Calamalka
Shredders Dub
Plug Research

forthcoming on www.earplug.cc

After discovering dub as the keystone connecting today’s hip hop and electronic music, Vancouver-based Calamalka wasted little time in setting out to craft his own. While most modern dub tracks sound overly processed and lack the organic textures that make those original King Tubby tunes sound so deep, Shredders Dub manages to stay true to the genre’s roots, while maintaining a live-played feel. On “Hear the Most,” each snap of the snare resonates and drifts off into the ether as the bassline snakes around lingering melodies and samples. “Chassi” is a welcome injection of warped and staggering funk while on “Bumpea,” lo-fi synths and percussion sit atop a chest-caving, volcanic bassline seemingly excavated from the depths of the Mariana trench.