Juno Recommends Dancehall / Ragga October 2021

Review: Before Zero serve up a proudly UK slanted package here where UK grime meets UK dub. It finds two top talents in wordsmith and beat maker Majical and Kibir La Amlak link up to great effect. 'Do You Know' is a lesson about the King of all Kings, Emperor Haile Selassie delivered with lyrical dexterity. The tune started out as a dub plate but has proven so popular it now gets its own proper reals, with beats that fuse grime, garage, hip hop and reggae into a sound being called 'roots hop culture.' Flip it over for a dub that takes out the vocal and allows the ricocheting hits and bottomless bass to hit different.

Review: The Banoffee Pies reissue series is back with a quick follow up to the last one with another set of crucial tunes from the Euphonic archives. The London duo made up of producer Rob Henry and former Graffiti artist turned DJ Nick Trimm were big player sin the 90s and worked with various key players in the dub scene. 'Revolution Solution' was recorded in New York with friends from the underground hip hop scene, Dr. Israel, Soothsayer and Kirsty Rock, and is a superb ragga jungle tune. 'Space In My Soul' is a gloriously cosmic bit of synth laced broken beat and then there's a trio of heady beat workouts including the downbeat outer space trip that is '7 Orbits.'