I heard a very promising preview of some tracks from this debut record a fair while ago. Being a big fan of the dub, dancehall and reggae sounds, it’s really gratifying to get the proper version and see for myself that the Secret Masters’ tapes are far from lost. The album represents a polished and coherent contribution to the world of dub music from this fine land.
This is a musical offering to check out if you’re a fan of dub, reggae, or even downbeat electronic sounds; for fans of artists such Atone, High Pass Filter and Massive Attack. I would also imagine that hip hop fans might find some joy in this album, given the affinities between dub and hip hop styles and the fact that many of the beats in this album have a hip hop influence. Secret Masters are Melbournians Pieter Bourke, a veteran of several projects including Soma and Snog, and Brian Westbook of Centriphugal and Donnie Dub. Sticking within a fairly rootsy dub framework, the artists integrate strong production skills with a 1970s sensibility to give a fuller and more digitised sound to dub. The vocalists who appear on the record are uniformly good, and many moments on the record are far more up-tempo and lively than people often expect from dub.
The record kicks off with ‘Prayer Call’: a spacey and atmospheric dub that sits at a rather lively tempo, and showcases the quality of the digital production on this album. ‘Cool Bwoy’ will have you nodding along involuntarily; with its steppy, hip-hoppy rhythms and Melbourne’s own Damajah on toasting duties. ‘Human Kind’ sticks with the dub-hip hop theme, but much more chilled out this time. It is followed by ‘Freedom Chant’, which again displays Damajah’s considerable skills, teaming him with a bassy-rumble steppa track that fans of the resurging dancehall movement will enjoy. This is one of the more danceable moments on the album.
‘One Phone Call’ drops back to atmospheric dub, a tune that fans of traditional dub sounds like Lee Perry, and more recent artists such as Atone and Mossman will enjoy. The vocals provided by Kylie Auldist on this tune is nicely done, but just a little bit conventional given the rest of the album’s sound. Things take a different turn next, with the tracks ‘We Just Press the Button’ and ‘Clandestine Operation’, which emphasise a more trip-hop style reminiscent of the very early Wall of Sound label at its best. ‘Pot Luck’ has a live instrumentation sound to it, integrating horns and a dubby bass line, sounding a lot like fellow Melbournians High Pass Filter.
‘Musical Scorcha’ dubs the record down again and is one of the more fun tunes on the collection, incorporating classic dub sounds such as delays and spacey organ stabs. The other stand out tunes in this final section of the album are ‘Unity’, featuring Professor P who is a vocalist from the UK crew Freedom Masses, and ‘Hijack the Party’, which finishes the album off on a solid dancehall note.
Fans of dub, reggae, dancehall, downtempo sounds and hip hop will find moments to enjoy on this quality debut from Secret Masters and would do well to look out for it. ~ by Mr Biscuit