Dub Zealand

Reggae recognises no borders and ever since Bob Marley performed a legendary one-off show in Auckland in 1979, the irie vibe has been as synonymous with New Zealand as jokes about sheep. Enhanced by the adoption of Rastafarianism by some Maori and the widespread use of ganja, local bands like Herbs opened the Pacific reggae door in the 80s, followed by Salmonella Dub and Katchafire in the 90s, leading to the current popularity of acts such as Fat Freddys Drop, Kora and Tiki Taane.

Reggae's digitally enhanced dub offshoots, from old-school to dubstep, have similarly enjoyed a high Kiwi profile, and this 14-track compilation – put together by London-based DJ/remixer Jstar and Italian-born producer Luca Gatti (aka Dr Cat) – features both predictable and obscure inclusions from Aotearoa's lively dub scene. The Black Seeds open with an echo-laden ‘Smuggler's Dub’, supplying enough speaker-crunching bass to test anyone's sound system. Wellington group Rhombus give ‘Dem Only Know’ a bubbly treatment, and UK's Bombay Dub Orchestra provide an Eastern-tinged ambience on their Opium Den remix of International Observer's ‘Popcorn’. Backed by what sounds like an electric harpsichord, one-man band Jefferson Belt offers up a credible Lee Perry-type rant on ‘The Creeping Tings Of The Earth.’ Other standout tracks include ‘Arms Over Jordan’ (Deep Fried Dub Remix) from Melbourne-based NZ expats The Red Eyes, while Pitch Black's totally chilled-out ‘South of the Line’, is nothing short of sublime. Jamaica may have sowed the seed, but these antipodean bros have well and truly picked up the dub chalice.