Articles
Spotlight 10
Ten Favourite Labels 2013

Albums
52 Commercial Road
Chantal Acda
David Åhlén
Daniel Bortz
Peter Broderick
Brass Mask
bvdub / bvdub & loscil
Colorlist
Dale Cooper Quartet
Cuushe
Jack Dangers
Deco
Deetron
DFRNT
Egbert
The Foreign Exchange
Nils Frahm
Bjarni Gunnarsson
Robert Haigh
Marihiko Hara & Polar M
John Heckle
Arve Henriksen
Joy Wellboy
Kaboom Karavan
KILN
Land of Kush
Jessy Lanza
Last Days
L.B. Dub Corp
Lights Dim with Gallery Six
Livity Sound
Moskitoo
MUfi.re
Oddisee
Om Unit
Ø [Phase]
Raudive
Matana Roberts
Sakamoto + Deupree
Secret Pyramid
Quentin Sirjacq
Sleeper
Sonicbrat
Special Request
Stratosphere & Serries
Thisquietarmy
Ricardo Tobar
Tom Trago

Compilations / Mixes
Foundland
In The Dark
Mathias Kaden

EPs / Cassettes / Singles
Anduin
Anile / Lm1 & Kharm
Cursa
Gerwin & Nuage ft. 2Shy
Hessien
Jon McMillion
Miaou

CD-Vinyl-DVD
Seaman and Tattered Sail

L.B. Dub Corp: Unknown Origin
Ostgut Ton

Don't be thrown by the moniker selected by Luke Slater for his L.B. Dub Corp debut album, as Unknown Origin isn't pure dub of the rootsy kind associated with genre originators like King Tubby and Lee Perry. The ten-track collection clearly does draw upon the past—dance music history, to be exact—but not in some lame retrograde manner; instead, Slater uses the past as an inspirational springboard for new explorations that build upon house and techno, and reference Africa as much as (if not more than) they do Jamaica. A case in point, the opening cut “Take a Ride” has more in common with house music than dub, even if the frazzled cut-ups of Benjamin Zephaniah's voice give the swinging cut a punchy, funked-up quality that suggests some connection to current UK music-making. In short, Unknown Origin is no mere exercise in nostalgia but an invigorated set brought to us by the ever-consistent Ostgut Ton.

It's a high-spirited set of celebratory and hard-grooving tracks that downplay melancholy and introspection. The disc isn't without its dub moments, as “L.B.'s Dub” shows in its raw groovesmithing, bass pulsations, and echo effects, but more often than not it ventures further. “Nearly Africa,” for instance, pushes boldly beyond its infectious Afrobeat pulse and jubilant chants until jazz and house both become part of the polystylistic mix. In another marvel of construction, Kraftwerk-styled synth phrases imbue the locomotive groove of “Ever and Forever” with a glossy sheen, while the piano motif accounts for the tune's house feel. In addition, glistening organ chords sweep across the swirling vistas of “No Trouble in Paradise,” while Function climbs aboard at disc's end to help Slater administer the lazer-focused techno of “Roller,” almost as if to remind the listener that Unknown Origin is, let's not forget, an Ostgut Ton release.

November 2013