Dub Come Save Me

A 10 track album () — released July 15th 2002 on BIG DADA

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Rodney Smith began working on the album that would become 'Run Come Save Me ' in late 1999 and completed it in April 2001. In that period, he recorded well over thirty tracks: a huge body of work covering every base in the Manuva universe. And the truth of the matter is that there wasn't much wrong with any of them. After a draining and difficult process, the album was finally cut down to the fifteen tracks (plus skits): a selection it was felt gave a balanced idea of what Roots Manuva was all about without blasting the listener into submission. But it was a wrench: so many great pieces of music were left out. Some of them turned up as B sides on singles 'sSon Of The Soil ' and 'Flying Turds'), others were made available for a very limited period as MP3 downloads. But it seemed that the rest would just get left in the vaults or trickle out gradually on compilations. Parallel to this, Mr Smith had discovered a career as a nascent dubster. In 2000, as the Walworth Road Rockers, he dubbed up Big Dada Sounds? future bouncement classic 'Showtime' to great effect and Big Dada asked him to repeat the trick for the limited 'Witness' 7' with an eye on producing a dub version of his forthcoming album. The dub was a great success, being played out regularly by the likes of DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, the Beta Band and Daddy G from Massive Attack and finding its way to a wider audience via Zero 7's 'Another Late Night' compilation. In December 2001 he began work on some more dubs, both of tunes from 'RCSM' and of completely new material. Smith descibes doing dubs as 'using the desk as an instrument? and believe us, the man is a natural virtuoso. It was only in Spring 2002 that the whole package came together: take five of the most reggae-inflected tunes from the vaults (or 'the low budget archives ' as Manuva himself puts it on 'The Lynch') and combine them with his dubs: an album of rarities and specials that holds together so well and has such a feeling of unity about it, something for the fans, certainly, but also an excellent little record in its own rights. So here it is: 'Dub Come Save Me,' a re-take on the original, a different way of looking at Roots Manuva's audiogalaxy. The latest lift off from the UK's number one afronaut. 1. Man Fi Cool Recorded as part of the very first session for 'Run Come Save Me ', 'Man Fi Cool' takes a reggaefied version of 'PSK' and then adds a sublime lyrical performance from Mr Manuva that will leave you gasping and laughing: 'My neighbours complain/ I scratch my headpiece, I try to explain/ that this vocal is the penis, the rhythm is the vag.' As one of the first tracks recorded, it suffered in the Manuva mind from over-familiarity, but goes to show how the man ropes the simplest elements together into something utterly unique. 2. Highest Grade Dub Smith turns the skanked up original into a Pablo-esque (both Augustus and Picasso) stepper with enough nasty noises to burst your ear drums and some of the finest double-timed conga breaks you'll ever hear' 3. Revolution 5 feat. Chali 2na & Wayne Paul When Chali 2na came to the UK for three days to record with Roots, the pair of them found that they had finished 'Join The Dots' in two, so Smith dug out a deep reggae beat he had been working on, they drafted in mid-90s UK street-soul sensation Wayne Paul (a labelmate from the Sound of Money days) and created 'Revolution 5', 'some monk shit' as Rodney memorably puts it. Unfortunately, the parts to the music were lost, but this supposed rough should be more than enough for most? 4. Styles Dub The bizarre circus-ska of 'Dub Styles' has guitar licks added by Manuva himself and is then spun out into some of the plain nastiest, most psychotic dub you're going to hear. People sometimes complain that dub can be used as aural wallpaper: music with the urgency sucked out of it. Not with Roots Manuva. 5. Tears Previously only available as an MP3 download (and on a very few test pressings), this is Rodney Simit's testament to electro and the New Romantic movement! Coming over a little Gary Numan, the man produces some of the most memorable music around - something of an exception from the reggae theme, but too good to leave off. Long an office classic at Big Dada (and the Roots Manuva DJ MK's acetate favourite), now we share it with the world! 6. Dreamy Days SFA Dub When Big Dada were casting around for an act to remix 'Dreamy Days', the Super Furry Animals came out up at the top of the list. They share in common with Roots Manuva their status as music business outsiders, plus a quirkiness that makes them 'pop' and straight-up odd all at the same time. They didn't disappoint. The original mix of 'Dreamy Days' (featured on the cd single of that release) featured the entire vocal being constantly pitched up and down and panned from speaker to speaker. The dub allows you to soak up both the madness in the music and the beauty. 7. The Lynch Recorded after a night out witnessing the bass-heavy theatrics of the Jah Shaka Soundsystem, 'The Lynch' in some ways seems like a fairly straight-ahead bit of dub-hop that could comfartably have fitted onto 'Brand New Second Hand '. And it is that, a fantastically cruf piece of soundman taunting. But listen for the breakdown in the middle to hear a master at work. Instantly reminiscent of a great night out. 'I'm not a socialite, more like socialist.' 8. Brand New Dub A dub of a previously nonexistent track? Yes, indeed. 'Brand New Dub' is built around a rumbling, instantly memorable bassline that's so deep it's almost only audible to moles and is a million miles from the cleanness of some digi-dub. Over it, drums are battered about and a tiny little melody is maimed in the process. Harsh. 9. UK Warriors feat. Riddla In typically wayward style, Rodney Simit's tribute to the UK hip hop scene is a roots reggae number right down to his guitar licks and finds him waxing lyrical about his career and background rather than blaming anyone for anything. Riddla sounds a little more pissed off, but the Roots message is pure love and positivity? 10. Witness Dub The classic dub, released as the B side to the limited edition 'Witness' 7' inch here in all its glory. Classic! Played out by everyone from DJ Shadow to the Beta Band?'
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