Bill Laswell - Sacred System: Book Of Exit / Dub Chamber 4 '2002

Tracks list

       One of the most prolific men in music, Bill Laswell doesn't release
albums under his own name as often as he once did, which makes Book of Exit, the
fourth in his "Dub Chamber" series, especially worthy of attention. While the
previous "Dub Chamber" releases leaned more toward hard Jamaican-style dub
music, with instruments dropping in and out and plenty of reverb and delay, this
is altogether a different beat, in large part due to the vocals of Ethiopian
singer Gigi. And what Laswell, Gigi, drummer/tabla player Karsh Kale, and
percussionist Aiyb Dieng end up with is really ambient dub -- something lighter
and more flowing because it adapts itself to the vocals. And Gigi is in
excellent form, possibly better than on her own debut, whether on "Ethiopia" or
the memorable, beautiful "Jerusalem," which mixes a slight R&B inflection with
dub for something outstanding, beautiful, and ethereal. Laswell's light hand at
the controls (even the disc's heaviest track, "The Lower Ground," is hardly the
stuff of Lee "Scratch" Perry and King Tubby) works subtly -- shifts happen
gradually, making for a sense of movement and focus about the pieces. And his
work on guitar, bass, and keyboards is as accomplished as his colleagues.
Slightly unearthly but always lovely, this dub chamber is a place worth
exploring.

Tracklist:
1 01. Bill Laswell - Ethiopia (06:14)
1 02. Bill Laswell - The Lower Ground (07:35)
1 03. Bill Laswell - Shashamani (07:30)
1 04. Bill Laswell - Bati (07:49)
1 05. Bill Laswell - Land Of Look Behind (06:46)
1 06. Bill Laswell - Jerusalem (12:30) 

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