Mo Wax returns to form with this timely exploration of the contemporary Jamaican dub scene.
Delving into cultures to find a deeper musical level is something Mo Wax has traditionally done well and here compilers Toby Feltwell, Frenchie and Lil' Tobby live up to their label's pedigree.
Sly Lenky's opening track, 'Now Thing' takes us straight into the territory, as the dancehall drums are joined by an edgy, deep electronic bass.
Referentially it's old school, King Tubby dub, but production wise its sharp, minimal, clean and futuristic.
'Z2010' by Lenky is a complex affair, adding theme tune keyboard refrains to the bass and drum arrangements, but its Richie Browne's 'Grass Cyatt' that reveals how much the UK dance scene, and particularly break beat sounds, still trail Jamaica's experimentalism and rawness of expression.
Sly, Lenky and Frenchie's 'Dark Side' is once again a sparse minimal piece that focuses on taking the bass and kick drum through a series of stomach churning sub bass drops.
'Jigga' by Slam Productions, by comparison, is a full on orchestral production, while tracks such as 'www.com' by Annex Productions and Steeley & Cleevie's 'Nightcrawler' are tough, tribal dance floor fillers.
Andrew Bradford's 'Warlord' shudders under the pressure of cross patterns of kick drum, kept in shape by an attacking telegraph pylon snare, Lenky and Frenchie's 'Space Invaders' ripples with liquid synth stabs and a haunting Assault on Precinct 13 bass line.
True these are crude, looped patterns, rather than attempts at song writing and, like library music, they have relatively simple or no structure. But the aim is to create and push sounds, mess up limitations and, crucially, to do all this and still keep the party going.
The power of this selection lies in part in their simplicity, but also in their sonic and rhythmic experimentation, a relaxed attitude that challenges barriers without the producers losing their sense of fun. It's a lesson earnest, chin stroking Europeans would do well to learn.
Rhythm, come forward.
by Ben Osborne