Dennis Bovell - Mek It Run '2012

Tracks list

       Album review

Following recent neck surgery, British reggae veteran Dennis Bovell received
strict orders to give his bass playing a rest. This could not have been an easy
thing to hear seeing as how he handled the low end for Matumbi and Linton Kwesi
Johnson, but Bovell came up with a solution, returning to the production side of
his career with a visit to the master tape vault, where he retrieved his
productions from the late '70s and early '80s, grabbing the ones that had never
received any dub treatment. After "baking" the tapes a bit (it gets rid of
oxidization and gunk) and booking a 2012 session at Ariwa (Mad Professor's
studio), Bovell created Mek It Run, a unique slice of dub that spans decades but
retains a certain spirit, one not driven by modern gimmicks but an allegiance to
the groove. Here, the producer acts as a Rasta Buck Rogers awakened from cold
storage, blissfully unaware of dubstep's impact and common usage of the laptop
as studio equipment. Still, Mek It Run sounds like little else simply because of
its sonics, which are vintage yet oddly clean, with much more punch and presence
than found during dub's golden age. For example, check the sharp stab of bass
that kicks off the title track or the beginning of "Princess Dub," where the gap
between bass and treble is wide enough to drive a truck through. "Burden" is the
kind of music that must make Thievery Corporation envious, with I-Roy in young
voice and the music just as crisp as 2012 allows, while "After the Storm (Tahrir
Rock)" is a fine example of dub that builds something very different out of the
original tune, taking the non-political track "Zombie Zones" and dubbing it into
a commentary on the fall of Egypt's Mubarak regime with the sounds of sirens and
explosions. Liner notes from Steve Barker sweeten the deal, but Mek It Run is
already an easy recommendation for dub fans, acting as either an oddball release
to dissect and analyze, or a rich soundtrack for any day that requires those fat
Bovell rhythms.

© David Jeffries 

Tracklist:
01-01 Dennis Bovell - Vargen (Dub for Basboosa) [3:43]
01-02 Dennis Bovell - Mek It Run (Run Rasta Run) [2:40]
01-03 Dennis Bovell - Princess Dub [4:17]
01-04 Dennis Bovell - In Tha Mix [3:45]
01-05 Dennis Bovell - Secret Service [4:01]
01-06 Dennis Bovell - Dub d'Cap'n [3:34]
01-07 Dennis Bovell - Floods Of Tears [3:49]
01-08 Dennis Bovell - Saxophonagravaparachuterreggae [3:47]
01-09 Dennis Bovell feat. I Roy - Afreecan [3:37]
01-10 Dennis Bovell - Binghi Man [3:36]
01-11 Dennis Bovell - Dub Code [3:45]
01-12 Dennis Bovell - Regole Pas [3:55]
01-13 Dennis Bovell feat. I Roy - Burden [4:47]
01-14 Dennis Bovell - Cross To Bear [4:45]
01-15 Dennis Bovell - Wallpaper Eraser [3:14]
01-16 Dennis Bovell - After The Storm [5:05] 

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