Sunday, April 11, 2010

for the love of jah

For me Jah Wobble must be one of the most charismatic musicians to emerge from the post punk scene.A musician that blended so many different styles and never sound boring.I will post two tracks in a row by him just to show the diversity of his work.Last week my friend David from Non Collective posted The Kiss by Joolz,one of Wobble's early productions and a leftfield balearic gem.Joolz were mainly a post punk outfit fronted by the emblematic Joolz Denby.In the hands of Wobble they produced a handful of early singles that were oozing with that dubby sound that Wobble brought to perfection of his later productions.
The second track im going to post is from his album Rising Over Bedlam which is one of my favourite records ever.Erzulie featuring world music legend Natascha Atlas on vocals is a carnival of ethic sounds with flamenco guitars wailing horns and a one of the best basslines i have ever heard in a song.I could go on forever about Wobble's music achievements but that would be just boring so just enjoy these two tracks by one the most diverse figures in the music world.


4 comments:

el jeffe said...

love both of these tracks.. loved the joolz lp's even ehen it's just her talking theres a dubby spaceiness to the production..

have you heard the mother gong lp?
this one..?
http://www.discogs.com/Mother-Gong-Fairy-Tales/master/55152
similar spaciness to the production.. but with added gong flutey madness underneath the stories :)

WOBBLE is the guvnor.. bomba, PIL..
love this..
http://www.discogs.com/Pulse-8-Featuring-Jah-Wobble-Justin-Adams-Radio-Morocco/release/216662

Arthit said...

Another unsung heroes. The same massive love goes to Adrian Sherwood and Dennis Bovell.

the saucer people said...

I saw Joolz perform many times in her hometown of Bradford back in the early & mid eighties, sometimes alone and sometimes with the singer Justin of New Model Army doing an acoustic set, she also was support for many bands...I always loved the fact she never toned down her regional accent and she was a very commanding person on stage, never took any shit!

Unless my memory is completely shot I am sure 'Joolz' was never a band as such, she started off reading poetry on her own and then eventually she started adding music to her sets, backed by various musicians.
To be honest I had completely forgotten about her Jah Wobble collaborations (it was nearly thirty years ago lol) until someone sent me the dance mix of 'Kiss' a couple of months ago and it all came flooding back...memories of wooden clogs and the militia (you had to have been there lol)....I just went and checked and the two singles she did with Jah Wobble, 'Denise' and 'The Kiss' are available through Discogs for a few quid each. My copies went long ago so if I ever get around to buying them again I will be sure to send you the rips.

Gong, Adrian Sherwood, Dennis Bovell and Jah Wobble! A great list of artists and producers, back in the day before acid house hit, it was all about 'head' music so the late 70s and early 80s discerning record collection would contain dub, prog, electronica, kosmische, post-punk music and psychedelia...anything that worked when you smoked or dropped really!
Thats why when acid house hit as well as the mainstream clubbers, there was a whole subculture already attuned to it and thats why bands like the Shamen and Psychic TV made the fluid switch to the acid house and their audience came with them!

Arthit said...

@the saucer people - loved reading your comment!