Backtracking Forward: Reggae In Your Jeggae

posted in: Features

Musical discs from the flick of my wrist to make you dance and twist as I would say! exclaimed music legend Dirty Harry in the seminal 1978 Jamaican film Rockers as he overtook a disco DJ in a club and replaced the music with sweet reggae melodies. Each month, “Backtracking Forward” will undergo its own musical takeover with Reggae in Your Jeggae”a new post that spotlights the crí¨me de la crí¨me of roots, reggae, rockers, dub and ska music found on OurStage.com. This month’s pick of the litter is a sticky mess of all these genres wrapped together with a distinct west coast persuasion. They call themselves Summit Dub Squad and whether they are eliciting sweat-soaked punky/ska grooves or spaced out ethereal dub rhythms, the music is guaranteed to strike a chord in any listener who can let their hair down and feel the love of Jah almighty in the music.

The genres that influence Summit Dub Squad’s music can be heard plastered all over their tracks, taking the listener on a ride where skanky dance floor rhythms are followed by shoe-gazing dubby expeditions. “Rude Boy Riot” is tickled with that 2-Tone, US-influenced zest of ska while “Bredren” is layered with some tasty scratches and beats from the likes of DJ SOE that help ease the vocals into a smooth hip-hop flow from vocalist B Dub. Throughout their tracks, and especially on the buoyant number “Sovereign Land”, a melodic and catchy horn section is frequently paired with quick and choppy reggae guitar licks that generate a consistent rhythm to satisfy the mind and soul.

What would a reggae-influenced band be without a heavy sampling of dubby blissfulness? One can easily find the answer here because Summit Dub Squad packs a punch with a generous helping of the genre heard on My Mountain Dub and Hypno Dub. The beauty of constructing dub music is there being no right or wrong formula for how it’s done. Similar to the lack of boundaries heard in free jazz music, dub can be very personal and unique as it comes from both the heart and the deep creative recesses of the brain. Although many of the band’s songs are tinged with hints of dubby flavor, these two fleshed out numbers allow the Squad to experiment with their own style to produce a hazy and smoky atmosphere.

Anyone can find a DJ to add some simple scratches and flashiness to their music but it takes a knowledgeable ear to catch a beat and have the band roll it out into a slick groove. The Showdown takes on a life of its own with the Hugo Montenegro sample from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The instrumentalists behind Summit Dub Squad run amok with this track, it building up a funky steam and dipping back into an extended dub mess with B Dub’s laid back vocals simmering throughout the song.

For the majority of listeners who are unable to catch a performance from Summit Dub Squad, the band offers up two live tracks to whet everyone’s aural appetites. Traveling to their neck of the woods? Keep abreast of their playing schedule from their Web site but until the band can venture away from their home base, enjoy a generous helping of the Squad’s output on their OurStage profile.

Keep Digging!
-Gregorious-