ZamZam03
Strategy
A: Dub in My System
B: Hardware Dub
Showing its desire to scan deeper into a wider spectrum of sound while still remaining loosely within the realms of Dub, Portland based record Label ‘ZamZam’ enlist the talents of Paul Dickow, a versatile musician and active Band member in various groups who has taken on the name ‘Strategy’ since 1999 to represent his solo work.
His first dub-outing was on Tigerbeat’s sister label ‘Shockout’ back in 2004 and the rough & distorted, sample-based ‘Noise Tape Reggae’ 7” released in 2008, both these records showed early interest and fascination with reggae music.
While many would shy away from using the same guise whilst taking on the challenge of becoming fluent in various forms of music, Strategy has not feared to delve into many different sounds and styles.
Releasing records on various labels such as his co-owned ‘Community library’ and a recent EP on ‘100% Silk’, he has swerved through House, Acid, Ambient and Disco through to field recordings and electro-acoustic improvisation without ever pinning himself down to one sound.
This Release however, marks his return to full-on Dub, and after a quick e-mail exchange, Paul tells me it also marks somewhat of a full circle for both him and label-owner Ezra Ereckson. Paul says ‘He would always turn me on to good dub and electronic music back in the early 1990’s when he worked in a record shop ‘which I frequented when I first moved to Portland’.
‘So in a way I would not be making dub music if it wasn’t for Ezra’s influence… It’s gone from buying dub records from him behind the counter to, 20 years later, producing a Record for his Label...’
Whilst the synthline, - bursting at the seams in ‘Dub In My System’ and the intense depth and space of the soundscape heard in ‘Hardware Dub’ lend a dub-techno aesthetic to these tracks, the raw drum machines and rhythm place it loosely within the groove and sound of early digital reggae from JA round about ‘85 alongside the modern take on that era championed by the Jahtari Label more recently.
Although this style is often referred to as ‘Computer Music’ these examples are channeled through a big chain of (almost all) analog effects and a palpable crunch that just simply couldn’t be created on the PC…
To prove this, Paul Dickow a.k.a. Strategy kindly gave us an Inventory List for each Track featured on this 7”:
Side A: ‘Dub in My System’
MFB drum machine
Akai AX-60 synthesizer
Yamaha DX-100 synthesizer (it's actually digital, but its old)
Digitech old digital delay
Vermona spring reverb
Korg MS-20 synthesizer
‘a little bit of drums done also as samples in Ableton Live‘
Seck 12-channel mixer
Joemeek compressor
Side B: ‘Hardware Dub’
Seck Mixer
Roland tr-606
Analogue Solutions modular synth drum modules
Synare drum synth
Yamaha DX-100
A/DA 1-second digital delay
Electro-harmonix memory man
Vermona spring reverb
Joemeek compressor
Released on 150gram, 7” vinyl, limited to 500 copies, it features a screen printed and stamped sleeve made by Polygon Press.
This is the kind of stuff that makes us want to continue buying records, the kind of stuff that will keep the record-store owner enthusiastic and the selectors proud to be a part of this culture.
Daniel Davies
