Sumac Dub is a project of Tom Dorne from Grenoble, France I stumbled upon already a few times while digging the French Electro Dub, Future Dub, Steppa and Modern Reggae releases. Promoted by the very interesting and active ODG Productions (On Dub Ground Prod.), Subsquad Prod who release a.o. an excellent City/Area themed compilation series not to forget the brilliant Mareé Bass label which also dives into bass music / drum and bass or many smaller ones or self-released Productions (thanks to the interwebs). Besides his collaborations which are common allover this scene with Ishiban, Full Dub, Kandee, Kanka and The Maucals to name just a few. He released already three full length albums and at least 4 EP’s since 2015. Very melodic stuff and a pleasure to discover. Also on soundcloud and youtube to find easily.
This is his latest single – live recorded while paragliding – Enjoy.
Video credits:
Artist: Sumac Dub
Venue: Lans En Vercors
Produced by: Yapouss Production and ODGPROD
Realization: Traym Production
Cameramen: Panot Prod, Arya Audiovisuel, Théo De Framond (Pastek Studio), Guilhem Sauvage, Gabriel Boulay.
Drone pilots: Théo De Framond (Pastek Studio)
Pilots: Etienne Lavarenne, Mélanie Forestier, Pierre Augier
Production team: Killian Hallier, Etienne Lavarenne, Tom Dorne
Bénévoles: Adrien, Antonin, Corto, Dean, Dorian, Emelieke, Louis
Partners: Alto, Arturia, Lans en Vercors
Mastering: Olo
Special thanks to Camille, Paul, Simon, Xris, La Tangente, Vercors Experience
While Bruce Licher’s Independent Project Records jumped back into live during the last years with impressive actions involving all social media channels and publishing new material in famously handcrafted and printed designs the 2nd incarnation of Savage Republic which started back in 2002 after regrouping to promote the Complete Studio Box Set Reissue of the Albums and Singles up to Customs seems to be fizzling out now.. a mere 20 years and and another 4 Studio Albums later.
A new live album is annocunced via Gustaff Records from Poland recorded during their last European tour which ended as recent as of this January while a recording of the first incarnation as Africa Corps was already issued via IPR in late 2022.
Alongside this video of the title track from their most recent album Thom Fuhrmann announced that he quit in early August.
This leaves Ethan Port of Mobilization and F-SPACE as the longest serving member (since 1985) together with Kerry Downling and Alan Waddington most likely in an unfortunate position as Thom F. had taken over most lead vocals and guitars during the last years.
We’ll see if there will be more to come or not. Any incarnation of the band had a good run and an impressing output over the years so for now: thanks a lot guys.
Thanks for all the hints, inspiration, quotes, music and points of view to Mark Stewart who sadly passed away. Many words have been written about The Pop Group, The Maffia and his collaborative works with others. His influence can hardly be understated from Bristol to the rest of the world. From Nick Cave to Gary Clail, Massive Attack to Nun Gun, Adrian Sherwood to Daniel Miller. He never stopped exploring, experiencing and questioning the status quo.
Find some of his musical legacy via Mute, On-U Sound or via Mark Stewarts own page and associates.
“Sometimes it seems Human progression is a myth. We move forward only to be dragged back by the stupidity of individuals who infect with misinformation & false promise. Their numbers seem to grow & So…..
Dark Days are Here Again.”
Leer.
Released September 6, 2019 / Synthesizers, Sampler & percussion / Thomas Leer.
The third installment of the Solanaceae Tau Reissue series is “Epical Obscura“, originally published in July 2000 and heavily influenced by ecological activist Julia Butterfly who saved a giant and ancient redwood tree and surrounding forest in California by living on it as long as it took to get an eternal contract that it will be saved. Three of the tracks use lyrics by her and the all other lyrics are critical observing the state of the world by then too. One of the album tracks reminds me a lot of Algebra Suicide in a positive way;
Nihilistick Noise Archive aims to present the legacy of Solanaceae Tau as best as possible furthermore each album reissue is accompanied by a free single, in this case The Circle c/w Announcement Of Darkness. Get it here.
The original cover art can be seen archived on discogs, slightly altered but still blatantly taken from the innersleeve of an Grateful Dead record to underline the strength and unitiy of alternative culture but due to the re-working of the album it seemed approbiate to update and re-design this too.
As with the preceeding reissues (2007’s Novus Ordo Seclurum and 2003’s Voices From The Ground Behind) the tracks where professionally remastered by Maurizio Pustianaz of Noisebrigade honoring the late Axaxas aka Fenryr aka Andreas Kirchner.
I’ve been in contact with him again as I had the idea to publish some of this projects works on Klappstuhl because they where badly underrepresent anywhere online which was a shame… S.T. never managed to fit into one style be it experimental, electronic darkwave, industrial, neo folkish or cybergoth or whatever and had most likely because of this and limited distribution only a selected followship.
[click to listen]
Landscape pic by Dominik Scythe.
Skull pic by Max Kleinen, thanks to both.
Design & layout fd (full printable artwork included with dl).
Adi Newton, conceptualizing & envisioning Clock DVA since 1978.
2023 sees the first DVA all new album release since 1993’s ‘Sign’. The 2nd (electronic) incarnation of Clock DVA was then already faded out with only Adi Newton and Robert E. Baker left. Dean Dennis had at least participated still to ‘Man Amplified’ before starting his own project Sector in the fall of 1993. Adi Newton did publish the weakest TAGC album ‘Iso Erotic Calibrations’ in 1994 and also the excellent ‘Burning Water’ Recordings dating back to 1987 and 1990 on Side Effekts and stayed as far as known in Italy with very few signs of musical activities besides 1996’s Psychophysicist collaboraton with Andrew McKenzie which had already been recorded in 1994.
A reissue deal with Mute was once rumoured about but nothing came of it so in general all proper DVA albums are still mostly out of print. I guess it is quite difficult to sort it out properly as there have been many group members through the years who contributed even when A. Newton always was the head and main writer.
Vinyl On Demand explored with various formats and boxes the earliest phase from roughly 1978 to 1980 with three different box-sets (4 if you like to count the double 7″ with the book) and which helped me to get my hands on some of the material I only ever heard of before.
But concerning new music the current line-up did not rush with releases.
Maurizio Martinucci (aka TeZ) Permanent DVA Member since 2010.
As is his do-it-all-alone style various sites and announcemnts popped up in the 2000’s but until 2013 when a compilation of unpublished Mid 90’s tracks appeared as “Post Sign” and in 2014 the first new tracks coupled with a multi media approach, remixes and video on an USB Stick in best possible audio quality plus two remixes on a limited 12″ through his Antererio Research Media Com. the Neoteric CD EP in 2016 was the next one with a Remix 12″ following in 2019 and also a Vinyl Reissue.
The Anti Group Project stayed pretty on the backburner besides a new Remaster available in 2013 of 1994’s Adi Newton solo effort, a few compilation tracks up to 2018 and very few live activity but is now fully active again with no less than 3 new works published and another expanded reissue of the singles Compilation. A playlist with TAGC & Clock DVA tracks older and more recent compiled by Adi Newton to promote his appearance as The Anti Group at Cinema Classico’s Overlook in Torino, Italy on the 1st of July 2017 is well worth a listen:
Adi Newton also collaborated with Jack Dangers (of MBM) as SŌON and published one excellent CD in 2019.
Various other projects have seen the light of the day, usually difficult to obtain, expensive or both. It got better since he teamed up with the Italian label / publishing company Rizosfera /NU KFM who handle the european ARM COM Releases for now.
Terry Hall from Coventry, U.K. started his musical adventures in a punk band before getting drawn in to the Coventry Automatics, The Special AKA and then known as The Specials. 2 Tone – the label founded by Jerry Dammers and the Ska Revival in the late 70’s with The Selecter, The Beat, Madness, The Bodysnatchers, Bad Manners is well documented and researched. The orginal Specials broke up in 1981 after years of permanent touring and many great Songs and Singles.
Terry, co-Singer Neville Staples and Lynval Golding had prepared their first Fun Boy Three Single ‘The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum’ already and jumpstarted a new career while the remaining Specials fragmented and faded out with a final LP ‘In The Studio’ appearing after endless Studio Sessions in 1984.
The Fun Boy Three released a bunch of incredible singles plus two great Albums, 1982 and 1983 before Terry called them quits. The surprised Neville and Lynval – on vacation then tried a new project Sunday Best with Pauline Black, from the equally dissolved Selecter which fell on dumb ears and faded after one single.
Terry had started The Colour Field (or Colourfield) heading more into melancholic British Pop with Toby Lyons and Karl Shale. Today best known for the pretty blatant but successful ‘Thinking Of You’ single still most songs showed Terry’s with and sharp observational skills. Surfaced now has this Radio Show, hosted by him in early 1985:
After various line-up changes The Colour Field faded out in obscurity after an weak second Album in 1987, recorded by Hall & Lyons with the aid of guest musicians and an over the top sterile production. This left Terry Hall to pursue a new project featuring Blair Booth and Anouchka Grose, ‘Ultra Modern Nursery Rhymes’ before teaming up with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics as Vegas for one Album.
1994 finally saw his first solo LP ‘Home’, produced by Ian Broudie with whom he kept regularly working during the 90’s, appearing as co-writer and Singer on many of Lighting Seeds releases. 1997 he released ‘Laugh’, arranged and partly co-written with Craig Gannon and 2003 a collaborative Album with Mushtaq from Fun-Da-Mental ‘The Hour Of Two Lights’ which showed less Terry Hall as we knew him than any other release before besides on “A Tale Of Woe”.
Drawn back to Ska/Dance/House Music he appeared as guest of Junkie XL, Lautrec, Tricky and on many occasions live and on record with The Dub Pistols with the brilliant ‘Problem Is’ for example.
Finally he seemed at ease with his past success and roots and slowly the possibility of a Specials Reunion became real. In 2009 all the Specials (minus Jerry Dammers) got on the road again for a 30th Anniversary Tour and surprisingly stayed together for the following years, also touring ‘More Specials’.
With the core of Terry, Lynval and Horace (Neville Staples had to quit due Health issues and John Bradbury died in 2015, Roddy Radiation got lost again on the way) The Specials MK III released the Studio Album ‘Encore’ in 2019 which stayed true to the original spirit of The Specials, not shying away from any current issues. This was followed in 2021 with a cover album ‘Protest Songs 1924-2012’, an all new album was in preparation but this was not meant to be.
Terry Hall leaves three sons, two with his former wife and one with his later one. He fought depressions and traumas and was one of the first Patrons and supporters of Tonic, aiming to help people in the music industry fighting against mental illness.
The world lost a brilliant wordsmith and a unique voice of his generation.
Incredible 23 years have passed without an regular Keith LeBlanc solo album now, hard to believe as he’s been all over the place all of the time but except some reissues on his / Blanc bandcamp lately there was hardly any solo activity besides 2008’s Chess Moves – Future Blues Project not many seemed to know what to make of as it was a strange hybrid of original recordings with added Instrumentation by Keith, Doug (Wimbish) and Skip (McDonald) – maybe best described as found on dc “Re-production and partial re-instrumentation of old blues tracks using the original tapes”. Then there where regrouping activities as Tack>>Head live and even culminating into the “For The Love Of Money” cover versions album in 2014 which didn’t exactly overmatch it’s expectations. I’m not even sure if the title was meant ironically.
Anyway; 12 Movements Of Boom does.
Of course it might be there where no expectations to see another KLB album which was really regrettable as his incredible mix of electro, hip hop, funk, jazz and whatever style comes to his mind held together by his rhythmic brilliance somehow managed to build up to amazing heights, especially on Time Traveller (Blanc Records 1992) and Stranger Than Fiction (Enigma / Nettwerk 1989) two albums I regularly return to. The selected cast of guest musicians old and new support this all-in vision.
His long time allies Doug & Skip ‘Little Axe’ and a shelved but not forgotten tape with recordings of vocals and poetry from the late Andy Fairley given to him in the 90’s build the solid core of Boom. He dives more into mellower jazz ambience and hip hop here than in the 1990’s without loosing himself and his trademark edgy beats. A very welcome highlight.
A week later, October 25th he released the companion album – Boom Instrumentals & Bonus Tracks.
More Blanc Records digital releases, rarities and reissues are online at bandcamp and further infos on keithLeblanc.com .
Summer is gone finally, so the Dub Producers from Rootz Zombie found time to release a new album via Culture Dub Records and their own bandcamp simultanously. This one is more in the vein of their 2018 first collaborative release “Sounds From The House”, again with wonderful artwork from Legras Fist, a blend of harmonies and grooves enriched with prominent vocalists Sammy Gold, Thomas Anton (from Travelerz), Mista B, Little R and Bobby Surround.
While the download is free you can support the artists and label directly through a pay what you want option @ bandcamp and find more music in both cases, of course it’s just a tip of an iceberg but a good starting point into the current french dub scene as it can be.
Roots Zombie from Bordeaux are a great example because they’re not to strict stylistic and explore Bass Music, Hip Hop, House whatever makes them fancy but thankfully not all at once which makes it a pleasure to listen to.
