Greensleeves Dubstep Chapter 1

The wobbly, dissonant, and defiantly unpredictable sound of dubstep has been deeply influenced by Jamaican soundsystem culture. In the early ‘90s there was a fruitful intermingling of the dancehall and electronic music scenes, and dancehall artists like Cutty Ranks, Ninjaman, and Bounty Killer regularly scored crossover hits on the burgeoning U.K. techno scene. With Dubstep Chapter One, the venerable reggae imprint Greensleeves tries to replicate this cross-cultural exchange by giving some of the moment’s most innovative dubstep producers free rein to remix dancehall classics of all eras, from vintage soundclash standards like Yellowman’s “Zungguzunguguzungguzeng” to more contemporary hits by the likes of Vybez Kartel and Gyptian. Coki and Mala of the London production team Digital Mystikz are responsible for four of the strongest tracks here, most notably Mala’s deeply sinister take on Sizzla’s “One Love,” which transforms Sizzla’s openhearted roots anthem into a claustrophobic bit of inner-city paranoia that’ll remind some listeners of the gloom-laden jungle anthems by the likes of Shut Up and Dance nearly two decades earlier.