great to hear this version.  I read about this band way back, and bought their album "Pay Attention" soon after.  Still have it.  My other favourite band at the time was the Lines, who were doing Barrett-influenced wiry pop with smatterings of improv.  The singer/trombonist Rico Conning went on to work with Madonna....amazing what happens to these guys making strange music.

How you say...ahead of its Time?

This week my guest is Adrian Sherwood, the legendary dub producer from the south of England behind the On-U label and so many groundbreaking music projects. We talk a lot about those early days when Adrian was first immersing himself in music and about what it's like to release, distribute & hustle music as well as his work with unforgettable artists like Prince Far-I & Bim Sherman .. Adrian is a great guy with a unique perspective on music so sit back and enjoy his musical journey !

www.lifeindub.com
www.vibronics.co.uk/
www.instagram.com/vibronicsdub

LIFE IN DUB PODCAST #35 ADRIAN SHERWOOD hosted by Steve Vibronics

THE OFFICIAL version.
Dub plate by Adrian Sherwood, Album : compilation women reggae "Dub No Frontiers" on "On-U-Sound" Records.
حرب

إلى أن نرى الفكر الذي يضع عرقا كأعلى و آخر كأقلّ شأنا، 
أخيرا يُنبَذ و أبدا يُهجَر، في كلّ مكان حرب، أقول الحرب 

و إلى أن لا نرى مواطنا أوّل و آخرثاني في أية أمّة 
و إلى أن يصبح لون أيّ كان لا يزيد أهمّية عن لون العيون، 
أقول الحرب

إن حتّى حقوق الإنسان الأساسيّة تُكفَل بالتّساوي للجميع، 
بغضّ النّظر عن العرق، أقول الحرب

إلى أن نرى ذاك اليوم، حلم السّلام الدّائم، 
إنسان آبن العالم، و سيادة الأخلاق الدولية 
سيضل وهما خاطفا يُنَشد أبدا يُدرَك
الحرب ،أقول الحرب

و حتّى نرى الأنظمة الخسيسة المستبدّة بإخواننا 
في زمبابوي، في فلسطين، في العراق، 
لا إنسانيّة العبوديّة و قد أطيح بها و دُمِّرَت كلّيا، 
في كل مكان حرب، أقول الحرب

حرب في الشرق، حرب في الغرب، 
حرب في الشمال، حرب في الجنوب، 
حرب حرب، شائعات الحرب

و حتّى نرى ذاك اليوم، نحن العالم الثالث
سنحارب، لا من حياد، سنحارب، 
و نحن واثقن من النّصر، نصر الخير على الشرّ، 
واثقون من النّصر. 

هايله سـِلاسي

حرب (War, Bob Marley cover)

African Head Charge is a legendary psychedelic dub outfit who have recently returned to their home label On-U Sound with A Trip To Bolgatanga, their first new album in 12 years. As always it finds the peerless Adrian Sherwood at the controls and joins the dots between what the collective has done before and what they are doing now, all with a distinctly Ghanian twist. The signature drums and chants remain at the core of the album of course, as well as plenty of other thrilling new sonic concoctions on keys, guitar, percussion, strings, vocals, kologo and more. It's the latest chapter in a fascinating story that has already seen them release some 16 albums since its inception in 1981. 

This week's mix is a deep dive into the uniquely melon-twisting sounds of African Head Charge. Sherwood's mastery at the controls means sound is twisted and contorted, dubbed out and reverb-rich from start to finish. Traditional dub sounds melt away into ghoulish vocal passages, unhinged instrumentals come and go and the collective's signature sense of dark soul and mystic ritual holds the whole thing together in a spellbinding fashion.

Dekmantel Podcast

Dekmantel Podcast 445 - Adrian Sherwood/African Head Charge

Explore the many different strains of good music that make up Ross Allen's collection.  
https://www.nts.live/shows/soup-to-nuts-ross-allen/episodes/soup-to-nuts-ross-allen-jalen-ngonda-15th-february-2024

Soup To Nuts w/ Ross Allen & Adrian Sherwood - Foundation Music Special  150224

•	Lost post-punk classic from 1980. A unique mixture of noisy riffs, angular pop melodies and dubwise production aesthetic.  
•	Second ever album release on On-U Sound, never issued before on CD or Digital. 
•	Features former members of Durutti Column and future members of Simply Red! 
•	Can be filed alongside early work by Wire, Gang Of Four and Public Image Limited; and uncannily predates later work by contemporary bands such as Liars and Battles. 
•	Remastered from the original tapes and fully annotated with sleevenotes by the band, plus photos and memorabilia. 
•	All formats include 6 bonus tracks, 3 of which are previously unheard. 
The Mothmen emerged from the ashes of two legendary Manchester groups – comedy/satire band Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, and the first line-up of Factory Records band The Durutti Column. They also contributed to the beginnings of longrunning dub collective Suns Of Arqa.

Band members Chris Joyce and Tony Bowers went onto become the rhythm section in the classic 80s line-up of Simply Red, whilst multi-instrumentalist Bob Harding ran lauded reggae reissue label Blood & Fire. Tragically, guitarist Dave Rowbotham was murdered in 1991, but was immortalised in the Happy Mondays song “Cowboy Dave”.  

A missing part of the early On-U Sound Records story restored to life and a great example of early-80s UK DIY post-punk music. At times exhibiting psych-tinged tunefulness on tracks such as “Not Moving” and “Change Direction” (or their unreleased cover of Syd Barrett’s “Vegetable Man”). Other tracks are heavier, such as the trance-inducing repetitive rhythms of “Mothman” which recalls 70s German groups such as Can or Amon Düül II.   

Order here: https://bleep.com/release/59582-the-mothmen-pay-attention

09 Vegetable Man

Full tracklist: https://bleep.com/bleep-mix-307-on-u-sound

The versatility of On-U Sound shines in this generous mix from the label crew, “90 minutes of deep cuts, lost classics and non-label Sherwood productions, recorded using two turntables and a stack of original vinyl.” There’s the classic fluttering horns, hot sticky bass and guitars, from the likes of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Dub Syndicate, and then there’s the leftfield grooves of African Head Charge with whirring, rattling, thunking drums and percussion, the drilling industrial soundscape of Mark Stewart & The Maffia. Sitting in between are the psychedelic jazz dub fusions of Playgroup with slick dextrous bassline and ricocheting drums, the reggae inflected synth funk of Shara Nelson, and Little Annie’s sensual spoken word drowning in idiosyncratic desire.

Bleep Mix #307 - On-U Sound

Our second On-U Debut of the year comes via another excellent retrospective round-up, this time with the added bonus of  Trevor Jackson personally rifling through the archives for the deepest of deep cuts. Science Fiction Dancehall Classics clocks in at a monumental 143 minutes, running the gamut from bright funk to a pair of tracks about drilling equipment (genuinely). It features no actual dancehall, but does come stacked with early experiments and rarities from the likes of  Neneh Cherry, Atmosfear and about a dozen or so Adrian Sherwood aliases – of which The Circuit is one, alongside long-time collaborator Steve Beresford.
 
This entirely unheard take on the 30 year old "Loudspeaker" comes from a thrillingly fertile, open-ended period in UK music, capturing the spirit of the era well. Kicking off with the kind of stuttering hook a Paul's Boutique track could be built out of a few years later, the track incorporates chintzy synth work, dub sensibilities, scratchy messthetics and proto-rap juggling and scratching. It's clangorous, but also surprisingly carefree; a true metal dance.
 
Get October 2nd down in the diary.

Pre-Order Here

The Circuit "Loudspeaker" - Boiler Room Debuts

Another Science Fiction Dancehall Classic! Originally released in 1984, this is one of the most envelope-pushing records on the On-U Sound label: a rhythmic collision of noise, dub and electronics. Adrian Sherwood pushed the possibilities of the studio to the limit, capturing dystopian mid-80s cold war menace with layers of spatially-disorientating percussion, alien keyboard sounds and teeth-rattling distortion. Features vocal contributions from Shara Nelson (Massive Attack) and Annie Anxiety (Crass Records).

Re-cut at dubplates & mastering in Berlin for maximum bass pressure. Includes a fold-out poster insert, and download card for full album plus a previously unreleased extended mix of “Ace Of Wands”, their contribution to the classic first volume of the longrunning Pay It All Back series.
Pre-order link: http://bit.ly/1hWUoEm


The Missing Brazilians - Ace Of Wands (unreleased extended mix)

Ahead of the release of the SCIENCE FICTION DANCEHALL CLASSICS compilation on 2 October, On-U Sound is proud to drop this ultra-limited 1-sided 12", with the On-U logo laser-etched onto the b-side, featuring edits of the demo recordings Adrian Sherwood produced for the classic "Akabu Theme", heard in finished form on the iconic PAY IT ALL BACK VOL 1 collection in 1984. As edited for maximum impact by DJ and audio-visual artist Trevor Jackson, these tracks are a startling discovery, and connect the dots between what On-U Sound was doing in the early-80s, and the modern day output of labels such as L.I.E.S, The Trilogy Tapes and Future Times.

Available 18th Sep

Akabu Edits - Raw Dub + Bonus Beats (short preview)

A metal dance deconstruction of a Prince classic, recorded in 1987.

Adrian’s mid-80s productions with the Tackhead axis were some of the most innovative of the period in their sheer sonic extremity - creating huge walls of sound with skull-crushing beats, a Dadaist collage of vocal samples, and instruments pushed way into the red. Distortion became another colour in his sonic palette, just as echo, reverb and parametric EQ had been to his dub productions. These records caught the ears of musicians from the emerging second wave industrial scene - an international affair taking inspiration from earlier groups like Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire but applying it to tracks intended for a dancefloor or rock club. The hybrid would be dubbed ‘electronic body music’, and Sherwood very much had a hand in shaping the sound, being invited to work with the likes of Einstürzende Neubauten, Ministry, KMFDM, Nitzer Ebb and Nine Inch Nails.

Pankow were from Florence, Italy and Adrian made their acquaintance after producing fellow hometown act Rinf (also featured on this comp). Pankow's early synth and drum machine excursions such as “Das Vodkalied” have become a seminal touchstone for modern techno producers such as Helena Hauff in recent years, with their heavier late-80s productions with Adrian Sherwood being championed as metal dance classics by On-U compiler Trevor Jackson. They also ended up having their records released in the states by Wax Trax!, and worked on two albums with Adrian, Freiheit Für Die Sklaven(Freedom For The Slaves) and Gisela. This irreverent deconstruction of a Prince song is a highlight of their time working together and appeared in extended form on the humorously titled EP, Pankow Play The Hits Of The Nineties.

More: www.smarturl.it/satcvol2


Pankow - Girls & Boys

An unreleased gem from the On-U archives that features on the forthcoming 'Sherwood At The Controls Volume 2: 1985 - 1990' compilation.

Brought together through the efforts of BBC Radio DJ Steve 'On The Wire' Barker, the sessions that birthed this track saw Adrian work with one of his heroes and big influences for the first time. Working alongside Style Scott and Dub Syndicate, they cooked up a fresh batch of rhythms for the Upsetter to voice, resulting in the critically acclaimed Time Boom X De Devil Dead LP which came out on On-U Sound in 1987. This alternate mix of the track "Music & Science Lovers" is heard here for the first time.

More about the compilation here: www.smarturl.it/satcvol2

Lee 'Scratch' Perry - Music & Science Madness

As featured on Sherwood At The Controls Vol 2: 1985 - 1990, a slice of future funk laid down by Doug Wimbish, Skip McDonald and Keith LeBlanc (aka The Sugarhill Gang) in collaboration with UK dub producer Adrian Sherwood. Exclusive edit by On-U archivist and DJ Patrick Dokter.

Order Sherwood At The Controls Vol 2: http://amzn.to/28MJS3p

Tackhead - Mind At The End Of The Tether (SATC 2 Edit)

More Info & Download: https://www.xlr8r.com/podcasts/2016/07/podcast-446-sherwood-x-nisennenmondai/

Adrian Sherwood and Nisennenmondai serve up 90 minutes of noise, new-wave, techno, hip house, rock, acid, and plenty more.


Download

XLR8R Podcast 446:  Sherwood X Nisennenmondai

- PLAYGROUP
- PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
- 30 TRACKS
- 9 VINYL ONLY E.PS
- 9 WEEKS
- EP 4 RELEASED 1T2H AUGUST

--------------------------

EP4

- A. WHAT'S HAPPENING
- B1. SHADOWPLAY DUB#2
- B2. TOTAL COLLAPSE

--------------------------

- LIMITED EDITON OF 250
- YES WAVE RECORDS
- 2016

- PRE-ORDER:

www.phonicarecords.com/product/playg…s-wave/138760
www.piccadillyrecords.com/prod/Playgro…-110484.html
www.juno.co.uk/products/playgrou…d-ep-1/620117-01/
www.roughtrade.com/albums/105634

After the success of last year’s multi-edition album release ‘F O R M A T’ via The Vinyl Factory, the critical acclaim of his ‘Science Fiction Dancehall Classics’ On-U Sound compilation and the ‘Metal Dance’ series for Strut, Trevor Jackson is back in 2016 with the long-awaited return of his much loved PLAYGROUP project.

“Inspired by the hedonistic early days of house, disco, post punk, electro and dub, these tracks reflect a unique moment in time”, explains Trevor. “The emergence of underground club culture in New York, London, Chicago, Paris and Northern Italy was driven by pioneering DJ’s playing a wildly diverse soundtrack to a passionate, dance driven and open minded audience. It was a sensory overload of chemicals, bass, smoke, sweat, sex and danger; a testament to the non-air conditioned, non-i-Phone infested and non- corporate clubbing days of yore.”

Targeted directly at the modern dance floor, many of the tracks were freshly re-edited and tweaked with the assistance of Sasha Crnobrnja from In Flagranti. Ed DMX lends a helping hand on one track, two feature the vocals of Mike Z from the seminal new wave band Crash Course In Science, and a young Kieran Hebden (AKA Four Tet) plays guitar on the final EP’s lead track.

Released as series of 9 limited edition vinyl-only EPs over a period of 9 weeks, the 30 tracks featured are a collection of reworked demos and unreleased recordings. Still sounding as relevant today as they did when initially created during the writing process of the debut PLAYGROUP album from 1997-2001. 
Packaged in a collection of 9 individual sleeves that, as a full set, combine to make a single image featuring a photo by legendary photographer Bill Bernstein, they’re as much a testament to Trevor Jackson’s visual ability as his musical one.

Mastered by Frederic Stader at MusicMatters Mastering

Playgroup - Shadowplay - Dub #2 - EP#4

GENERAL ECHO is a monthly reggae disco in Walthamstow, North London, playing dub, dancehall, roots, rockers and other bass transmissions on two turntables and a space echo. The night is named in tribute to Jamaican MC Earl Anthony Robinson who had deejay hits with "Drunken Master" and other classic tracks.

For our first birthday party on 16th November we've compiled this hour long mix of some favourite tunes played at the night. This will be available as a limited edition cassette on the night, and includes selections from Billy Boyo, Papa Levi, Vibronics and more. Dubbed up with FX and subliminal MC interjections by Lt. Echo & Private Sunshine.

“You ‘ear the advice come through the speaker, and 
the sound is sweeter with an echo chamber” - Papa Levi

https://www.facebook.com/events/699627380193770/
http://generalechoes.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1026216090742296/
https://twitter.com/gen_echo_echo

Echo Lives!

Dub rhythms from a musical pioneer.

Download & tracklisting: https://www.xlr8r.com/podcasts/podcast-589-lee-scratch-perry

09 Vegetable Man

On-U Sound Records

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