dub

The Casio Employee Behind the “Sleng Teng” Riddim that Revolutionized Reggae

The “Sleng Teng” riddim revolutionized reggae music in the mid-1980s, and has spawned hundreds of versions in the decades since then. Less well known is the story of how the distinctive bassline originated in a preset sample included on a Casio electronic keyboard and the work of a young developer fresh out of college.

Read more at nippon.com

Point n’ click over to the Jahtari Bandcamp page to cop a FREE (or rather, pay what you want) download of some cheeky dubs of the Secret Of Monkey Island soundtracks. For those unfamiliar – Jahtari is the label helmed by German 8-bit dub maverick disrupt. He’s moved on as an artist now, but he made his name building up a community of chiptune soundfolk pursuing a niche but perfectly realised vibe. From the label themselves:

“Nerdcore Dub versions from ‘The Secret of Monkey Island I & II’ adventure game soundtracks (1990/91), the forgotten Voodoo-Reggae classics from the floppy disc age. The original game soundtracks by Michael Z. Land, in all their uncanny 16bit-Soundblaster FM-synth glory, were a massive influence for Jahtari (weird computer game reggae!) – but could those soothing and somewhat wimpy tracks be translated into a heavyweight dub context, something that might work on a sound system?”

Out to the fine folk at RwdFwd, always pinging things on the radar that might otherwise go undetected. This is heavy meditation business for anyone who carries a torch for the likes of Skull Disco, or gets their switch flicked by the more recent Pretty Sneaky drops.