11.9.09

Album review: Mad Professor - Audio illusions of dub

The Mad Professor will mix any kind of style you'd care to throw at him. That's why i expected Audio illusions of dub to be a dubstep album (or at least have a few dubsteppy tracks) because the dubstep 'label' is being used to promote this new album. But it turns out that's just a bit of illusion (or marketing).

 Although in the past the Mad Professor has done albums in hiphop and jungle style this new album doesn't have dubstep in Ariwa fashion. But it does have very nice classic roots dub. It's a 'live' album, nothing computerized going on. Lots of classic riddims like Chase the Devil and He Prayed. A few tunes are in sugar coated Ariwa lovers style. The overall sound is different again, a bit mellow with a surprisingly thin bass (dubstep?) but even a mellow Mad Professor is full of madness. These tracks fill the room, sounding natural and a bit funny at the same time, a bit like late seventies Tubbys. Very good stuff.

If you want to hear dubstep from the Ariwa studio check out Joe Ariwa's Dubstep Dub. Here are some tunes on his Myspace player.