Meat Beat Manifesto
In Dub (Stereo)
Lakeshore
Everybody has dabbled in the remix culture. The remixed album, for a brief moment, was everywhere. So pervasive, even pop stars were coming out with them. Now, because their ticket’s up, Meat Beat Manifesto has two coming out. Storm the Studio has been molested by numerous DJs, and now Jack Dangers is taking on R.U.O.K.?.
What Dangers has masterfully done here is take the electro dance scene back to its Jamaican roots. Dub, the final frontier. And Dangers explores it with renegade vigor, dissembling the original work till it’s no longer recognizable to the typical (whatever that is) Meat Beat fan. He weaves dark, hypnotic, rhythmic soundscapes that are both ominous and luminous, while also adding splashes of pure pleasure. Dub has gone through numerous transformations in its 30-year existence, and Dangers taps beautifully into the tradition while also keeping it fresh and novel. Songs like the quirky sci-fi dance track, “Caramel Dub,” and the brilliant “Happiness Supreme Dub” are most definitely club worthy. He has also fully utilized the toasting skills of DJ Collage, who is utterly brilliant on “Super Soul Dub,” incandescent on “Echo in Space Dub” and Cylon-spooky on “Retrograde Dub.”
I can only assume that Meat Beat acolytes will praise this album and know that current dub fans, who aren’t stuck in the halcyon Pablo/Tubby days, will be absolutely reverential. Dangers has completely reworked R.U.O.K.? masterfully, and in doing so, he has changed the definition of the remix album all for the better.
Lakeshore Records: http://www.lakeshore-records.com/