Addis Through The Looking Glass

Dub Colossus, the Ethiopian-flavored project from Transglobal Underground Dubulah, has grown, if not quite into a colossus, then certainly a minor giant. For their second full-length outing, the Ethiopian musicians in the collective shoulder more of the weight, broadening the group's vision slightly to encompass Ethio jazz (the hard African bop of the title cut and the loose-limbed "Gubeliye"), the vintage local soul that hit Western ears on the Ethiopiques series, and, of course, several big bows in the direction of Jamaica.

Those genuflections are most obvious in the covers here, a reverent version of the Abyssinians' "Satta Massagana" and a take on the frothy reggae-pop of "Uptown Top Ranking" that turns it into a playful cultural fusion where traditional Ethiopian messenqo fiddle meets Skatalites-style horn section. But the spirit of roots reggae is threaded all through the disc, though, evident in countless little offbeat rhythm shifts and melodic basslines.

The dub, though, is definitely not old school. Instead it's like a prism that separates the spaces in the sound, as on "Yigermel," based around the krar harp, which proves an object lesson in recording, the effects growing slowly around the vocals to create something that beautifully connects Ethiopia past and present.… read more »