Addis to Omega (Independent Records Limited, 2014)
Most of us here at World Music Central have followed with interest the albums by Dub Colossus and we’ve given their recordings very good reviews. However, when one of our reviewers passed on the album, Addis to Omega, I knew something unexpected was going on. It only took a copy of listens to Addis to Omega to figure out the problem. It’s the vocals.
The instrumental component of Addis to Omega is still the fabulous mix of electronic beats, dub, funk and some world music elements, although seems to be less Ethiopian jazz and more of a focus on reggae and R&B. The vocals, except for Natacha Atlas (who appears on one track), are of little interest. It’s a mix of dancehall reggae rapping, radio friendly R&B, and high pitched vocals that are pretty annoying, especially on track 1. I don’t see any Ethiopians in the album credits so the focus has definitely shifted.
The musician behind the album is multi-instrumentalist and composer Nick Page. He began his career working with reggae artist Mykaell S Riley (Steel Pulse) and Winston Blissett (Massive Attack). In 1990 he formed, produced and wrote for London based world music collective Transglobal Underground with Tom Whelan and Hammid Man-Tu. In 2006, Nick travelled to Africa to study traditional Azmari styles, 1960s Ethiopian pop, Ethiojazz and 1970s Jamaican dub reggae. In Ethiopia he met female vocalists Tsedenia Gebremarkos and Sintayehu ‘Mimi’ Zenebe and formed African immersed dub reggae group Dub Colossus.
Following the great success of Dub Colossus’ first album ‘In a Town Called Addis’ the group released ‘Addis Through the Looking Glass.’ The third album ‘Dub Me Tender’ won the 2013 Best Cross Cultural Collaboration Award given by British world music print magazine Songlines.
Everything Nick Page has released up to now has been superb and cutting edge. I look forward to his new projects and an instrumental remix of this recording.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
