Making Conscious Sounds

 

Dougie Wardrop started his career in music production while running Dub Shack Records at Camden lock market. Inspired by early digital steppers such as Dread 'n' Fred & Manasseh, his first mix was the instrumental "Stepping Time" recorded on 4-track at Nick Manasseh's house. It was released under the name Centry in September 90 & became the launch of his imprint Conscious Sounds. 

Here's a two volume four CD overview of Conscious Sounds sounds, starting with Dougie's first ever...

Various - Conscious Sounds - From Beginning to End Volumes 1 2xCD,
Dubhead DBHD011CD, 1999.
all decryption codes in comments

CD1 -
Stepping Time    
Stepping Time (Dub) - Centry
Can't Touch Jah with Tena Stelin    
Can't Touch Jah (Dub) - Centry
Original Formula with Danny Red    
Original Formula (Dub) - Centry    
Jah Bible with Barry Isaacs    
Jah Bible (Bible Dub) - Centry
Long, Long Time with King General    
Long, Long Time (Dub) - Centry    
Barefoot in the Dessert - The Music Family    
Barefoot in the Dessert (Manic Dub) - Bush Chemists

CD2 -
Zion Garden    
Zion Garden (Dub) - Centry    
Last Call - Centry meets Manasseh    
Last Call (Dub) - Manasseh    
Release the Chains with the Music Family    
Release the Chains (Dub) - Centry    
Gunman with King General
Gunman (Dub) - Bush Chemists    
Conscious Ites 3 with King General    
Conscious Ites 3 (CZ3000 Dub) - Bush Chemists    
The Fittest with Culture Freeman    
The Fittest (Dub) - Bush Chemists 

 

 

 

All tracks on these next two CDs are the Bush Chemist. It is noted if they teamed up with other artists.

Various - Conscious Sounds - From Beginning to End Volumes 2 2xCD,
Dubhead DBHD016CD, 1999.

CD 1 -
Earth Rocker    
Rocker Dub    
Some People with King General    
People Dub    
Expliotation with Ras-I    
Exploitation Dub    
Bad Boys with Ras-I    
Bad Boys Dub    
Money Run Tings with King General    
Money Run Tings Dub    
Dread ina Babylon with Culture Freeman
Dread ina Babylon Dub    

CD2 -
Joker Smoker with King General
Joker Smoker Dub    
Haste Make Waste with Hughie Izachaar (previously unreleased)
Haste Make Waste Dub (previously unreleased)
Man a Lion with Tena Stelin
Man a Lion Dub
Golden Age with Tena Stelin
Golden Age Dub
Subliminal Messages with Tena Stelin
Subliminal Messages Dub    
Evil Doer Retire with Talawa    
Evil Doer Retire Dub

 

 

 

 

& a great one from Conscious Sounds head man Dougie Wardrop's Bush Chemists wth Culture Freeman. Culture Freeman is well known for his work with the Bush Chemists. He also works as an MC with Jah Warrior Sound System.

 

 

Culture Freeman & the Bush Chemists - Conqueror, Dubhead DBHD009CD, 1998.

Pressure
Version
Conqueror
Version
Easy Squeeze
Version
Armagideon
Version
Red a Fire
Version
Rasta International
Version
Dread in a Babylon
Version
The Fittest
Version

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

Conscious Vibronics

While I was compling the month long Sound Systember, I gathered up way more than I had time to share. Several offerings from both Vibronics & Dougie Wardrop's Conscious Sounds ended up in the Overflow. Let's take on a few of those now. 

 

Steve 'Splitz' Vibronics & Richi Rootz put together Vibronics in 1995. They were key players in the 07 Egg Experience show & soon signed to Zion Train's Universal Egg label.

Performers on this one are: Boney L; Frankie Binns; Madu; Mark Iration; Richi Rootz; Stevie Splitz; Vitamin M; & Wayne McArthur. 

 

Vibronics - Dubliftment, Universal Egg WWCD037, 2004.
all decryption codes in comments

Only One Dub    
Mount Zion-I    
Dub Forever    
Deep Root Dub    
Red, Gold, & Green    
Highland Dub    
Dub Herbs    
Volcano    
East End Dub    
Dub Struggle    
Sound Minded    
Dinosaur

 

 

 

Here's a Dubplate series that missed the cut on Sound Systember's Indica Dubs share Principles of Dubplate series. All the 10" mixes are different from the LP mixes; produced together by Vibronics & Indica Dubs, half of the tracks mixed at the Indica Dubs studio, the other half mixed at Vibronics' The Dub Cupboard studio.

 

 

Indica Dubs meets Vibronics - Principles of Dubplate Series, Vibronics self-released, 2021.

Jah is Here (deluxe version) featuring Shiva
Dub is Here
Dub Stream (deluxe version) featuring Vanya O
Rising Dub
Be Yourself featuring Danny Red
Truthful Dub    
Hunted (deluxe version)
Shadow Dub
Messenger of Peace featuring the Splitz Horns
Messengers of Dub
Icons (deluxe version)
Icons Dubplate mix

 

 

 

& this is a great set of Vibronic/Conscious Sounds Dub clash covering fifty years of Dub.

 

..

Vibronics meets Conscious Sounds - Half Century Dub (Five Decades in the Mix),
Scoop SCOOP056CD, 2017.

Vibronics – Dub Jahovia (1970s)
Conscious Sounds – Leave ya Dub (1970s)
Vibronics – Try a Dub (1980s)
Conscious Sounds – Dub Somebody (1980s)
Vibronics – Long Time Dub (1990s)
Conscious Sounds – Jah Light Jah Dub (1990s)
Vibronics – Babylon Dub Down (2000s)
Conscious Sounds – China Dub (2000s)
Vibronics – Blaze a Fire Dub (2010s)
Conscious Sounds – Hail up Dub (2010s)

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

The Adjacent Ones: Kanka

Heading back into the realm of more Pure Dub, here's some Freach electro-Dub to finish up the Dub Adjacent & tie back into Vibronics coming up next...

Alexis Langloi, a Dub producer & multi instrumentalist from Rouen, France, is Kanka. At one time he was percussionist &sampler for the band King Riddim. Since the early 2000s he has had a prolific solo career, releasing more than a dozen full-lengths & nearly twice as many singles. He has collaborated with Vibronics (segue), Mark Iration (of Iration Steppas), Ranking Joe, & more. 

 

Kanka - Watch Your Step, Dubalistik VOC4672, 2014.
decryption code in comments

Venus Dub
Worries & Problems
Ghost Oof Dub
London
Disconnect Yourself
Straight Dub
37
Never Let Them
Rainbow Dub
Spring
Stepperstyle
We Love Bass

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

The Adjacent Ones: Federsen

 

Federsen is the performing moniker of San Francisco electronic musician Chris Kelly, His music is heavily influenced by Dub recording techniques, using vintage tape delays & old analog equipment to create a distinctive deep bass sound of Dub-infused electronic music.  

 

Federsen - Magnetic Transmissions, Deepindub.org did041, 2010.
decryption codes in comments

Gravity Mass Weight    
Octavian    
Cosmic Texture    
Gaps in Mind    
Freedom from the Known    
Path    
Magellic Clouds
Simplex

On Echo Relics, the CD contains only nine tracks, but when purchased from Silent Season it came with a digital download bonus track that I included... 

Federsen - Echo Relics, Silent Season SSD04, 2011.

Classical Unity    
Alpha    
Djembe Dub
Fragile Systems    
Gamma    
Mannahatta    
Phytoplankton    
16 Moons    
The Open Road
bonus track -
Magnetic Reference Laboratory

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

The Adjacent Ones: Pulshar

 

The last track of Dublicator Deep Routes, "Burning Echoes (Pulshar remix)" led me to explore Pulshar. Pablo Bolivar & Sergio Sainz Vidal have been creating music as Pulshar since 2007. That year they released  their debut EP Babylon Fall Collection, an EP much reminiscent of the style of Rhythm & Sound Dub techno that I recently shared, with a heavy Jamaican influence. 

 

Pulshar - Babylon Fall Collection EP, Phonobox 004, 2007.
decryption code in comments

Side A -
Mr Money Man
Ashmatic
No Meditation
Sde B -
KMS (Pablo Bolivar Space edit)
KMS
Dub by the River

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

The Adjacent Ones: Dublicator

 

Dublicator is Tamás Olejnik from Pécs, Hungary, a prolific electronic music producer & artist known for his deep, hypnotic brand of Dub techno, crafting soundscapes with a captivating fusion of resonant basslines, echoing synths, & minimalistic percussion, His work is characterized by the meticulous layering of sound.

Deep Roots & Deep Routes showcase his reputation as a purveyor of lush, textural rhythms that resonate with the foundational elements of Dub-infused electronic music.

These two are a good taste of Hungarian paprika-spiced Elecrto-Dub... 

 

Dublicator - Deep Roots, Deepindub.org did029, 2009.
decryption codes in comments

Echos of Babylon    
Lonely Phantom    
Let Them Hear    
A Dumb King's Words    
Deep Roots

 

 

 

 

Dublicator - Deep Routes, AvantRoots AR016, 2010.

Children of Chords    
Message from Zion    
Deep Routes    
Burning Echoes    
Burning Echoes (Pulshar remake)

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

The Adjacent Ones: Frenk Dublin

Dub from Dublin 

 

This one puts the Dub in Dub techno (he even has Dub in his name).

 

Frenk Dublin is a second generation Dub producer. He started releasing his own material in 2013. Since then he's been honing his Dub chops while drifting over to the deeper, more Dub techno side of the genre in recent years with a steady stream of top drawer EPs & LPs to his name. 

 

 

Frenk Dublin - The Blue Mountain EP, Dub Communication DUBCOM048D, 2024.
decryption codes in comments

Exodus
Barracuda
The Jaguar
Kessel
Erangel
Blue Mountain
Undying Land

 

 

 

 

This next one opens up with Dublin's take on the classic Rhythm & Sound template, with Tenor Youthman's righteous vocals calling to mind the Rhythm & Sound / Tikiman collaborations, with Dublin's deep, hypnotic riddim cranked up to 11. If you’'e enjoying sharing these Dub adjacent sounds then don't delay to grab these. They will not disappoint.

 

 

Frenk Dublin - Quantum Dubs, Moonshine Recordings MSLP019, 2025

Side A -    
Our Progress featuring Tenor Youthman
The Root of All Evil
Into the Void
Mystery Dub

Side B -
The Resistor featuring Don Fe
Quantum Dub
Night Owl
Our Progress (SND & RTN Version)

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

The Adjacent Ones: Beat Pharmacy

When I was sharing bands like Another Channel & Babe Roots, I gathered up a shit-stack of Ambient Dub, Dub techno, & Dub House. Some I liked (the more Dub influenced, the better), some I didn't (some was just too steeped in the techno repetitiveness or the Ambient calm). Most of it just ended up in Overflow. 

 

For the next few I'll share some of the ones I liked. Guess I'll start out with Beat Pharmacy. Ties in perfectly to start this section because Constant Pressure track 4 "Hot Spot Slash", The Singles Part 1 track 3, "Don’t Bodda Me", & Wikkid Times tracks 1 "Sunshine" feature vocals by the previously shared Paul St. Hilaire (segue)...

On Constant Pressure, Beat Pharmacy (Brendon Moeller) leans heavily into his Deep house roots. Tracks like "Hot Spot Splash", "Wata", & "Slow Down" bring out the Dub. "Velocity" seems to find the perfect balance between the two styles. 

 

Beat Pharmacy - Constant Pressure, Deep Space Media DS50164, 2006.
all decryptions in comments

Club Dread - words & vocals by Mikey Dread
Tangerine    
Caramel    
Hot Spot Splash - words & vocals by Paul St. Hilaire
Velocity    
Slow Down    
Pieces - words & vocals by Ursula Rucker
Worship    
Wata (Water) - vocals by Allan Hope
Rat Race    
Floating

 

 

 

Here's a collection of Beat Pharmacy singles up to this point (Part 1)... 

 

Beat Pharmacy - The Singles Part 1, Deep Space Media 259061921, 2007.

New Dawn (Minimal Dub)    
Here to Go (Club Dub)    
Don't Bodda Me with Paul St. Hilaire    
Floating (edit)    
Club Dread (Harmonic mix) with Mikey Dread
Club Dread (Sub-Harmonic mix)
Wata (Deep Dub)    
Wata (Acid Dub) with Mutabaruka    
Frozen (Dub)

 

 

 

This one is the Dub version remix of 2008s Wikkid Times. Here Moeller creates something quite unique, some heavy electronic downtempo Dub. You should all give a listen. I think you will enjoy... 

 

 

Beat Pharmacy - Wikkid Times (Versions). Deep Space Media DS50210V, 2009.

Sunshine Dub with Paul St. Hilaire
Hope & Frustration Dub
Assassination of the Mind Dub
Backwards Never Dub
Time Dub with Damon Aaron
Rooftops Dub with Coppa
Nuclear Race Dub
Piece of Mind Dub
Strangers Dub
Ghostship Dub

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

Woo Hoo Bernie!

Leaving Africa now & heading on to a run of Dub adjacent sounds, but first, although this is not Dub but a blast of jazz/funk/classical, I'm sharing it now, because I feel like it. 

A brief interlude before some Ambient Dub, Dub techno, & Dub house. Just a palate cleanser before the rest of Dubwise. 

 

I gathered up this one quite recently...in fact when I was working on the X-Ambias Day shares this past December.

In the essay sheet included in Outland, Bill sez:
       " I got along very well with Peter and obviously we did many things together. I think of his stories. Starting out, he was playing guitar and worked in a bank. Everyday going home, with his guitar, he would pass a river, and stop and play with the river flowing. I think that’s where the ambient obsession began. I made a piece with Bernie Worrell called "By a River (for Peter)". It is the first track of the box set compilation Die Welt ist Klang: a Tribute to Pete Namlook."

 

 

Well, that track is on this mixtape that Bill made for Sean Westergaard for broadcast on his July 29, 2016 show What It Is on WCBN. It was Bill's high-five way of sharing his camaradarie for Bernie Worrell, a lost friend.

Bernie had died the previos June 24. 

R.I.P. Never forget. 

 

 

Book of Woo Vol.1: Bill Laswell Mix Tape, broadcast July 29,2016.
decryption code in comments

Alabama 
Blood Secrets 
At Mos'Spheres 
Volunteered Slavery / Bern's Blues / Outer Spaceways 
Woo Doo 
By a River (for Peter) 
X-Factor 
In a Silent Way 
Flashlight - Redux 
Revelation in Black Light 
Flex 
Outer Woo
I'd Rather Be with You 
Black & Strong (Homesick)

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

Fat Nostalgia for Dele

I gathered this while working on Sound Systember. So glad to finally be able to share it here.

Dele Sosimi was born in Hackney, East London, but returned to his parents' native Nigeria at the age of four. Dele was musically schooled & raised in Fela Anikulapo Kuti's shadow at the height of early 70s Afrobeat. Chosen by Fela to join his band at somewhat of a tender age, he was still a young man when he began sharing his soundscape vision. 

 

He fronted Fela's Glastonbury stage in 1984, becoming Musical Director for both Fela's Egypt 80 & FemiKuti's Positive Force. After Fela's passing in 1997, Dele went on to concentrate on his own solo career. With diligent patience, he carved out his own Afrobeat niche. In London, where he again resides, his Afrobeat Vibration all-nighters are charged with the Sound System culture of his passion, labor, & unrelenting spirit.

You No Fit Touch Am was released by Wah Wah 45s in May 2015. It represents what Dele has become to today's music scene, something of an vital untouchable force. The album provided a musical representation of Dele's strong socio-political opinions, as well as delivering classic song-writing that could have come straight out of 1970s Lagos. You No Fit Touch Am was mixed by Ben Nostalgia (Nostalgia 77).

In his 4 star Mojo review, David Hutchinson sez:
       "A Dub version could be a stone killer".

Well, here it is. Afrobeat icon Dele Sosimi's recent album gloriously re-imagined in Dub by two production masters, Prince Fatty & Nostalgia 77. Prince Fatty brings the spirit of 80s On-U Sound, Mikey Dread, & Mad Professor to the mix & Ben, being on the boards for the original, has intimate insight. This is a perfect blend of Afro-funk, Ethio jazz & Dub tripping off into the deepness of groove, space, & time. I couldn't let this month pass without sharing this nugget.

All Dubs performed live & mixed by Prince Fatty / Nostalgia 77. Original sessions recorded at The Fish Factory Studio London, mixed at the Ironworks, Brighton. 

 

 

Dele Sosimi meets Prince Fatty & Nostalgia 77 - You No Fit Touch Am in Dub,
Wah Wah 45s WAHLP010, 2016.
decryption code in comments

Side A -
You No Fit Touch Am Dub
E Go Betta Dub
Santuary Dub

Side B - 
Na My Turn Dub
Dance Together Dub
I Don’t Care Dub
bonus track
Dance Together (radio Dub)

 

 

 

African unity,
NØ

Can’t Force the Rhythm

The next two are some Dub adjacent African inspired music. 

 

This one giving a nod to Wackie's Rhythm Force in their name & purpose..

Mark Ernestus is no stranger to the Dub techno/Ambient Dub scene since the 90s. He is probably most known from his partnerships with Moritz von Oswald as Basic Channel. He founded the legendary Hard Wax record shop in 1989 & collaborated with Jamaican singers for the more Dub-oriented Rhythm & Sound project I shared last post.

Mark Ernestus' Ndagga Rhythm Force is a collaboration between a revolving group of Senegalese sabar musicians & German techno pioneer Mark Ernestus. A 2007 encounter with a Gambian DJ team turned Ernestus on to mbalax, a Senegalese polyrhythmic dance music developed in the early 70s. The mbalax dancing is based on rhythms from the sabar, a family of drums commonly know as the talking drums with a history of use for communication between neighboring villages up to 10 miles apart. Ernestus travelled to Dakar in search of the mbalax music & the sabar drummers. There he met up with an impromptu ensemble of over 20 mbalax musicians & percussionists, including veterans of the bands of Senegalese legends Baaba Maal & Youssou N’Dour. Over the course of the next two years, the sessions yielded seven records of hypnotic, Dub-inflected mbalax. Finally condensed down into a core unit of 12 musicians, Ndagga Rhythm Force (named in reference to legendary Bronx Dub session band Wackies Rhythm Force) was formed in 2014. 

 

 

Mark Ernestus' Ndegga Rhythm Force - Yermande, Ndagga ND25, 2016.
decryption code in comments

Lamb Ji
Walo Walo
Simb
Jigeen
Ndiguel
Yermande (Kick & Bass mix)

 

 

 

Back to Africa,
NØ

Tikiman's Got Rhythm (& Sound)

This third iteration is Tikiman's early days with Rhythm & Sound. 

 

Basic Channel's founding duo of Moritz von Oswald & Mark Ernsetus are also Rhythm & Sound. Rhythm & Sound recordings are much more Dub-influenced & less techno-orientated than the duo's previous, more legendary, Dub-techno recordings as Basic Channel. By the mid-90s they began releasing a series of 10" singles with Tikiman. These are classic examples of Rhythm & Sound's great Dub-related offerings. 

 

Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman - Never Tell You 10", Burial Mix BM01, 1996
all dectyption codes in comments

Side a -
Never Tell You
Side B - 
Never Tell You (version)

 

 

 

Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman - Spend Some Time 10", Burial Mix BM02, 1996.

Side A -
Spend Some Time
Side B -
Spend Some Time (version)

 

 

 

Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman - Ruff Way 10", Burial Mix BM03, 1997.

Side A - 
Ruff Way
Side B -
Ruff Way (version)

 

 

 

Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman - What a Mistry 10", Burial Mix BM04, 1997.

Side A -
What a Mistry
Side B -
What a Mistry (version)

 

 

 

Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman - Why 10", Burial Mix BM05, 1997.

Side A -
Why
Side B -
Why (version)

 

 

 

Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman - What a fe Rule 12", Rhythm & Sound RS01, 1997.

Side A -
What a fe Rule (Part 1)
Side B -
What a fe Rule (Part 2)

 

 

 

Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman - Jah Rule 10", Burial Mix BM07, 2001.

Side A -
Jah Rule 
Side B -
Jah (version)

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

St. Hilaire Was a Tikiman

 

I got this Tikiman gem when January 2025 I shared Deadbeat & Paul St. Hilaire’s Infinity Dub Sessions. Just waiting in OVERFLOW for you.

Dominican born & Berlin-based Paul St. Hilaire used to be Tikiman. He worked heavily with Basic Channel as well as Rhythm & Sound. Then due to legal problems with the name, since 2003 he has released music under his given name. However, that being said, this one is from Paul but is called Tikiman Vol. 1???

Paul St. Hilaire - Tikiman Vol. 1,, Kynant Records KYNX003, 2023.
decryption code in comments

Bedroom in My Bag    
Little Way    
Keep Safe    
Bright One    
The Weather Man    
In Fortis    
Ten to One    
In Door    
Three & a Half 

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

Tiki Was a Deadbeat

Started gathering up these next ones December 2024 when I shared a Deadbeat reinterpretation of Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session. 

First off are three Dub techno 12"ers from Deadbeat from the Infinity Dub Sessions he did with Tikiman (Paul St. Hilaire).

..

Deadbeat - The Infinity Dubs Vol. 1 12", BLKRTZ 005, 2013.
all decryption codes in comments

I.D. 1
I.D. 2

 

 

 

 

Deadbeat - The Infinity Dubs Vol. 2 12", BLRTZ 007, 2013.

I.D. 3
I.D. 4

 

 

 

 

Deadbeat - The Infinity Dubs Vol. 3 12", BLKRTZ 009, 2013.

I.D. 5
I.D. 6

 

 

 

 

Next are some Dub edits from Deadbeat for Last Night on Earth Rcords... 

 

 

Deadbeat - LNOE in Dub 2x12", Last Night on Earth LNOE117, 2020.

Side A -
Together (Dub edit) - VONDA7
Island (Dub edit) - Hunter/Game
Side B -
Octiv (Dub edit) - Ejeca
Carson (Dub edit) - Jody Barr
Side C -
Sk4 (Dub edit) - dubspeeka
Float Collapse (Dub edit) - Sasha
Side D -
Virgo (Dub edit) - Alex Niggemann
After it All (Dub edit) - Jon Gurd

 

 

 

 
This final one from Deadbeat... 

 

Deadbeat - Kübler-Ross Soliloquies, BLKRTZ 055, 2024.

The Double Bong Cloud (Denial I)    
Straight no Chaser (Denial II)
Tough Love (Anger I)    
Brick Stick Blick Blade (Anger II)    
Huey Lewis Voters Dub (Negotiation)    
Things Fall Apart (Depression)    
With Grand Trepidation (Acceptance I)    
Mountains from Mole Hills (Acceptance II)

 

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ

The Disciples Help Them that Help Themselves

Improvisators Dub is a French Dub band from Bordeaux formed in 1994. This is Dub for the new millenium... 

 

Improvisator Dub meets The Disciples - Dub & Mixture, Vicious Circle Reverb46, 2000.
decryption codes in comments

Bass-Batt    
Tubby's    
Outerdub    
Improdub    
Herb    
I-Dub    
Arrach'Dub    
Problems    
Spirit of the Piper    
Shiva    
Sativa    
Supercussion

 

 

 

 

This one is a live set from Torino (Turin), Italy on March 21, 2009, an hour & twenty minutes of great Live music... 

 

The Disciples & Jonah Dan - Ministry of Dub Chapter 3, Live in Turin, 2009. 

 Live Set

 

 

Enjoy,
NØ