Hertz

Jah Wobble - Umbra Sumus (1998) {30 Hertz Records 30HZCD5}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 408 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 163 Mb
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© 1998 30 Hertz Records | 30HZCD5
Experimental / Electronic / Indie Rock / Dub / Synth Pop / Experimental Rock / Worldbeat

The strange, spiritual album that is Umbra Sumus is one of the more interesting items released in 1998. Bassist and composer Jah Wobble creates strangely compelling soundscapes that draw textures from a variety of ethnic traditions without explicitly evoking any one of them. The first cut, "Il Jevedro il Oblanco," sets the pace with a duet for what sounds like a toy music box and fuzz bass, but suddenly becomes a lush electronica-pop track as vocalist Amila Sulejmanovic begins singing in Bosnian. Elsewhere, Natacha Atlas croons in Arabic over a texture not of ouds and doumbeks, but of synthesized percussion, keyboards, and Wobble's own throbbing bass, and it sounds perfectly natural.

Jah Wobble & Evan Parker - Passage To Hades (2001) {30 Hertz Records 30HZCD14}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 319 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 119 Mb
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© 2001 30 Hertz Records | 30HZCD14
Experimental / Dub / Avant-Garde / Saxophone

Taking as their inspiration the Greek myth of Orpheus, European improv king Evan Parker (tenor and soprano saxophone) and Invaders of the Heart alumni Clive Bell and Jean-Pierre Rasle invest in a series of stark, repetitive bass and drum structures on Passage to Hades. At the music's core is the rhythm axis of Jah Wobble and Mark Sanders. The duo maps out the territory, delivering all that's required and more through minimal means. It's a refreshing change of scenery for Parker, who's normally heard in avant-garde ensembles or blazing solo performances. Here, he's confined to a stark, muscular groove and he responds beautifully. Like the later recordings by John Coltrane (an early influence), the saxophonist unleashes an abundance of dialog on his instruments, though he never quite reaches the torrents of sound one might expect.

Jah Wobble & The Modern Jazz Ensemble - 7 (2011) {30 Hertz Records ‎30hzcd33}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 255 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
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© 2011 30 Hertz Records ‎| 30hzcd33
Jazz / Electric Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Funk / Bass

This is right up there with the best of them; Miles, Zawinul, Arthur Blythe, Dave Brubeck et al. But its its own thing at the same time. It grooves hard. It just keeps coming at you. Like Mike Tyson. Boxes clever like Ali. Sean Corby reminds me of a young Donald Bird. George King cool and understated on keys. Marc Layton-Bennet is monster on kit. He just eats it up. Clive Bell studiously working his moves; interweaving and threading his flute melodies; bopping and weaving; jabbing and moving. Chris Cookson on guitar, thinking textural, floating just out of range. Jah Wobble on Bass ; orchestrating the moves….. still a contender. I saw this band in London last November. The BEST I have ever seen . Truly.