DUBINATOR - POLICE IN HELICOPTER

ECHO BEACH

£14.31

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: EB171
Barcode: 4015698585889
Release Date: 19 Nov 2021
Genre: Dub

Following on the heels of the single "Chase The Devil", which pays homage to Max Romeo and the late and great Lee "Scratch" Perry, the mysterious Dubinator returns with an album-length dub set, packed with timeless riddims, versions and a whole raft of surprise guests. The new release kicks off with a version of John Holt's classic song "Police in Helicopter" - long since a metaphor for the apparatus of oppression around the world. The tune sets the tone for an album that is suffused with rebellion, anarchy, magic - and, naturally, dub science. The mind behind the album is an entity called Dubinator aka "Nick The Reverend". Guest producer on several tracks is Dubmatix, a Canadian producer with a long list of releases on Echo Beach to his name and a major figure in the Echo Beach universe. Rumour has it that Dubinator has long been in the background, pulling strings in the Dub scene, a hunch that is backed up by the guest list packed with big names, including Basement Cracks from Haiti, who add a bit of the spirit of New Wave legends The B-52s to the uptempo track "Dub Law". Seanie T (Dub Pistols) Remington Arms Lolly (a weird guy from Texas), Max Romeo ("Chase the Devil") and Dieter Meier (Yello) contributed vocals, with the latter musing about anarchy. Tack>>Head bassist Doug Wimbish plays on "Years I Dubbed", emphasising the omnipresent influence of the low-frequency On-U Sound school. It's a bit of a mystery who exactly is behind the pseudonym Dubinator, but one thing's certain: he's no newcomer to the scene. Eschewing trendy frippery, the album was mixed on a desk called "Vibemaster" and has an analogue depth and that rare quality that the Reverend himself describes as "Dub Surrealistic". "Ce Soir" is reminiscent of Sly & Robbie's riddims for Grace Jones, "Ambient Dub" hints at the crisp riddims of Dr. Israel (Word Sound), and tracks like "Back 2 dub" and "Hmmm, … nice" are unmistakably shaped by the modern school of dub (Adrian Sherwood, Andrew Weatherall, Dennis Bovell, Paolo Baldini etc.) The album is rounded off lyrically by two literary giants: over a droning bass we hear Alan Moore (author of "From Hell" and "Lost Girls", among others) philosophising about magic, and, in hallowed dub tradition, William S. Burroughs also features with a spoken word contribution about - what else? - viruses. Want more dub nobility? Bristol's Rob Smith (More Rockers, Smith & Mighty) contributed the deepest (d)updates of the title track as bonus tracks. "Police in Helicopter" with its enigmatic references, cool codes and mysterious link to the "Copyright Liberation Front", is the sound manifesto of the Dubinator, the missing link between Dub, New Age Dread-Tech and Science-Fiction... = Dub Surrealistic !