Tag Archives: On-U Sound

447. false leader

Posted on by
Reply

“Gary Clail gets the credit here but there are all kinds of folks involved in this grim yet groovy few minutes from 1991, with On-U Sound at the heart of it all. I’d say the 1980s were more their time, when their fusion of dub, punk, politics, NOISE mattered most. It manifested in various bands, singers, poets, players, but it was pretty much always Adrian Sherwood working the final mix. With a track like False Leader pulling it all together, throwing down a gauntlet that the future’s still trying to figure out. And yes, they are still at it.” (Philip Random)

486. technology works [dub]

Posted on by
1

In which Keith Leblanc, straight outa Connecticut, and by way of outfits like Sugarhill Records, Tackhead, Little Axe (and a bunch more) reminds us of exactly what 1986 felt like – the best part anyway. Big beats (bigger than man had ever heard before), cool noise, strange new technologies alchemizing, boiling over, eager to smash the planet, change everything forever. And they would. Planet smashing was definitely what it was all about in the 80s. The planet needed smashing, musically speaking, that is.

KeithLeblanc-promo

 

002. The Final Countdown*

Posted on by
Reply

Installment #2 of The Final Countdown* aired Saturday-March-17-2018 (c/o CiTR.FM.101.9).

Tracks available on this Youtube playlist (not entirely complete or accurate).

The Final Countdown* is our longest, most random and (if we’re doing it right) relevant countdown yet. Which is rather a long of way saying, we’re not one hundred percent sure yet what it’s all about – just the end of result of a long and convoluted process that finally evolved into something halfway tangible back in early February. The 1297 Greatest Records of All Time (right now right here), if that makes sense. And even if it doesn’t, we’re doing it anyway for as long as it takes, and it will take a while.

FINAL-02

Installment #2 of The Final Countdown* went like this.

1275. Towa Tei – congratulations
1274. Negativland – greatest taste around
1273. Little John + The Monks – black winds
1272. Atmosphere – get fly
1271. Brian Eno + David Byrne – I feel my stuff
1270. Flaming Lips – Pompeii am Gotterdammerung
1269. Pet Shop Boys- Where the Streets have no Name
1268. Tranquil – Ruby
1267. Giorgio – Automaton
1266. John Mayall- dry throat
1265. Clash – Jimmy Jazz
1264. Cornelius – tone twilight zone
1263. Lord Sitar – blue jay way
1262. Miike Snow – Animal (Mark Ronson remix)
1261. Japan – gentlemen take polaroids
1260. Dub Syndicate – the precinct of sound
1259. Dixie Hummingbirds- loves me like a rock
1258. Mothers of Invention – America drinks and goes home
1257. Mothers of Invention – Ritual of the Young Pumpkin
1256. Neil Diamond – Free Life

Randophonic airs pretty much every Saturday night, starting 11 pm (Pacific time) c/o CiTR.FM.101.9, with streaming and download options usually available within twenty-four hours via our Facebook page.

667. the show is coming

Posted on by
Reply

“The Show is Coming is a pretty solid blueprint for what much of my 1985 sounded like, all that societal corrosion and apocalyptic immanence in motion. Seriously, who better than the Dub Syndicate (doing as their name suggested) to lay down the required beats and breaks and echoes? Often as not, I never really noticed particular cuts, just threw on mixtapes or tuned in radio shows. But every now and then, something like The Show is Coming did stick out, the smart samples getting my attention, the tough, rock-steady groove doing the rest.” (Philip Random)

716. kiss the champion

Posted on by
Reply

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vcq5qkfzAE

Original reggae upsetter Lee Scratch Perry plus the Dub Syndicate plus Adrian Sherwood‘s mix mastery equals Time Boom X De Devil Dead, arguably the greatest (mostly) forgotten album of all time. Mad rants, left field boasts, insights that only make sense once you stop trying to make sense of them — all set to grooves that can’t help but melt in your mind. “Needless to say, we listened to this a lot whilst tripping the old lysergic back in the day. Who ever said reggae wasn’t psychedelic, or the 1980s for that matter?” (Philip Random)

738. to be free

Posted on by
Reply

“Strong sense of groove and melody, lots of cool, modern dub tricks – The Strange Parcels seemed to have it all when I first heard them back in 1991 care of On-U Sound‘s Pay It All Back Vol.3 (which remains one of the great compilation albums of any era, as do pretty much all the others in the series). But then, that was about it. An album would eventually show up a few years later, but I was onto other things by then, as was the world, I guess. But I did keep going back to Pay It All Back Vol.3 in general, To Be Free in particular, key ingredient in many a mixtape, dragged to many a house party, bonfire, mountaintop. Soundtrack for this slow apocalypse, still ongoing.” (Philip Random)

StrangeParcels