Loris is another contributor from the non-blogging community who has put up some nice mixes in the past, and this set is no exception, featuring a sweet and mellow selection of roots and dub classics alongside an equally nice write up.
This marks No 43 in the illustrious Blogariddims mix series, helmed by Droid and co. at weareie.com. If you’d like details on past podcasts, check out the site for a round up of the first 40 that Droid has conveniently summed up. Suffice to say its been a constant source of new music and ideas to me. The breadth of this project never ceases to amaze me.
So, without further ado here is Sir Loris Cawthorne to introduce you to his mix:
“As with the majority of music hobbits who lurk on the net, I don’t really dj on a professional level, instead I’ve got into the incredibly bad habit of amassing more records than I know what to do with and not really taking the ‘playing gigs’ part of the job very seriously. Despite all that it is still a huge amount of fun putting collages together from time to time and seeing what a hidden audience make of them.”
“The weekend before I assembled this mix I’d set my decks back up and dug out all my old reggae to listen to. After a few hours of non-stop listening I’d managed to put aside a worthy pile of favourites that I would later include in a blogariddims mix. Thanks again for inviting me to be a part of it.”
“The overall theme of the mix was to use a collection of tracks that had some meaning to me. Music I enjoyed and understood. I’m not a devout reggae head but some of what I have picked up over the years I still get huge satisfaction from. This mix centres around dub for the most part but does include some roots and lovers rock in places, albeit quite sparingly.”
Tracklist
1. Techniques - Born To Love
2. Love Joys – Jah Light
3. Grandpa Culture – Production Dub
4. The Travellers - South Africa
5. Ansel Collins – Portebello
6. Wackie’s All Stars – Take Time
7. Morwells Esquire – Never Gonna Give You Up
8. Barry Brown – Big Big Pollution
9. The Arabs Feat. Prince Far I – Long Life
10. Linval Thompson - Roll RiverJordan (version)
11. The Simeons – 16 Track Rock
12. Dennis Bovell – Scientific
13. Vivian Jackson – Tubbys Vengeance
14. Thompson Sound – Guide Me In Dub Style
15. Sugar Minott - International Herb
1. Techniques – Born To Love
- This was first the first dub record I remember buying so using ‘Born To Love’ as an introduction to the mix seemed quite fitting.
2. Love Joys - Jah Light
- Off their dazzling ‘Reggae Vibes’ LP on Top Ranking.
3. Grandpa Culture – Production Dub
- Sly & Robbie lay down one of their signature drum workouts for us here on the wondrous Production Dub. Unfortunately I can’t find very much info about this 7” other than it was a High Note release without a catalogue number.
4. The Travellers – South Africa
- Errol Nelson’s angelic voice is what really runs things on this track. Soul music on another level, you can play this virtually anywhere and it’ll always get a good response.
5. Ansel Collins – Portebello
- With that dreamy, seductive melodica running through it. Straight up bad tunes – make no mistake.
6. Wackie’s All Stars - Take Time
- Unruly pops and horns peppered over the mix. Complete musicality in these tracks, both of them as infectious each other.
7. Morwells Esquire - Never Gonna Give You Up
- Highlighting the more traditional side of what reggae artists were doing around that time.
8. Barry Brown - Big Big Pollution
- Light hearted reggae that does what it says on the tin!
9. The Arabs Feat. Prince Far I - Long Life
- Drums literally falling over themselves, strings that sound like they’re being plucked from nowhere, and this vibe to it almost like it’ll go on forever.
10. Linval Thompson - Roll RiverJordan (version)
- You only hear the odd glimpse of Thompson’s unmistakable voice in this tune, but that’s all you need, it’s the bassline and depth that really make this work. Deceptively laid back in style, this is relentless, purposeful dub at its best.
11. The Simeons - 16 Track Rock
- The Simeons hail from the UK and only ever made one record. I managed to find this in Oxfam on Kentish Town Road a few years ago. Drawn to the cover with a magical Rasta bus on the front, it was pretty obvious this record would have at least a couple of outstanding cuts on it when I picked it up. Well worth purchasing if you ever spot it anywhere.
12. Dennis Bovell – Scientific
- I felt compelled to include this because of the crazy intro. The vocals are pretty nifty too – if a little cheesy.
13. Vivian Jackson – Tubbys Vengeance
- Expertly produced and as deep as it gets. Check the arrangements on this one.
14. Thompson Sound - Guide Me In Dub Style
- I tried not to double up on the same artist whilst putting this episode together, but felt the ending was lacking something so I bit my tongue and pulled this out of its sleeve.
15. Sugar Minott - International Herb
- Spooky roots reggae at its best this.The original version features on his Jamming In The Street LP but was later reissued by Wackie’s on 10”. A slightly different cut I think, though you can never be sure. Personally I’d buy them both…
