Jah Shaka Meets Mad Professor At Ariwa Sounds

An earthshaking collaboration between two giants of the U.K. reggae scene, Jah Shaka Meets Mad Professor at Ariwa Sound is required listening for those curious about the ways that dub evolved once it was displaced from its Jamaican roots. Though this 1985 album isn't the first collaboration between Jah Shaka and Mad Professor (that would be 1982’s Commandments of Dub Volume One), it's perhaps the quintessential British dub album. Where Commandments of Dub Volume One featured Shaka-produced tracks mixed by Mad Professor, At Ariwa Sound is sequenced more like a traditional soundclash; half the tracks are produced and mixed by Jah Shaka, the other half by Mad Professor. Mad Professor’s selections are spacier and more disorienting. Startling sound effects and abrasive, metallic reverb punctuate Professor-produced tracks like “Creation Dub” and “Claps Like Thunder.” The Jah Shaka productions are sparer but possess a skeletal intensity that makes them every bit the equal of Mad Professor’s busier offerings.