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- On-U Sound is an iconic independent label with a treasure trove of remarkable music, that sits in a unique position historically as a junction point between the heavy influence of Jamaican music on UK culture and the development of disparate sounds such as post-punk, industrial, jungle, dubstep and beyond.
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We spoke with Adrian Sherwood and Kishi Yamamoto, the designer and photographer who had a key role in shaping the label’s visual identity, to find what made On-U’s visuals so special. New Age Steppers – Action Battlefield (1981)
- African Head Charge Off The Beaten Track
- Harry Beckett The Modern Sound of Harry Beckett
- Gary Clail & On-U Sound System End of The Century Party
- Creation Rebel Starship Africa
- Deadly Headley 35 Years from Alpha
- Missing Brazilians Warzone
- The New Age Steppers The New Age Steppers
- Nisennenmondai #N/A
- Singers & Players War of Words
Brian Eno’s quote about his “vision of a psychedelic Africa,” with regard to his 1981 collaboration with David Byrne My Life in the Bush of Ghosts,captured Sherwood’s imagination in his early 20’s. To see that abstract concept to fruition, he enlisted Creation Rebel percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, whose permutations of traditional African rhyth...
UK jazz trumpeter Harry Beckett’s body of work stretches back to the 1950’s and lists over 200 appearances, including 22 albums of his own. Released just two years before his death, The Modern Sound of Harry Beckettis the only album Beckett released through On-U Sound, though it gave the jazz veteran’s sound a unique refresh. In teaming up with Adr...
The same year that Adrian Sherwood and Bristol emcee Gary Clail teamed up for Tackhead’s iconic industrial-funk album Friendly As a Hand Grenade, the two artists released a similarly maximalist set of dub-funk mayhem with End of the Century Party. Backed by members of Tackhead, who bring a hyper-charged funk-metal intensity to this set of political...
England’s Creation Rebel took root in the ‘70s as Jamaican dub legend Prince Far-I’s backing band. Given the space to explore their own sonic approach, however, the group sought to take dub into much stranger, far-off places. Starship Africa—originally the sole release of 4D Rhythms before being picked up by On-U Sound—unfolds as two lengthy suites...
Saxophonist Felix Headley Bennett never quite received the name recognition of session players like Ernest Ranglin or Sly & Robbie, despite having a resume that boasts more than 400 appearances on records by the likes of Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Black Uhuru. In 1982, “Deadly” Headley Bennett released 35 Years from Alpha, an eclectic mixture of...
By the mid-’80s, Sherwood’s approach to dub had grown nastier and thornier, fusing the vicious grind of industrial with reggae’s staccato rhythms. On Warzone, Sherwood’s musical collaboration with Kishi Yamamoto—label co-founder and visual artist who provided photography and sleeve design for a number of prior On-U Sound releases—that often amounts...
The New Age Steppers are a benchmark in On-U’s history: their 1980 track “Fade Away” was the first single released by the label, and 1981’s full lengthwas On-U’s inaugural LP. The New Age Steppers was comprised of a revolving cast of post-punk vocalists and members of Jamaican and English dub and reggae bands who cultivated a unique fusion. Though ...
Nisennenmondai’s 2016 album #N/A offers a fleeting glimpse of On-U Sound’s future, shaped in part by the echoes of its past. Though this trio of women from Tokyo stands geographically and stylistically apart from the vintage dub and roots reggae of the label’s earlier years, Sherwood’s industrial-dub production techniques and the band’s tense, rhyt...
Singers & Players’s name is intended to be taken literally. Sherwood brought together a loose collective of reggae and punk singers and musicians that has included dub icon Prince Far-I, singer Bim Sherman, Public Image Ltd.’s Keith Levene, and The Slits’ Ari Up, among dozens of others. However long the list of credits, War of Words exists in its o...
Dec 29, 2015 · Started in 1981, On-U Sound is most widely known for exploring the possibilities of dub production beyond its beginnings in 1970s Jamaica and refracting it through the prism of post-punk, electro, hip-hop and beyond.
The label emerged from a fertile DIY scene that birthed contemporary imprints such as Rough Trade, 4AD and Factory. Since 1981, with label boss and producer Adrian Sherwood at the helm, On-U Sound has released over 150 albums and singles, and launched the careers of countless artists.
Since 1981, with label boss and producer Adrian Sherwood at the helm, On-U Sound has released over 100 albums and singles and launched the careers of countless artists. Key On-U Sound artists include Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Tackhead, Dub Syndicate, African Head Charge, New Age Steppers, Singers & Players and Bim Sherman.
On-U Sound Records is an English record label known for releasing its own unique flavour of dub music since the 1980s. [1] The label was founded by Adrian Sherwood in 1979/1980 [2] [3] [4] and is home to acts such as Tackhead, Dub Syndicate, African Head Charge, Akabu, [5] [6] The London Underground, Little Annie, Creation Rebel, Mark Stewart ...
In memory of Keith LeBlanc04.04.2024 All of us at On-U Sound are heartbroken to share the news that the great Keith LeBlanc has passed away. Read...
