textura

Albums
Jessica Bailiff
Basic Soul Unit
Christoph Berg
Billow Observatory
Bitcrush
Michael Blake
bvdub
Celer
Cello+Laptop
Sylvain Chauveau
The Colossal Ithaca Trio
Displacer
Kyle Bobby Dunn
Filterwolf
Ghost and Tape
Gunshae
Hideyuki Hashimoto
Szymon Kaliski
Fritz Kalkbrenner
Listening Mirror
The Peggy Lee Band
Yuri Lugovskoy
Missy Mazzoli
Melodium
Nebulo
Nite Lite
Frédéric Nogray
Offthesky & MWST
Pill-oh
Positive Flow
Le Réveil Des Tropiques
Scott Sherk
Andy Stott
Talvihorros
Robert Scott Thompson
To Destroy A City

Compilations / Mixes
Catz 'n Dogz
Cold Blue 2
Friendly Fires
Imaginational Anthem 5

Reissue
Jethro Tull

EPs / Singles
Aqua Marine
Jah Warrior
Landing
Manual
Ruffhouse
Chris Weeks
Xoki & Hieronymus

Jah Warrior: African King / African King Dub
Zam Zam

Xoki & Hieronymus: Deep Recall / Journey Home Dub
Zam Zam

What we've got here are two new limited-edition seven-inch singles from the Portland-based dub label Zam Zam (500 copies each and presented in hand-screen printed and stamped sleeves), with this time UK roots and dub-reggae producer Jah Warrior (Steve Mosco, also responsible for creating Jah Warrior Records in 1995) and Danish dub-tech label Kyoto Sound founders Xoki (Theodor Zox) & Hieronymus (Jakob Ivarsson) doing the honours.

Even though Mosco experienced a reintroduction of sorts when Dub From The Heart, his first-ever Jah Warrior seven-inch from 1996 was reissued on Honest Jon's Dug-Out label, the UK producer has been consistently active since he began producing tracks in the mid-‘90s, with most of his albums and singles appearing on Jah Warrior Records. On this Zam Zam outing (mixed by Russ Disciple), the A-side's “African King” is a high-energy dreadstepper as fine as they come, with a deliciously spiky guitar riff nicely doubled by the bass pulse and complemented by off-beat piano accents and a reverb-drenched drum track. Even punchier, the flip's swinging dub version batters its breathlessly pumping 4/4 groove with a series of sharp percussive stabs and trippy delay effects. Turn it up and let the music's royal storm fill the room.

Deep Recall, the first seven-inch vinyl release from Xoki & Hieronymus, is a little less manic than Jah Warrior's outing though every bit as satisfying. The title cut oozes aromatic skank in its laid-back flow and rootsy bass lines, and courts a spacy, even woozy vibe in its incorporation of synthesizer squiggles; the groove slithers like it hasn't got a care in the world, content to let itself be coated with heady atmospherics. As laid-back is the B-side's “Journey Home Dub,” which strips things down a tad to give the pulsating bass line a bit more breathing room while also not scrimping on the goblinesque synth flourishes. The only downside to Zam Zam's fabulous singles? They're over too soon!

December 2012