Talisman

( Interchill , Jun. 2003 )



1. Manasse meets The Equalizer feat. Knati- Temper Dub 3:47
2. Neil Sparkes & The Last Tribe- Talisman (dub praises mix) 4:58
3. Eat Static- Caridwen 6:41
4. Jumbo Layer- The Lily Dub 6:41
5. Jah Wobble & The Invaders of the Heart / Molam Dub- Lam Tam Way Dub 3:28
6. Suns of Arqa- Ark of the Arqans 4:33
7. Gargoyles- Evil Do'ers 7:21
8. Ott- Scilly Automatic 7:41
9. Jah Wobble & Bill Laswell- Orion 7:44
10. Stress Assassin- Time 4:54
11. Adham Shaikh- Sabadub (G-string mix) 10:08
12. The Kumba Mela Experiment- That Which I Could Only Sense 4:22

Another Interchill release on their mission to chill the world, it is a blessing as all of their previous ones I've heard. This time Andrew's doing it the rasta way with a dubby compilation filled with varied interpretation of the staggering wavy beats and floating delayed sequences originating from Jamaica. And varied it is, starting with more traditional dubby vibes, then touching some tribal influences with a side trip to more loungy spaces with Eat Static (T3) and the excellent Jumbo Layer track (T4). Then comes the most special track here, a crazy hypnotic chanting piece involving the legendary Jah Wobble, that is yet to return here. Lam Tam Way Dub is like nothing you've heard before, though it kinda breaks the flow of the music. Then things turn more psychedelic with the too weird Suns of Arqa track (T6) and two Ott tracks. The first is with Mr. Posford as Gargoyles- amazing moody mellow psydub piece, though the sexy samples in the middle don't fit the mood of the track, and ruin it a bit for me. Then it's the Twisted prodigy on his own, with Scilly Automatic (T8), an amazing psydub journey with a great sample. From here things stay pretty much excellent. Jah Wobble returns teaming with electronic world music guru Bill Laswell with the amazing penetrating mellow Orion (T9), Stress Assassin takes things to space, and Adham Shaikh supplies a real trip in Indian sounds (T11), till it ends with the psychedelic aquatic That Which I Could Only Sense.

Recomendation: Great chilled varied psydub release that melts well few worlds of music. The beginning doesn't flow flawlessly, but then things just all fall into place, and it's a real joy, with some shining sparks of genius.
Favorites: 3, 4, 5(!!!), 8(!), 9(!!), 10, 11(!!), 12.

Review by : Shahar