Dub Syndicate Dub Syndicate was born in the early 1980’s as an outgrowth of Roots Radics’ massive success in creating the modern dancehall reggae sound. The group, whose core was Style Scott, bassist Flabba Holt, guitarist Bingy Bunny and keyboardist Sowell Radics, succeeded Sly & Robbie’s Revolutionaries as the dominant reggae studio aggregation of the Eighties as they played on literally hundreds of recordings and pioneered a sparse, heavy dub-wise sound.
They were recruited by Adrian Sherwood to play on some of his productions when he started his On-U Sounds label. Out of that collaboration, Style Scott and Flabba Holt, in particular, played important roles in a number of Sherwood’s innovative dub-oriented recordings featuring musicians from the realms of rock, funk (including Skip McDonald and Keith LeBlanc) and reggae under such names as New Age Steppers, African Headcharge and Dr. Pablo.
In 1982, the first Dub Syndicate album, Pounding System, was released to widespread critical acclaim. A string of albums followed, including such highlights as Stoned Immaculate (1991) and Fear Of A Green Planet (1998).
Dub Syndicate albums have always been notable for the contribution of interesting guest performers such as Lee “Scratch” Perry, Bim Sherman, Horace Andy, Shara Nelson and a host of others. More importantly, Dub Syndicate embarked on a series of tours in Europe, Japan and North America and proved that dub music-the quintessential studio creation-could be a powerful live experience as well.
Twenty-plus years on, Style Scott continued to apply his masterful rhythm sense and innovate approach to the evolution of dub music. “I try to do something with it futuristically,” he said. “Adrian and I take it out of that dancehall corner, emphasize the drums and bass more, add flavors, add white noise, spoken word and other samples, a whole heap of different tactics. Onstage when we drop out to drum and bass, we make it something exciting by itself, like jazz-but on a another level!”
Discography:
The Pounding System – Ambience in Dub (1982)
One Way System (1983)
North of the River Thames (1984)
Tunes from the Missing Channel (1985)
Time Boom X De Devil Dead (1987)
Strike the Balance (1990)
From the Secret Laboratory (1990)
Stoned Immaculate (1991)
Echomania (1994)
Ital Breakfast (1996)
Mellow & Colly (1998)
Fear of a Green Planet (1998)
Acres of Space (2001)
No Bed of Roses (2004)
Hard Food (2015)
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.
