Dub Sessions Volume One and the Adrian Sherwood album launch at Village Underground in Shoreditch

Walking into the empty, cavernous venue that is Village Underground was never uninviting – from the beginning the sounds of the opening DJs had the people on the dance floor moving with an enthusiastic exuberance.

Most notable for his contributions to dub music with the likes of Little Roy and Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sherwood’s resume cuts through genres with collaborations including involvement with Primal Scream and Depeche Mode. A prolific record producer in his 50s who can still bang out a Richter-scale shattering bass-driven sets deserves recognition. His humble manner translates into a deliverance of music that puts most upcoming DJs to shame.  

The venue was quiet at first but as the gritty scene starting packing up with people, the atmosphere transformed to vociferous excitement particularly when Adrian Sherwood finally came on at 1am and darker dubstep records shook the stonewalls. It was refreshing to hear a genre that is slowly dying – destroyed by the likes of Skrillex – to be brought back to life, subtly with recognisable dub plates. With chopped up familiar, reggae samples  – remixes to Max Romeo and The Upsetters blasting with an electronic synths and a drum and bass remix take on an unfamiliar Shaggy song, the eclectic crowd – from different backgrounds were all highly involved – age regardless.

Africa Hitech finished the night with a sped up, funky electronic techno leaving the crowd content. Survival & Resistance is worth hearing out for.

Matt Di Salvo

Survival and Resistance is released on 20^th August 2012. For further information visit Adrian Sherwood’s website here.

Listen to a five-minute album sampler of Survival and Resistance here: