Deadly digital scorchers on new Maffi EP

Danish production duo Maffi is back with a fresh six track EP on innovative German label Jahtari. The set collects original 80s sounding riddims recorded with vintage equipment.

Killah Tape hosts two dub versions and four vocal cuts from French Colonel Maxwell and Junior Roy along with pioneering tongue twisters Peter King and Asher Senator, both from the UK.

All cuts are gritty, stone cold killers and the blazing performances and high voltage riddims won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Available on vinyl and digital download.

Jahtari celebrates ten years with chilling compilation

Ten years have passed since German label Jahtari opened their doors and to celebrate this disrupt and Rooth have cooked up a highly addictive – yet eerie – fourth instalment in the Jahtarian Dubbers series.

Delay and reverb experts from five continents have come together for this 12 track set that blends psychedelic dubstrumentals with swinging vocals by the likes of Jah Screechy, El Fata, Pupajim and Cho Cho, who sounds a bit like France’s Marina P or UK’s Hollie Cook.

Unique is a tired expression, but I’d still like to use it when describing the sounds coming from the Jahtari camp. This is certainly digital reggae rooted in the 80s, but it sounds like nothing else. It’s like Kraftwerk has teamed up with King Jammy recording an album using a Commodore 64 in an abandoned warehouse outside Berlin.

Disrupt’s Chrono Trigger is similar to ska, but at the same time it has a completely different vibe. It’s a reggae-flavoured soundtrack to an 80s video game complete with an abyss deep bass line. And Pupajim’s Nobody Can Stop We (Dub At The Pub Dubplate) sounds like an Atari-version of the mighty Cuss Cuss riddim.

This album is something else, so if you are curious about the different side reggae you need to check it, but – as stated in the press release – be aware, the set might have your Walkman batteries run empty in no time.

Mixtape galore

Recently got home from a one week holiday without Internet access. When at home and in front of the computer I immediately found four excellent and diverse mixtapes from Jahtari out of Germany, DKR and Double Tiger from NYC and Million Vibes from Sweden. Check them below.

Million Vibes – Eternal Fire
No less than 49 tracks and more than one hour of blazing reggae music including some of the finest contemporary cuts from 2014.

DKR – Digital Dollars 3: In the Racks
U.S. label and distributor DKR has unleashed an 80 minutes mix of wicked 80s digital dancehall. The selection is strictly from albums and no singles have been included.

Double Tiger – Dubcast Vol. 3
Double Tiger is the producer behind the bass heavy duo Tour de Force. For this foundation mix Double Tiger has hand-picked the artists, songs and sounds that have influenced him and Tour de Force’s music. Included are dubplates and tunes from the vaults.

Disrupt – Clash DJ mix
Disrupt – one half of the Jahtari crew – has put together a mix for Clash magazine. It features 17 productions from the Jahtari camp and it’s the usual deep and comupterized reggae sounds. Listen and download via the Clash website.

Marina P’s sadly overlooked debut album

In November last year Italian singer Marina P’s debut album My Homeys reached the streets. Unfortunately it received little or no attention at all, despite a number of acclaimed producers being involved, for example Jahtari, Mungo’s Hi-Fi and Stand High Patrol.

Marina P was born in Italy, but has moved to Paris, France, where she currently resides. She made a name for herself in 2007 when she voiced the mighty ska banger Divorce à L’ialienne for Mungo’s Hi-Fi.

My Homeys doesn’t include any ska flavours, instead it boasts a number of other bass heavy genres, including dub, dubstep, dancehall and of course reggae. All seasoned with soul and digital effects.

This forward-thinking set shows Marina P balancing singing with singjaying and she has a confident, seductive and nasal tone, demonstrated in fine style on a version of Marlena Shaw’s Woman of the Ghetto, on album opener Free Me and on the infectious Soulless, which has its riddim laid down by Sly & Robbie.

Fans of well-produced, bass boosted and progressive reggae should definitely check out My Homeys.

Digital madness on Naram’s debut album

The newest addition to Germany’s Jahtari label is New Zealand based producer Naram. March of the Gremlins is his debut album and it’s a showcase set featuring veteran singers and deejays like Peter King, Asher Senator, Jah Screechy and Sammy Gold.

The riddims are gritty, haunting and in the minor part of minor key. They are obviously designed to create madness on the dance floor and mash down the walls of Babylon.

The first Naram produced riddim that reached the Jahtari label was March of the Gremlins. It was initially created on a battered iPod while he was on a bicycle trip across the Middle East. They were obviously impressed by what they heard and I’m not surprised. The riddims that Naram have crafted on March of the Gremlins are rock-hard and better suited for a turntable than an iPod.

March of the Gremlins is in the same style and fashion as the usual Jahtari output – futuristic, yet vintage, digital and dubby 80s reggae. Fans will not be disappointed.

Odd and peculiar from Disrupt

German producer and mixing engineer Disrupt – one of half Jahtari – recently dropped a brand new mini-LP. It carries nine cuts, and the longest is only 2.30 minutes.

Jahtari has built their brand around two main cornerstones – reggae, or maybe dub, and technology, or maybe more appropriate, vintage technology and video games.

Dub Matrix With Stereo Sound blends these attributes well, and Disrupt has for this release used a Gameboy as his sound-killing device. Each of the nine cuts are built on a Gameboy before being dubbed out of its mind with a Korg Monotron and then mixed to cassette.

It may sound like a joke. But it’s not. Dub Matrix With Stereo is a weird experience and definitely for real. The sounds are distorted, dark and carry a vintage electronic feel. Best of the bunch is probably Pueblo Riddim, a cut that has an odd and weird swing to it.

It could definitely work as the soundtrack to a hipster version of new Super Mario Bros video game.

Digital niceness from Riddim Tuffa and El Fata

Edinburgh based duo Riddim Tuffa has teamed up with sweet voiced singer El Fata for their first one artist EP, appropriately titled just Dancehall Style.

The six tracks – four vocals and two dubs – bear Riddim Tuffa’s trademarked mid 80s Casio sound. It’s a mix of analogue equipment and contemporary recording techniques and sounds much like what Jahtari and Mungo’s Hi-Fi are doing – bass blasting riddims certified to give the speakers a run for the money.

The set features a new take on Riddim Tuffa’s Inspector Gadget riddim, maybe best known for King General’s Digikal, as well as a version of Jah Tubby’s Pure Worries riddim.

Dancehall Style is charged with old school dancehall niceness and ground shaking dub mixes flavored with reverb and delay.

Available now on 12” and digital download.

Thunderous and atmospheric from Jahtari and Tikiman

One of the latest releases on German label Jahtari is a 12” from legendary Berlin-based mic chanter Paul St. Hilaire, aka Tikiman, who has previously worked with Rhythm & Sound.

Nah Ina It EP features four tracks where Jahtari Riddim Force, aka Rootah and Disrupt, have tweaked the bass beyond and below what could be considered as healthy. It opens with the title track. A cavernously deep six minute discomix where Tikiman chants against Raggamuffin Alex over a riddim reminiscent of the mighty Drum Song riddim.

The flip carries three cuts, of which Who Goes There is the real standout. Here Paul St. Hilaire flexes his fast chatting skills over a riddim that owes a bit to King Tubby’s legendary Tempo riddim.

Nah Ina It is vintage, yet futuristic, rub-a-dub with a distinctive and dubwise atmosphere.

An epic compilation from the Jahtari camp

One of the most interesting European labels today is Leipzig based Jahtari lead by Rootah and Disrupt, two dub heads that started in the techno scene, but nowadays produce forward-thinking reggae rooted in 70’s dub and the late 80’s digital dancehall craze.

Even though they are rooted in techno their sound also owes much to electro, hip-hop and 80’s computer game soundtracks.

On the label’s third installment of the compilation series Jahtarian Dubbers they have fine-tuned the echo machines and set the bass implant beyond the health limit.

The eleven tracks blends ultra-heavy dub instrumentals with skanking vocal cuts from Mikey Murka, Ranking Levy, Lee Perry, Jim Nastic, El Fata and the very versatile Soom T. The dub cuts stand on their own and are produced by John Frum, Monkey Marc, Jahtari Riddim Force, Disrupt and Rootah.

I dare to say that ten of these outings are pure gold. The only cut a little below par is the Dub Syndicate/Adrian Sherwood classic Secret Laboratory voiced by Lee Perry, because of the man’s spoken singing style, which I’ve never been fond of.

The rest of the compilation is epic. It’s organic, energetic, electronic, original and addictive. And a must for anyone interested in just how great reggae is, has been and always will be.

The unique sound of Jahtari

German reggae and dub label Jahtari has a special approach to reggae music. It might have to do with the founder’s background in techno music or their many hours in front of classic 80’s video games.

I’ve interviewed Disrupt – one half of the label – about his influences, the importance of technology and his all-time favorite video game. This interview is one of the most interesting I’ve done. Check it over at United Reggae.