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Tectonic's most ambitious project to date, in which the influence of dub comes full circle, Scientist Launches Dubstep Into Outer Space sees legendary dub engineer Scientist version 12 exclusive and unreleased dubstep rhythms from the scene's top producers, including Kode9, Shackleton, Pinch and Mala. It's a vital and unprecedented move for dubstep; one year in the making, uniting roots and futurism in visionary style. In archetypal fashion, Scientist puts decades of tactile, hands-on experience to work, deftly transforming the killer originals -- many composed specifically for this project -- into living, breathing dub music with his most sacred of black arts. The effect is most radical when he reviews the ultra-modern surfaces of Guido's "Korg Back" or Pinch and Emika's prescient stepper "2012," realigning the dance's depth perception with the skill of an electro-acoustic mastermind. No less, when working with vocalists on King Midas Sound's "U" or the dread vibes of Spaceape on Kode9's "Abeng," he enhances their duppy potential tenfold. Perhaps most spooky of all is his version of Shackleton's "Hackney Marshes," morphing the original's nyabinghi-like percussion into a subtly spiritual and psychoactive slab of riddim minimalism. However, for many the highlights will be the dreadnaught overhauls of Mala DMZ's bass bin punishing "City Cycle," and Loefah & Sgt. Pokes' "Dog Money" respectively, realizing many dub-fiend's most feverish dreams in ultra-heavyweight fashion. Add to these the energetic Afro-house roll of Jack Sparrow, RSD's cultured roots, ominous cone-testing from Armour (aka Roly Vex'd), Distance's swelling atmospheres, and Cyrus (Random Trio)'s modernist update of broken-beats, and the result is a session that does as much to survey the contemporary map of bass ordinance as it does to provide a fertile source text for Scientist's first new studio project in the thick end of ten years. Hopeton Brown aka Scientist is one of Jamaica's most revered dub engineers. His career behind the mixing desk began in the mid '70s at King Tubby's Dromilly Road studios in Kingston, earning him the "Scientist" tag in a legendary conversation between Bunny Lee and King Tubby. By the early '80s, he was working at Tuff Gong studios and it was during this period that he created his seminal series of albums for Greensleeves including Scientist Rids The World Of The Curse Of The Evil Vampires and Scientist Wins The World Cup. In the tradition of Lee "Scratch" Perry, King Tubby, and Prince Jammy, Scientist developed a distinct style, manipulating reverb, delay and filters to create transient sonic dimensions which place him as one of the most distinguished dub engineers alive today. Scientist Launches Dubstep Into Outer Space is a 24-track 2CD, containing separate discs of original cuts and Scientist versions.
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