Llwybr Llaethog--Only a Northern Dub--Hip-Dub Reggae-Hop 1985-2000

Admittedly, it may seem that I flit from one thing to the next on this blog and in my musical tastes. I read about a new band or artist or scene and I check it out. But you could also maintain that I show some loyalty to the things that I like. When I find good music, I try to find out if there is more gold in the area. So once I found out about groups like Catatonia, Gorkys Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals, and 60 Foot Dolls, I tried to see what else was there. Some people do not like to hear music or watch movies in other languages, but for me there is something fantastic sounding about the Welsh language. My persistence led me to place like Finders Keepers Records, and their Welsh Rare Beat folk music compilations. And of course to Ankst Records, who must be one of leading lights in the Welsh language music revival. Their label is pretty eclectic one, running the gamut from Welsh hip-hop, to Punk, to hooky pop music. They have a couple terrific label compilations Radio Crymi Playlist 1 & 2, that are reasonably priced. And early in this blogs lifespan I did a spot on MC Mabon's tremendous Search for Meaning album. Check out the Ankst website.

Turn on the beat box, and do us all a favor!
Ankstmusik

And of course, browsing the Ankstmusik site led me to Llwybr Llaethog (Milky Way), who mix together a potently brainy blend of punk, hip-hop, politics, reggae, and super dub. Hip-Dub Reggae-Hop 1985-2000 is a collection of music they produced over the same 15 year period. When I read the description of what kind of music this was, I had to have a go at it. I have to say that I like this stuff; while predominantly dubby sounding (the instrumental side of things is obviously more noticeable to a  non speaker) with vocals drifting in and out as you expect with this style of music, there are punky or funky guitar fills in places and even African type sounds incorporated. They mix the beats up quite well at times like hip-hop and in other instances more industrial, and the arrangements are always interesting. For instance, one of my favorite songs here is Be?, which mixes African riffs, reminding me a little of the great Francis Bebey and horn lines. This album would be an excellent disc for driving along to. All in all they is a crazy genius in what these guys do. When you start listening to the first few tracks, you may not be that impressed, but there is a chronology here and it just keeps getting better. If you are a fan of the Clash's Sandinista, or The Fall, or Foetus, you will appreciate what these guys are doing.



I'm listening to Ty Haf Jac and I'm starting to think that these guys are an evil Welsh version of the Pet Shop Boys (at least part of the time), and I mean that as a compliment. Part of being anarchists, satirists and social critics would require you to be able to infiltrate the mainstream, rip it apart and take the piss out of it, in the same way jazz or calypso did in the early years. John Griffiths and Kevs Ford, the founding members of the group expressed the sentiments a lot of people at the time who were not on the bandwagon with the Margaret Thatcher and the new politics of the day, who felt increasing isolated and alienated. If you are like me, you will appreciate hearing music that is not pandering. These guys do what they do, let the beats fly, not worried about market share or popularity.



I look through the liner notes, and I can see the brilliance in what they do. Da! contains a Welsh version of Hamlet's to be or not soliloquy. Mera Desh is a later piece where they sing in Scots Gaelic and Hindi. Tour De France is a Gallicy sounding trash talking rap with thick rusty sounding guitar licks. One of the catchiest songs here is Rhywbeth Bach Yn Poeni Pawb (There's Always Someone Bothering Someone), which is an anti-Thatcher tune. Rhyfel is a diatribe against the original Gulf War of the 90's, and Gimi Gimi is about the senselessness of the Malvinas War, featuring the vocals of David R Edwards of Datblygu. Popeth Ar Y Record Ma Wedi Cael El Ddwyn (Everything on this record has been nicked) is basically a mosh up of 20 years of Welsh Pop music.

So basically these guys are pretty amazing musicians, fighting the good fight with intelligence and integrity. I hadn't listened to this in a while, and one of the nice thing about writing is that it brings me back to some of these great albums, though so far we are only at the tip of the iceberg. But for all of you people who consider yourselves sonic adventurers--check out Llwybr Llaetog and the Ankst website--see what you've been missing!

Salmonella Dub--Killervision--Ambient Psychedelic Reggae Synth Dub from New Zealand

This is a band whose name intrigued me, which is not really a good reason to go and purchase music. But they seemed to be held in some esteem in New Zealand so I took a shot. Developed a deep appreciation for this from the very beginning. Haven't listened to this much lately--but it is a well done record, sort of like a very eccentric version of the UK reggae band UB40, but with much more instrumental diversity and more interesting percussion.

I really like the loping reggae of the second song on the album For The Love Of It. The first song Dragon is pretty good, with a lot of tempo changes, but the second song is the first one that stands out for me. Dubby, a little psychedelic, with jazz interludes, Drifting is a good chill out of a song. What I found about this record is that for a type of music that can at times be repetitive, they do a good job of switching things up during songs, or at least introducing different instruments, so the songs stay interesting--like a good detective novel, you aren't always sure where things are going, and you look forward to seeing what they are going to do next. Ambience is also an important aspect of this record--I think that they must be sampling a lot of diverse sounds and putting them in the mix but I can only really hear how the whole mix comes together.

Crazy 80's is another dubby exercise, as you might expect of a band with the word dub in their name, and is a mostly trippy track with a driving synth bassline. Peyote Dub is another druggy vision quest of a track with effective use of flute. Deep into the song chanting voices come drifting in like a breeze wafting through the song. The record really is one of those where the sound makes my ears tingle. And like Wilco does with their music, I could see them taking a basic reggae song, demoing it, and then ripping it all apart, slicing and dicing, until you have a very different song. But underneath all the sonic experimentation and improvising, there is a really good song. No Worries 2000 sounds like London Calling meets Two Sevens Clash, apocalypse and steel drums. Savage is very nice, with kind of a funkier New Order vibe. Justice is a tense corker with snapshot percussion and funereal horns weaving in and out. The song Johnny sounds to me like a 2.0 update of Bob Marley's Johnny Was, but probably is so only in my own imagination.

Overall there is a spiritual feel to the whole album where you wonder whether the vocalists are chanting prayers or singing. A good album to relax to, to reflect a little--you don't have to be tripping or into crystals to enjoy this. It ends with Kaikoura Rim, an ambient tune which is basically the recording of waves crashing into the beach, which for this album seems to be an apt way to end the record. Definitely an interesting and creatively constructed record.