Mad Professor - Cuts & Dubs - Volume One - Test Pressing Recordings - TPRLP001 - 2x12" LP Black Vinyl [Picture Sleeve]

Mad Professor - Cuts & Dubs - Volume One - Test Pressing Recordings - TPRLP001 - 2x12" LP Black Vinyl [Picture Sleeve]

Ariwa Sounds started in a front room in Thornton Heath, South London. Four tracks, some homemade equipment, and Neil Fraser, better known as Mad Professor, at the controls. That was 1980. Over four decades later, the label has more than 300 albums to its name and a legacy that stretches well beyond the reggae scene.

This compilation pulls twelve tracks from across the catalogue. Dub, lovers rock, heavy roots music, digital dancehall - it's all here. What ties it together is the Ariwa studio sound all going through Mad Professor's desk.

Mad Professor is the backbone of it. Dub Me Crazy got him known and his production credits run from Jah Shaka and Horace Andy to Massive Attack, Sade and The Orb. The tracks here - the Dub Sampler, H2SO4, Disco Dude, Kathmandu Dub - show why.

The Jah Shaka collaboration Only One God is a landmark. Two of the UK's most important dub figures on one track. Dark and heavy roots music.

The Robotics appear twice - Hong Kong Flew! and Miss Mood. They are Ariwa's house band and have backed U-Roy, Lee Perry, Big Youth and more over the years.

Aisha closes things out with Can You Feel It. A track that crosses reggae, soul and boogie funk. Collectors have been after original pressings for years.

Starky Banton, Ragga Doll, Professor Doppler and Earl Lawrence complete the compilation. Exactly the kind of thing that reminds you how wide the Ariwa net was cast.

Sleeve design is by Trevor Jackson, one of the UK's most respected graphic designers. His work has defined the visual language of British music for thirty years. A serious catalogue and compilation of music, treated with the respect it deserves.

Ariwa sits alongside Greensleeves as the most important reggae imprint this country has produced. This compilation shows why.

Side A
A1. Mad Professor - Ariwa The Dub Sampler
A2. Earl Lawrence - Dancing On A Bassline
A3. Mad Professor & Jah Shaka - Only One God

Side B
B1. Mad Professor - H2SO4
B2. Starky Banton - Dub De Heart
B3. Ragga Doll - Hippamuffin

Side C
C1. Professor Doppler - Cook Up Rice
C2. Mad Professor - Disco Dude
C3. Mad Professor - Kathmandu Dub

Side D
D1. The Robotics! - Hong Kong Flew!
D2. Robotiks - Miss Mood
D3. Aisha - Can You Feel It