Outside the Echo Chamber

Audio Mixers: Adrian Sherwood; Trooko.
Recording information: Jamaica; London; Los Angeles; Nirvana Studios, Mumbai; Ramsgate.
For their first full-length in over a decade, U.K. breakbeat/sampling pioneers Coldcut teamed up with the even more legendary Adrian Sherwood for Outside the Echo Chamber, an album of globally conscious dub and dancehall. Instead of appearing on Ninja Tune, the prolific, widely influential label Coldcut have been running since 1990, the album actually arrives on Ahead of Our Time, the duo's earlier label which they resurrected in 2016. There's a degree of backward glancing here, but mostly in keeping with the roots and culture aspects of reggae -- Coldcut have never been a retro-minded group, and they continue looking toward the future here. There are nods to more recent developments in reggae, with the eerie, inventive productions of Equiknoxx being a potential influence, plus a trace of dembow rhythms here and there (such as the twisting, exotic "Aztec Riddim"). With Coldcut holding down the beats and basslines, Sherwood is free to splatter his warped dub effects over everything, and even the sweetest, sunniest tunes are splashed with harsh, messy echo and distortion. Guest vocalists abound; Roots Manuva's baritone voice spits politically conscious verses over an equally booming beat on "Vitals." "Divide and Rule" brings together deep dub and conscious reggae, with longtime Sherwood ally Lee "Scratch" Perry joining Junior Reid (who sang on Coldcut's 1988 hit "Stop This Crazy Thing") and smooth-voiced singer Elan. The slinky "Kajra Mohobbat Wala" features Indian playback singer Hamsika Iyer, and it fits in perfectly with the rest of the album's sunny, trippy vibe. A generous number of dub versions appear at the end of the album, bringing the songs further out of orbit. Coldcut and Sherwood remain visionary artists, and Outside the Echo Chamber is a worthwhile hour of futuristic reggae. ~ Paul Simpson