Anyone that's hung
around here long enough know I'm a big fan of On-U Sound's take on Dub. In the
late 70s & early 80s John Hassell was also making some great Dub reggae
recordings out of his house at 21
Nassau Road, London,
S.W. 13. Hassell, aided by his wife Felicity, cut reggae Dub-plates with such
finesse & understanding that the studio's output supplied Reggae Sound
Systems throughout the UK.
One of the artists he
worked with was the band Matumbi & the great reggae guitarist Dennis
Bovell.
Dennis Bovell (sometimes
known simply as Blackbeard) was born on May 22, 1953 at Saint
Peter, Barbados,
West Indies. He is a reggae guitarist, bass
player, & record producer. He was a member of the British reggae band
Matumbi. He also released Dub-reggae records under his own name as well as the
pseudonym 'Blackbeard'. He is most widely known for his decades-spanning
collaborations with Linton Kwesi Johnson.
Bovell moved with his family to South London
at the age of twelve. He became immersed in Jamaican culture, particularly Dub
music. He set up his own Jah Sufferah Sound System. Running the sound system
brought trouble from the police. Bovell was imprisoned for six months on
remand, but was later released on appeal. Bovell was friends at school with
future rock musicians including keyboardist Nick Straker & record producer
Tony Mansfield, both of whom later worked with Bovell.
Bovell also worked as an engineer at Dip Records, the precursor to the Lovers
Rock label. He was a key figure in the early days of the lovers rock genre. He
is also known for attempting to fuse disco rhythms with reggae, most notably
with the hit song "Silly Games" a minor hit written by Bovell & released by
Janet Kay.
He has produced albums by a wide variety of artists including I-Roy, The Thompson Twins, Sharon Shannon, Alpha Blondy, Bananarama, The Pop Group, Fela Kuti, The Slits, Orange Juice, & Madness.
As Blackbeard, Bovell released Strictly Dub Wize in 1978. I Wah Dub came out in 1980, carrying on Bovell's eclectic sensibilities.
On I Wah Dub, the
musicians are: Dennis Bovell – guitar, bass, piano, organ, percussion, &
drums; John Kpiaye – guitar & piano; Tony Robinson – piano & organ;
Nick Bailey – synthesizer; Julio Finn – harmonica; Patrick Tenyue – vocals
& melodica; & Angus Gaye & Jah Bunny – drums.
Blackbeard - I Wah Dub, More
Cut Records RDC 2002, 1980.
decryption code in comments
Side 1 -
Electrocharge
Steadie
Jazzz
Reflections
Side 2 –
Blaubart
Oohkno
'nough
Binoculars
Enjoy,
NØ
Didn't know that Hassell was involved with the dub scene. Love his work.
ReplyDeleteYou probably mean American trumpet player Jon Hassell... do you?
DeleteThis is John Hassell from London, another "h".
Blackbeard - I Wah Dub
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According to Reggae Britannia:
ReplyDelete...Graeme “Mr Goody” Goodall who, despite being a white Australian, was one of the early legends of Jamaican recording engineering. He also remembered using John to master records, “My Doctor Bird imprint used John Hassell Recording in Barnes, a suburb of London. I think that many of my competitors used Derek Strickland at Pye. It was difficult to get the UK mastering engineers to understand why we wanted a certain eq in the process. If you get the chance to compare a JA pressing , a UK pressing and an US pressing of the same 'tune' on 45′s, you will notice the difference. I figured that the only way that I could cope with this was to escort John Hassell (who was, to all intents & purposes, blind, due to an incredible incident that he survived during W.W. ll) to NYC & Jamaica. His incredible Golden Ears quickly picked up on the differences.”