SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT FLOODWATCH’S TWINLIGHTS DUB
I don’t normally assemble and sequence 80-minute mixes but Twinlights Dub was originally meant to be split into two halves of a 90-minute Maxell for my car, so I actually had to trim and truncate it a bit to get it down to somewhat manageable, if still bloated, proportions. Forgive the girth.
If it’s below freezing outside where you are at the moment, do yourself a favor and wait six months before you download this. Folks who listen to Jamaican music in the dead of winter are psychologically dysfunctional individuals and I fully acknowledge my prejudices toward them. You wouldn’t head out to a rave at 9:30 AM on a bright Tuesday morn, so don’t bother with this mix if you can see the vapor freezing as you exhale.
“Twinlights Dub” is decidedly not a Reggae 101 or Intro to Dub mix in any shape or form. At its core it’s just a sequence of cuts that were dictated more by tempo and mood than cultural significance and/or importance, though I couldn’t resist peppering in some reggae classics for variety (“Shine Eye Gal,” “Conquering Lion”).
Jackie Mittoo’s “Oboe” is the designated centerpiece of this mix because it’s simply one of the most infectiously delightful pieces of music ever created and should be heard on a perpetual loop in every international airport worldwide.
As I put the finishing touches on a mix there is always some obvious and curiously odd exclusion that occurs to me while I scan the tracklist. My “…the fuck?” moment here was when I realized that I absent-mindedly shied away from the immortal Lee “Scratch” Perry when determining the lineup (excepting The Upsetters’ “Elephant Dub” and The Congos, which sort-of half-count, I guess). Next time.
A final preparatory listen to Twinlights Dub revealed that I inexplicably back-loaded the mix, so if you’re lukewarm in the first quarter or so, keep listening: it only gets better.
Keep on dubbing, summerheads.
Download:
ZIP: Summer Jamz 2011: Floodwatch’s Twilights Dub Mix
01. Fence Dub :: The Revolutionaries
02. Children Children :: Toyan
03. Tribesman Rockers :: Joe Gibbs & The Professionals
04. African Challenge :: Zoot Simms
05. Extraordinary (Version) :: The Impact All-Stars
06. Nigger Dub :: Gregory Isaacs
07. The Conquest :: Prince Far I & The Arabs
08. Save Our Dub :: Glen Brown & King Tubby
09. Shine Eye Gal :: Black Uhuru
10. Shine Eye Gal (Version) :: Sly & Robbie
11. Dance of the Vampires :: Scientist
12. Sabotage in Dub :: The Impact All-Stars
13. Conquering Lion :: Vivian Jackson & The Ralph Brothers
14. Round 2 :: Prince Jammy
15. Black Talk :: I-Roy
16. Pain Land Dub :: Ossie Hibbert & The Revolutionaries
17. Oboe :: Jackie Mittoo
18. Elephant Rock :: Lee “Scratch” Perry & The Upsetters
19. The Dub Station :: Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators
20. Drum Dub :: Jah Shaka
21. Natty Dub :: King Tubby
22. Tribute to the Reggae King Dub :: Scientist
23. Back Biter :: Dennis Alcapone
24. Earth Dub :: Roots Radics
25. Music Dub :: Horace Andy
26. Collie :: Sly & The Revolutionaries
27. Declaration of Dub :: King Tubby
28. Dub Organizer :: Dillinger
29. The Grunswick Affair :: Dennis Bovell
30. World Dub: Away with the Bad :: Glen Brown & King Tubby
31. Open Up the Gate :: The Congos
