Dub Funk Association, the – “Sounds of the Heavyweight ” – [Tanty Records]

Even though this group of dubsters uses the “F” word in their name, this is some of the rootsiest dub I’ve heard in the 90′s, in direct lineage from King Tubby, Lee Perry, and the like. (A notable exception is Track 6, an exercise in restrained junglism.) The Dub Funk Association is actually one man, Kelvin Richards, and however many friends he can pull into the studio on a given day. For this particular release, his fifth full-length album, he gets some help from Russell Brown (The Disciples) and Part 2 (UK hip-hopper), among others. Deep, throbbing bass… echoey drums…snatches of vocals and horn stabs…you know what to expect. Heavyweight sounds, indeed.