Artist: Aswad Album: A New Chapter of Dub

Year: 1982
Duration: 0:0-1

Aswad's A New Chapter of Dub: A of a Dub Classic

Aswad is one of the most iconic reggae bands of all time. The band formed in the mid-1970s in London, England, and began playing roots reggae in the UK's burgeoning punk and reggae scene. In 1982, Aswad released their first dub album, A New Chapter of Dub, a masterpiece of the genre. This album took the Jamaican dub sound and mixed it with the UK's punk and new wave influences, creating a unique and innovative sound. In this blogpost, we'll delve into the history of Aswad, the dub genre of the album, the best tracks from A New Chapter of Dub, and a critic of the album.
Aswad is a British reggae band formed in the late 1970s. First introduced to each other in the Brixton district of London, the original four members of Aswad were Brinsley Dan Forde (vocals and guitar), Angus Drummie Zeb Gaye (vocals and drums), George Oban (bass), and Tony Gad Robinson (keyboards and vocals). The band's name is derived from the Arabic word for black. Aswad's debut album Aswad, was released in 1976, and the band quickly became known for their classic reggae sounds with deep political undertones. Their music was infused with elements of jazz, funk, and soul, and drew inspiration from the Jamaican sound system culture in London.
Aswad's A New Chapter of Dub is the band's first pure dub release. Dub is a sub-genre of reggae that emphasizes instrumental tracks with heavy bass and drum rhythms. Dub typically emphasizes the drums and bass, using reverb, echoes, and other effects to turn these instruments into the centerpiece of the sound. A New Chapter of Dub shows off Aswad's prowess in creating dub, with sophisticated drum patterns, deep basslines, and guitar riffs saturated with echo and delay. The album also showcases the band's mastery of dub mixing techniques, with frequent use of filter sweeps, tape loops, and delay effects to create a trippy and psychedelic soundscape.
The standout tracks from A New Chapter of Dub lean towards the longer, more instrumental tracks, with particular attention to the improvement of the rhythm section. The most innovative track has to be Love Fire Dub, a nine-minute odyssey that begins with the vocal line I'm a soul survivor, a revelator, and a Dub Creator before plunging into an exploratory, psychedelic dub with echoing horns and guitar riffs. Other highlights included Tuff We Tuff Dub, with its heavy drum and bass lines, and Rastaman Dub, with a booming bassline that dominates the mix.
One critical concern some people have with A New Chapter of Dub is that the album has some weak points. The vocals on some of the tracks dip and are lost in the already-heavy reggae instrumentation. In comparison to what the band had previously accomplished, some of the tracks can lack complexity, and the production can be overzealous and dense, with little letting up or space.
Aswad's A New Chapter of Dub is an innovative and vital dub album, representing a high point for the genre and Aswad as a band. The album's integration of the band's London punk and new wave influences with the Jamaican dub soundplaces it firmly in the cannon of British dub music. In hindsight, Aswad's influence on the sound system culture's adoption in the UK is one of the band's many important contributions to reggae music. While A New Chapter of Dub has some faults, it still stands as one of the highest-quality dub albums ever produced. It's worth the time and attention of any dub or reggae fan to experience this album in all its bassy, echoey glory.