Did you hear the one about the writer, the rapper and the producer? Sounds like the start of a old joke, the sort of thing that Ronnie Corbett would do between the good bits on the Two Ronnie’s (well, maybe not the rapper bit), to waste a bit of time, on a set that looked like a cross between (gulp) Jim’ll Fix It (collective shudder) and Mastermind. Anyway, lets move on….
To break it down a bit Dubwiser Dancehall are in fact, or at least their new ep features Dubwiser the Oxford based dub/reggae band, that principally features Jonas Torrance and Spider J. It’s a spin-off from Dubwiser, who have worked extensively with the great and the good of roots music, including Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Madness, Radiohead and Ride (ok, maybe the last two were because they’re fellow Oxford bands).
Spider J is one of the constants in British roots music for the last twenty years. He’s written and produced with Kano and Estelle, and was involved in the first ever Jungle number one, Original Nutter by UK Apache. Before that though, Spider earned his stripes as a musician in Madness and Bad Manners, before fronting his own ska band Potato 5, singing on early Aswad recordings, and then Acid Jazz band Night Trains. Since then he’s well known on the roots scene as a selector/keyboard player for Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, and has also worked with Mad Professor and Horace Andy.
Lead track Eye-Popper features these talents in a laid-back sort of roots, almost dancefloor, over this sort of Massive Attack meets Hip-Hop beats, with Spider J firmly in command at the helm. Also on the forthcoming ep is Pedantic. This features Scrutineer, the former execution squadd member, and support slot filler for acts like Ludacris and Mobb Deep. Elosewhere on the ep, titled ep, is new NYC producer EB, and former scientists of sound members A Guevara and Big BAM, under the alias of Burnt Brasse.
It might not be funny, but it is good. Very good.
