Category Archives: Dub for the greenhouse

Bean pole idea of the week

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The other week we went over to an open garden event in Blackheath and had a lovely afternoon in some fantastic surroundings and even dipped a hand into our pockets at the plant sale there. While in the veg garden this bean pole idea (above) caught our eye. We very much doubt that the rusty looking metal things that are holding the bamboo canes in place have anything to do with garden centres (they’re probably something off a building site or in a steel-fixers toolkit) but we could be wrong. It’s a great idea though! If you know what they are actually are (and if you can buy them at garden centres) answers on a postcard please.

And two other good ideas if you’re thinking of picking up some tunes this weekend. The first the Aimes mix of Cloud Nine by Joe Morris and the next a belter from yesteryear from the excellent Johnny Clarke called Blood Dunza/Dub Dunza. May the sun reign this weekend and while we’re asleep we get a bit of rain.

Welcoming back that yellow thing in the sky

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Here’s a lovely tune called Janet 50 from Smith & Mudd, with the top frenchman I:Cube on the mix. If this 7 minutes of joy don’t welcome the sun back into the garden, god knows what will! One to stick on (in the headphones of course) when getting the hose out at 7am to give those plants their morning soak.

And if you enjoy “tipping around” with a hoe later on in the day here’s a tune of the calmer variety from Everton Blender called Sing for Jah with a great dub to boot.

It’s good this gardening lark especially at this time of the year and it can only get better!

Music to accompany the sunshine

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Big shout to Dr Strangedub & DJ Baby Swiss out of KFAI’s The Echo Chamber and Bruno out of Dan Dada Records for the latest instalment of Around The World in Dub (volumes 9 and 10) available free from the Dan Dada Bandcamp page here. Thanks a million to the crew for including Jazzmin & Madtones‘s Earth Citizen.

The free (we repeat FREE) compilation contains 35 cracking tunes of a dub wise or dub influenced nature from all around this planet of ours featuring Dubmatix with Earl Zero, Trevor “The Technician” McKenzie and The Last Boss & Dubby Doo and a lot lot more, all on a top quality tip! There is no excuse; download, chill out then dub out!  #jazzminmadtone #earthcitizen

From April showers to a dub shower

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Big thanks to long-time friend The Rhythm Doctor for pointing us in the direction of this tune the other night, Hold Up Your Head by Errol Carter (aka “Flabba” Holt of the Roots Radics/Morwells) produced by the great Rupie Edwards. With a keyboard sound reminiscent of Unexpected Places by Hortense Ellis it’s a killer of a tune and on the B side a top dub called Tank Skank that the youtube here doesn’t do justice. The single is less than a fiver on discogs so hunt it down! We would like more dub showers on the stereo and less rain in the garden please (or could it rain in the night?).

Not a prediction for today’s weather

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We celebrated Record Store Day 2018 (supported by BBC Music) at Weeds by putting two coats of Cuprinol on a garden gate (supported by two ham sarnies, a posh sausage roll and copious cups of tea.)

The Scotch Bonnet crew did it in a far better style by releasing a belter of a tune using a vocal from the late great Bim Sherman (courtesy of Adrian Sherwood) over a hard rhythm built by Mungo’s Hi-Fi as you can hear! Already played on On The Wire and I can hear this going down a storm on KFAI’s Echo Chamber as well as many others. May Scotch Bonnet and Mungo’s keep putting out such fine music forever!

That’s May sorted then!

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Two events in the distant future that are well worth sticking in the diary or on that wallchart thingy:

Annual plant sale at The South London Botanical Institute, 323 Norwood Road SE24 9AQ. Saturday 12th May 11am – 1pm. Wide range of unusual, locally grown and reasonably priced plants and advice on how to grow them. Free entry. More info here.

Spring Plant Fair at Telegraph Hill Centre, Kitto Road, New Cross, London, SE14 5TY. Saturday 19th May 2018. 1pm until 2pm. Admission £2. More info here.

And for no other reason that finding this single on youtube at work this afternoon here is the excellent Big Youth with Gregory (Isaacs) with My Time.

And Bob Andy’s original from years gone by. Tunes to stick on loud this weekend while keeping warm indoors if the weather forecast is to be believed! Roll on spring!

Spring is just around the corner

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Here’s an excellent mix from a good mate of weeds The Rhythm Doctor. It features some lovely tunes including one of a very rare nature; Joe Monsano – Haile Selassie Instrumental off Bullet Dub, a special Rhythm Doctor re-edit of Lizzard – Satta I and the damn right mad The Upsetter – Tipper Special. The full tracklistings are:

Alan Watts – Intro
Beris Bradley – Cool Rock (Slight edit)
The Upsetter – Tipper Special
Rupie Edwards – Feeling Irie
Big Youth – Jim Screechie
Augustus Pablo – Harmony Dub
Light of Saba – Collie Version
The Destroyers – Compass
Geffrey Chang & all stars – U.F.O
Lizzard – Satta I Dub (RD version)
Prince Buster All Stars – Boop
The Morwell – The Giant
Joe Monsano – Haile Selassie Instrumental
Michael Campbell – Home Guard version
Linval Thompson – Mariguana
Blackbeard – Cut after Cut
The Upsetters – Return of the Super Ape
Prince Far I & The Arabs – Homeward Bound
Augustus Pablo – Abyssinia Dub

It’s a mix to stick on loud while sowing those early tomato seeds under a plastic propagator on a warm windowsill indoors. But in the words of the song “Cool it, don’t rush it” as it’s still a bit t’wirley!

What will that weather bring?

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Heading for a heatwaveIt was officially summer on the 1st of June but you wouldn’t have thought it what with the cold blustery weather at the moment. Everyone still keeps on saying about this expected heatwave. Don’t hold your breathe…

Here’s a couple of tunes to bring some sunshine and warmth. The first is a West African Disco crossover called Ta Lassa (Hide & Smile Edit) from the International Soleil Band from Guinea. It’s from the early 1980’s and out on a 12″ on Soundway records as heard on the Tom Ravenscoft show last week. It’s one seriously good tune!

The second is one I originally heard on a cassette tape of Red Dragon‘s Rambo Mango Sound system from Jamaica in August 1989 bought in Brixton for a few quid around that time. The tune featured on it, is from the great Frankie Paul called I Want You on the classic Mister Bassie rhythm. Recently bought on 7″ for £8 inc p+p on discogs. A bargain for such a big tune!

How do you make a Zen garden?

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A big shout to Dr Strangedub and DJ Baby Swiss from the excellent radio show Echo Chamber on KFAI who every Wednesday from the crack of dawn play the best in reggae, dub and downbeat.

On this week’s show they played Dr Strangedub’s “In the garden of dub” mix (above) from a couple of years ago celebrating the “pleasures of gardening, the roots of life and the seasons of nature.” We here think it’s great stuff and includes Singers & Players (ft. Prince Far I), Madtone, Leroy Sibbles, Jah Wobble, Lee Perry and lots more, dedicated to the late great Peter Sellers (aka Chauncey Gardner). More proof that music and gardening do mix!

The rebroadcasting of the mix comes at an apt time where last week Graham Porter on Gardening with Tim Crowther on BBC Radio Leeds said that we’ve now reached the point where tender plants can be now put out. But that’s after the plants have had a period of being hardened off, a good watering and some slug protection has been put down first. But do keep that fleece handy just in case and watch those weather forecasts as you never know if/when those damn frosts will reappear.