Echo Chamber

Once again…opening the floodgates of new releases. Starting things off with the highly anticipated Rebel Massive album from Dubmatix – which features Horace Andy, Eek-a-Mouse, U Roy & Cornel Campbell, Prince Jazzbo, and Tenor Fly. This was followed up by the excellent new Signs & Wonders In Dub from Dub Club (Tom Chasteen & Tippa Lee) on Stones Throw Records; Grant Phabao presents The Jays Stepping Up In Time and from the archive, Black Roots’ self-titled album (on Bristol Archives/Nubian). On top of this were fine new releases from The Lions, Manudub, Malika Madremana, Los Transatlanticos, Eric St-Laurent Trio, David Powell (unreleased single passed to me), Celt Islam, Rocio y Su Sonora, Oil City Boom Sound, Afrokeys, Zion Dirty Sound, DJ Zdena (unreleased single passed to me), John Brown’s Body, Ducki, and Dub Caravan meets Hornsman Coyote. Also tonight we played a 3-track SOJA set to celebrate their Minneapolis show on 5/8. Finally, rounding out the show with Yes King, Yellowman, Ego-Wrappin’, Monty Alexander, Ken Boothe, BDLabs, The Silvertones, Cedric Im Brooks, and more… This show is dedicated to Cedric Im Brooks who passed away on May 3rd.

Tonight, to culminate National Poetry Month, the Echo Chamber presented the annual “Word Beat I Powa” dub poetry, beat poetry, hip-hop poetry, and spoken word special. Of course, it was dub poetry that set the foundation of the show. And at the base of that foundation tonight was the great poet Mutabaruka – who appeared On April 9th of this year at Macalester College, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Caribbean Students Association of Macalester presented “Resisting Oppression program: JaMinn with Rastafarian Poet Mutabaruka”. An excerpt of his performance shows up in a very special “Word Sound I Powa” half-hour mix put together by artist & friend of the show Eggblood. Also, Dr. StrangeDub’s interview of Muta from the same night is also part of the program.

Among the other dub poets featured were Jazzmin Tutum, Yasus Afari, Oku Onoura, Haji Mike (with Dub Caravan), Spaceape (with Dub Gabriel), Ras Takura, Oliver Smith, Jean Binta Breeze, Malachi Smith, and of course, the incomparable Linton Kwesi Johnson. But there was much more than dub poetry… From the Beat camp we had Jack Kerouac, and Umar Bin Hassan (of The Last Poets) joined Qaballah Steppers with “Trust” in Eggblood’s mix. Other voices included Ken Nordine’s unique ‘word jazz’; the powerful words and music of Liberian born artist/poet (and KFAI DJ), e.g. bailey; and The Last Skeptik (ft. Jehst) with the fresh track “Lullaby” (on BBE Records). Ahh, but let us not forget the extraordinary Jamaican DJs. Before there was dub poetry as we know it today, there was already the great tradition of Jamaican “toasters”. DJ Baby Swiss highlighted the art of toasting with I-Roy, Nica Smart, Rhoda Dakar, Ranking Roger, Clint Eastwood & General Saint, Ranking Ann, and George Nooks & Trinity, and StrangeDub added U-Roy (with Horace Andy). Heck, we even had a few snippets from Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe, and Walter Cronkite. What an eclectic mix of words…and beats…and Powa!

An unbelievable eclectic mix on tonight’s program… But, first up was the incredible new release Re-Record Not Fade Away from Yesking. What a slinky, chilled musical trip with elements of trip-hop and hip-hop, and a solid dubwise foundation. On top of this we dropped the dub bomb that is Alpha Steppa + Alpha & Omega — with the excellent The Unrelenting Force of Dub Dynasty. And up 3rd on the bill, the brand new John Brown’s Body album Kings and Queens (on Easy Star). Wow…and then more great new sounds from Yabass Yaba Radics, The Dubb Style, Addis Pablo & Suns of Dub, DubRaJah, Version Xcursion, Fanfara meets Transglobal Underground, Hotdrop, Caro Emerald, Banco de Gaia, Mutant Frogs, and Toots & the Maytals (from the “Ska Never Grow Old” EP). Also, on the same night I had the pleasure of meeting (and interviewing) Mutabaruka, we played the powerful poem “Columbus Ghost”.

The great dub & roots just keeps on flowing inna Echo Chamber… Tons of new releases, including: McPullish’s Shepherd Riddim album (featuring Jahn T, Cheziodek, Island Rose, Tippa Irie, Ken Serious, and more); the “Inna Mi Heart” EP from Omar Perry / Bost & Bim; Banco de Gaia’s Apollo album; DubRaJah’s “Terai” album (on Angel Dust); the Lee Scratch Perry & ERM “Humanicity” album; Righteous Dub’s Righteous Dub Vol 1 EP; and Patrick Del Rey’s “Dub Treatment” EP. More new music from Trevor “The Technician” McKenzie (“No Burden Dub” feat. Robert C), Red Star Martyrs, The Opposition Party, The Seed Organization, Hotdrop, and Stephane LeFrancois & LeMi. Other ingredients in our dub stew included: J Boog, Rebelution, Toots & the Maytals, Eating Betty, SOJA, KingRat, BDLabs, Kukan Dub Lagan, Culture, The English Beat, Ranking Ann, Secret Panels vs. The Assessor, Fish & Goat At the Controls, Adrian Sherwood, Wayne Jarret & Silver Fox, and more…