Forty six years later, Inglan Is A Bitch has lost none of it's impact, and this reading of the poem conveys the sheer power of LKJ's words and masterfully paced and restrained performance.
For Bass Culture, Linton's second album, he teamed up again with Dennis Bovell, Inglan Is A Bitch leading side two. The tempo is up, the rhythm and melody is the musical equivalent of sunshine, a counterpoint to the stark narrative.
1980 also saw the release of LKJ In Dub, a seminal release and companion to Bass Culture. BItch Dub is track two side two and takes the song on a while different (road)trip.
Waking up to the news that the grifter has returned as MP for Clacton is no surprise. Whilst he'll be crowing about his victory and "letting the people decide", it's against a backdrop of less than 50% voter turn out, none of the major parties participating in the by-election, and Count Binface coming second with nearly 9,500 votes.
My car ended up in the garage on Monday, so I had the additional joy of using the Great Western Railway service for a large chunk of my commute for most of this week.
Which also meant spending up to two hours stuck in the train station each evening, watching successive homeward bound trains either being delayed, cancelled or, bizarrely, still showing as "on time" even though their arrival time had long passed and there was no sign of them.
Anyway, what got me to a rather more chilled space - mentally if not physically - was a playlist of reggae and dub music, guaranteed to get me to a better place, even if the effing trains couldn't manage it.
Since last Sunday's post about Urgh! A Music War, I've been listening to a lot of music from the punk and post-punk period. So much so, in fact, that I've got two Dubhed selections in the bag.
I considered whether to include them all in one bumper post, but reason prevailed (and the realisation that it's Monday, i.e. work, tomorrow). So, it's Side 1 today and Side 2 on Monday.
In the spirit of my original Urgh! mixtape, both of these selections will fit neatly on each side of a C60 cassette.
As well as some very familiar names such as Stiff Little Fingers, The Only Ones, The Damned and The Slits, I've included a few from outside the UK that I've been introduced to in more recent times by the wonderful blogging community. A couple of examples today: The Rude Kids from Sweden with (I guess) a Stranglers diss song and, from Germany, Abwärts with the title track of the VFM 5-track Computerstaat EP.
The thing that all ten songs have in common is that they are designed to be played LOUD.
More on Monday.
1) Blank Generation (Album Version): Richard Hell & The Voidoids (1977)
2) Suspect Device (Album Version): Stiff Little Fingers (1978)
3) New Race: Radio Birdman (1977)
4) (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) (Single Version): The Stranglers (1977)
5) Stranglers (If It's Quiet Why Don't You Play?): The Rude Kids (1978)
6) Another Girl, Another Planet (Album Version): The Only Ones (1978)
7) New Rose (Album Version): The Damned (1976)
8) Gary Gilmore's Eyes (Single Version): The Adverts (1977)
9) Typical Girls (Album Version): The Slits (1979)
10) Computerstaat: Abwärts (1980)
1977: Blank Generation: 1
1977: Damned Damned Damned: 7
1977: Gary Gilmore's Eyes EP: 8
1977: Grip / London Lady EP: 4
1977: Radios Appear: 3
1978: Stranglers (If It's Quiet Why Don't You Play?) / Punk Will Never Die! EP: 5
or, How To Get Away With Two "25 From 25" Albums Lists Whilst Pretending That Wasn't Your Intention All Along.
Looking back on 2025 so far, I think I bought more albums than ever, a mix of physical and digital. The latter was ably supported by a further year's subscription to the excellent Last Night From Glasgow label, which accounts for about a quarter of today’s and tomorrow’s featured artists.
A few were purchased at merch stalls following a headline or support slot gig, others on the recommendation of others, including you lovely people out there in the blogging community.
So, I've got two lists, loosely separated into artists that I'm familiar with and already owned albums by, the second compiling artists who, regardless of whether they'd been around for ages or just started out, were new to me. So, it's a hodge podge of debut albums and artists that I really only delved into properly with their latest long player. I'm posting the first list today, the second on New Year's Eve.
There are a shed load that I just haven't got around to buying yet and I haven't yet succumbed to streaming so I can't sneak them in on the technicality of having heard them. Apologies therefore include Pulp, Syd Minsky Sargeant, Death In Vegas, Mogwai and Water From Your Eyes, all of whom have released albums that I want to get (and said as much in previous posts), but who remain on my shopping list.
An honourable mention also to those that I did buy but who didn't make onto either list because, well, I had to stop at 25, right? A tip of the hat then to Manic Street Preachers, The Supernaturals, Julian Cope, Gareth Sager and Scanner.
I've listed them alphabetically, rather than in order of greatness, but I may reveal my favourite at the end...if I can decide on one by the end of this post!
25 From 25 - Old Favourites
(click on the links to buy these albums...and more!)
1) Let The Horse Run Free / Rodeo Disco: 100 Poems
I have loved each and every one of these albums but my #1 of 2025 has to be Billy Nomates.
Not just because Metalhorse is a fantastic album, taking her music to another level, but also because she somehow found the time to write, record and release another album. The soundtrack to Mary And The Hyenas may have been relatively overlooked compared to Metalhorse, but it's every bit an equal. Astonishing to think that Tor Maries was also releasing one-off songs in between both of these.
Finally getting to see Billy Nomates live in concert for the first time in September, with an excellent band and songs that took on a life of their own on stage, was an unforgettable experience and the push over the line to secure my #1 in a year of varied but brilliant albums.
Tame Impala's new single isn't available on Bandcamp, but it's so good I had to include it. And, based on the shite weather in this neck of the woods in the past few days, calling the song The End Of Summer perhaps wasn't as premature as I first thought...
Remembering Mark Stewart, 10th August 1960 to 21st April 2023.
I posted a hastily compiled Dubhed selection as a tribute the morning after news broke of Mark's passing. In closing, I promised that
"There will be a follow up post,
where I try to articulate just why Mark Stewart
is such an important figure [...]
I just can't find the words right now."
This is that follow-up post, marking two years since Mark died. I'm still not sure I have the words, but Mark's stepped up and done it for me by releasing a brilliant new single, Memory Of You.
Memory Of You is the opening track of The Fateful Symmetry, out in July and completed before Mark's untimely passing. No compromise, even in death.
I discovered Mark's music in the late 1980s via my interest in Adrian Sherwood and ON-U Sound and the Mute label, the channels leading me to his solo albums with Maffia aka Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc and Skip McDonald.
At this point, I had no idea of Mark's links to my birthplace Bristol, and was largely ignorant of The Pop Group, their significance and legacy. The past thirty-odd years have been a voyage of discovery and learning, revealing the complexity and contradictions through a career of challenge and non-conformity.
I've had a little more time to compile today's selection, compared to the ad-hoc tribute in 2023. Even so, this remains a surface-scratching exercise; there are so many layers, and Mark's work goes way beyond that with The Pop Group, Maffia and solo. The good news is that much of it is available in digital and physical formats via Mute, Bandcamp or your friendly local record shop.
Mark's music remains as crucial now as it ever has done.
1) Deep Time Dub (Mark Stewart Mix): Nohumaneye vs Mark Stewart (2022)
2) Hysteria (Album Version By Mark Stewart & Adrian Sherwood): Mark Stewart + Maffia (1990)
3) Death Trip To Tulsa ('Mark Stewart’s Exopolitix Demix'): Mark Lanegan Band (2015)
4) Where There's A Will There's A Way (Single Version By The Pop Group & Dave Anderson): The Pop Group (1980)
5) Shame And Pain (Album Version By Mark Stewart & Jim Sclavunos): Mark Stewart & Jeffrey Lee Pierce ft. Thurston Moore (2014)
6) Gustav Says (Album Version By Mark Stewart & Youth): Mark Stewart ft. Keith Levene & Achim Treu (2012)
7) Toxic Waste (Mark Stewart & Uncle Fester On Acid Remix By Mark Stewart & Patrick Dokter): Lampredonto (2022)
8) Babycino (Album Version By Mark Stewart & Youth): Mark Stewart (2012)
9) Forces Of Oppression (Album Version By The Pop Group & Dave Anderson): The Pop Group (1980)
Wishing a very happy birthday to the legend that is Dennis Bovell, born 22nd May 1953.
To celebrate, here's a selection of seven classic tunes, compositions and covers, most of them live performances, many taking familiar songs in different directions, all of them a testament to Dennis' brilliance whether his hands are on the mic, the strings of a guitar or at the controls.
Celebrating the delightful dubs of Dennis Bovell MBE. I can't quite believe that it's been nearly two years since my previous tribute selection. Let's get on with it then!
Just over an hour and, as with the previous selection, an excursion into versions and deep cuts spanning 1976 to 2021 and a variety of genres all with Dennis Bovell's magic dub.
Today's image is recut and manipulated from an original photo by the extremely talented Will Hutchinson.
For more Dennis Bovell magic, check out his music on Bandcamp.
1) Hypocrite (Dub Two) (Cover of Matumbi): Dennis Bovell & Dubblestandart (2021)
2) 命の灯火 (Echo Of Light) (Dennis Bovell Dub Mix): Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (1999)
3) Politik Kills (Dennis Bovell Remix): Manu Chao ft. Linton Kwesi Johnson (2008)
4) Frea Stoil: Dennis Bovell (1981)
5) If I Waz A Tap Natch Poet (Album Version): Linton Kwesi Johnson (1998)
6) Rockabilly Dub (Remix By Dennis Bovell): The Polecats (1983)
7) House On Fire (Special Dub Version By Dennis Bovell): The Boomtown Rats (1982)
8) Come To Light (Dennis Bovell Dub Mix): Drug Apartments (2017)
9) None Jah Jah Children (Melodica Version): Dennis Bovell (1976)
10) Won't Turn Back (Version By Dennis Bovell): Vic Godard (1993)
11) Trop De Bla Bla (Tracas Version By Dennis Bovell): Princess Erika (1988)
12) Wonderful World, Beautiful People (The Ragamuffin Version Excursion By Dennis Bovell) (Cover of Jimmy Cliff): Amazulu (1987)
13) Earthbeat And Earthdub (12" Version By Dennis Bovell): The Slits (1981)
14) Dub'er (Cover of The Beatles): Dennis Bovell (1977)
1981: Brain Damage: 4
1981: Earthbeat EP: 13
1982: House On Fire EP: 7
1983: Make A Circuit With Me EP: 6
1987: Wonderful World, Beautiful People EP: 12
1988: Trop De Bla Bla EP: 11
1993: Won't Turn Back EP: 10
1998: More Time: 5
1999: 戦場に捧げるメロディー (Dedicated To The Memory Of Tatsuyuki Aoki) EP: 2
2003: Decibel: More Cuts And Dubs 1976-1983: 9, 14
2008: Politik Kills EP: 3
2017: Drug Apts/Dub Apts EP: 8
2021: Dennis Bovell Meets Dubblestandart @ Repulse "Reggae Classics": 1
Celebrating Mark Stewart, 10th August 1960 to 21st April 2023.
I was preparing to put my head down for the night when the news of Mark Stewart's passing popped up on my phone. To say that I'm shocked, saddened and completely gutted is an understatement.
There will be a follow up post, where I try to articulate just why Mark Stewart is such an important figure in my musical education, to Bristol the place of my birth and to the world of music, politics and life in general. I just can't find the words right now.
In the meantime, here are 15 reasons why from the man himself, with The Pop Group, Adrian Sherwood and On-U Sound, Dennis Bovell, Holger Hiller, Primal Scream, Jah Wobble, Keith Levene, Andrew Weatherall, Gary Clail, Daddy G... the list goes on.
Rest in power, Mark, rest in protest.
1) She Is Beyond Good And Evil (Single Version): The Pop Group (1979)
2) Baby Bourgeois: Mark Stewart ft. Nicole Bottazzi (2012)
3) Citizen Zombie: The Pop Group (2015)
4) Psychoville (Digitalism Remix): Mark Stewart & Martin Peter (2005)
5) Autonomia (Electro Edit): Mark Stewart ft. Primal Scream (2012)
6) Digital Justice (Dub Remix): Mark Stewart (1996)
7) Home Sweet Home: Adrian Sherwood ft. Mark Stewart (2006)
8) Crazy Dreams And High Ideals: New Age Steppers (1981)
9) Fatal Attraction (Extended Version): Mark Stewart (1990)
10) A Very British Coup (Single Version): Jah Wobble ft. Keith Levene, Richard Dudanski, Mark Stewart, Andrew Weatherall & Youth (2020)
11) All Of My Senses (K.K. Null Mix): Mark Stewart vs Mike Watt vs K.K. Null (2022)
12) Forever Now (Mark Stewart Remixxx): Textbeak ft. Mark Stewart & Janine Rainforth (2021)
13) Television (On-U Sound Dance Mix By Adrian Sherwood, Gary Clail & Mark Stewart): The Beatnigs (1988)
14) Apocalyspe Dub: Mark Stewart ft. Daddy G (2012)
15) We Are All Prostitutes (Crookers Remix): Adam Sky vs. Mark Stewart (2007)
1979: She Is Beyond Good And Evil EP: 1
1981: The New Age Steppers: 8
1988: Television EP: 13
1990: Fatal Attraction EP (promo 12"): 9
1996: Volume Sixteen: 6
2005: Psychoville EP: 4
2006: Becoming A Cliché: 7
2007: We Are All Prostitutes EP: 15
2012: Exorcism Of Envy: 14
2012: The Politics Of Envy: 2
2012: The Politics Of Envy / Experiments EP (ltd 2x CD): 5
2015: Citizen Zombie: 3
2020: A Very British Coup EP: 10
2021: Sick For Songs A Season Eats Remixes: 12
2022: VS: 11
Out Here On The Perimeter, Nobody Can Hear You Scream (1:16:22) (KF) (Mega)
A final dip this week into my recent Bandcamp Friday shopping bag, with another 10-track selection, split into two sides for your listening pleasure.
The selection starts off with two legends, Winston Reedy and Dennis Bovell, performing an acapella version of Lovers Rock classic After Tonight by Bovell's former band Matumbi. Dennis Bovell returns for the finale on Side 2, this time with Roots United and Skarra Mucci.
In between, there's a fair bit of globe trotting, taking in artists from or based in France, Germany, England, Norway, Australia, Mexico, Chile, Jamaica and the USA.
I've included two artists on the ever-excellent Paisley Dark Records and a couple more extracts from the EarthPercent x Earth Day Compilation Album, featured yesterday.
An eclectic but fun selection, I think.
Side One
1) After Tonight (Cover of Matumbi): Reedy & db (2022)
2) Summer Lovin' (Edit): Cerrone & Purple Disco Machine (2022)
3) Tacrolimus: UFO Club (2021)
4) Deep Time Exploration: From Beyond (2021)
Side Two
1) Somethinggreater (Gaspard Augé & Victor Le Masne Remix): Parcels (2022)
2) Silk Sea: Blancmange (2015)
3) You're Not God: Anna Calvi (2022)
4) Closed World (Single Version): Roswell Brothers ft. Nyx (2022)
5) Distance Mover: Orlando Weeks (2022)
6) Fall Babylon (Version): Dennis Bovell & Roots United ft. Skarra Mucci (2020)
2020: Fall Babylon EP: B6
2021: Repeat Prescription EP: A3
2021: Semi Detached (Extended Version): B2
2021: Simulated Emotions EP: A4
2022: After Tonight EP: A1
2022: Closed World EP: B4
2022: Day/Night Remixed EP: B1
2022: EarthPercent x Earth Day Compilation Album: B3, B5
Sticking with last week's Bandcamp Friday haul, this is a 45-minute selection of remixes from one-off singles and EPs, including a couple from last year that I missed first time around.
in celebration of Liz Truss being confirmed as Prime Minister (this immediately sprang to mind), I've dropped a few Truss-isms into the mix.
More BF goodies tomorrow.
1) All That You Want (Joe Goddard Remix): Ibibio Sound Machine (2022)
2) "Cheesy Truss" (2014)
3) Looking At Your Pager (Solomun Remix): KH aka Kieran Hebden (2022)
