Systemwide - Low Orbit / Liberation

  • Share
  • Dub broke down traditional song form, smashing music like a tile and rearranging the pieces into abstract mosaics. It was geared for the dance, but it was also inherently experimental, even at its most accessible. BSI Records homed in on dub's exploratory and electronic tendencies in the late '90s and early '00s, releasing records from originals like King Jammy and outsiders such as Muslimgauze. A 2015 reissue on No Corner brought one of the label's core acts, Systemwide, to the attention of a new audience. They've now released their first new material in 16 years on ZamZam Sounds, an incredibly consistent label lacing classic dub with tints of dubstep, digi and evocative sound design. Alter Echo's mix of "Low Orbit" could be fire in a 140 BPM context, but its sound world is more vivid and organic than straight-up dubstep. A ratcheting güiro sounds like it's being played in a steamy swamp of drooping test tones, wraith-like toasting and nameless samples, which are stirred in a soup of spring reverb and delay. Despite the density of the effects, the drums and bassline are dry and driving. It has the energy of a live mix-down, yet much of it sounds too precise to be dubbed in a single take. Dubkasm's mix of "Liberation" is more traditional but it has a stately majesty. The atmosphere surrounding the stepping rhythm and Ras Addis's incantations has the depth and complexity of an avant-garde drone piece, all sighing feedback and dripping droplets of synth. The mix is like a room where the walls shift, rearranging the space into new shapes. You might consider dub to be music from the past, but this 7-inch makes a lot of modern dance music sound behind the times.
  • Tracklist
      A Low Orbit (Alter Echo Mix) B Liberation (Dubkasm Mix)
RA