Dub In Fusion

The debut album from this Brooklyn-based dub and downtempo collective helped define the architecture of a sound that would come to be uniquely identified with the Brooklyn scene: a dark, slow, and almost mystical fusion of dub reggae rhythms, Middle Eastern textures, and sophisticated jungle elements, all of it leavened with a sometimes explicit religiosity that teeters between Islam and Rastafarianism. The approprately titled Dub in Fusion blends all of those different styles and elements quite nicely, though not always completely successfully. "Ancient of Days" takes the ethereal and wordless vocals of Divaship and weaves them through a rich mix of hip-hop beats, North African stringed instrument samples, and treated electric bass and guitar; "South Side" features the Brooklyn Jungle Sound System, which appears to be primarily a vehicle for the dubwise junglisms of Dr. Israel. "The Conqueror and the Mute Sea" is a nice piece of dark exotica that would have been much better if Dr. Israel had contributed more than grunts and yelps. The album's only real misstep comes with a contribution from former Last Poet Umar bin Hassan, whose "Trust" consists of six minutes of clichés delivered in his typically overwrought and arrhythmic rapping style. Highly recommended overall.