Reggae Party: Creation Rebel Reissues
by Kevin Wierzbicki
This time out we spin two vinyl reissues from the groundbreaking experimental dub band Creation Rebel, a five-piece that worked exclusively with instrumentals. These records have been all but impossible to find until now; in fact they have been out of print for decades.
Creation Rebel - Dub from Creation - (On-U Sound)
One of the earliest bands to work exclusively in the dub variation of reggae, Creation Rebel were very influential in countless ways. Opening track "Dub from Creation," with echoing keyboard parts and haunting melodica reminds of the sound that the Clash explored on one side of Sandanista; since Sandanista came out a couple of years after 1978's
Dub from Creation there's a good chance that Joe Strummer and company had heard it and were in thrall to its grooves. The effects slowly get more intense as the record progresses with "Basic Principals" featuring a couple of weird, earthy blasts of keyboard that come across a bit shockingly and are real attention getters; "Rebel Rouser" incorporates lots of keyboard echoes that are more melodic while the bass-driven "Creation Vibration" is a sublime dub groove that sounds like what lots of reggae and rock bands would soon emulate on alternate versions of their songs. On Side Two of Dub from Creation the drums and percussion, from Eric "Fish" Clarke and Doctor Pablo respectively, move to the forefront, subtly at first on "Dub Fusion" where hits on the snare repeat as they fade into the ether. Clarke reels off some fancy drum fills in a standard rock way on "Mirage" but just about every beat on "Rising Star" is subject to a dub treatment while closer "Vision of Creation" is perhaps the cut that has the most effects on it overall. For the most part bass man Clinton Jack just holds down the low end without having effects applied but everyone else gets in on the act: Tony Phillips on guitar and Clifton Morris on keys along with Pablo's melodica work. Notably produced by Adrian Sherwood, Dub from Creation is pressed on black BioVinyl and features photos and an essay from BBC Radio's Steve Barker on the inner sleeve. The title also comes with a download card.
Creation Rebel - Starship Africa (On-U Sound)
Originally released in 1980,
Starship Africa has a bit of a convoluted origin story. The effort finds producer Adrian Sherwood working with rhythms that were recorded during the sessions for Dub from Creation where he has new players overdub the original recordings (the only holdover from
Dub from Creation days is Doctor Pablo on melodica and synth.) Then to really dub things up Sherwood ran the tapes backward, put effects on at random spots and then ran the tape correctly and finished everything up. The result is totally trippy. Side One consists of five tracks that are unnamed individually with the whole lot being called "Starship Africa (Soundtrack from the Forthcoming Motion Picture)," a reference to a film that Sherwood wanted to make that never got further than the images in his mind. In some places you can really notice how backwards snippets were used, and while the music remains instrumental there are segments where Sherwood uses distorted, unintelligible vocals as a dub effect. Lots of echo and reverb lives in all of the tracks. Similar to the first side, Side Two consists of four tracks that are unnamed individually but that go by collective title "Space Movement." Because of that title you might expect these cuts to be exceptionally weird but they are not; in some places synthesizer, chimes and oddball noises hint at outer space but smooth reggae grooves keep the vibe from getting too cosmic (It is noted in liner notes though that Sherwood was probably tripping while he worked on the record.) Definitely more of a "journey within" than
Dub from Creation, Starship Africa is psychedelic reggae in its nascent days. Pressed on black BioVinyl,
Starship Africa includes a foldout poster with notes from those who were there including Sherwood. Also includes a download card.
Dub from Creation and Starship Africa are just two of the Creation Rebel vinyl reissues from On-U Sound; the comprehensive series also includes 1978's Close Encounters of the Third World, 1979's Rebel Vibrations and 1981's Psychotic Jonkanoo. Additionally there's a 6-CD anthology box set called High above Harlesden 1978-2023 that includes CDs of all the above mentioned titles, the 2023 release Hostile Environment and seven bonus tracks. Order here.
