GreenLion & Roots Radics - Dancehall Of Horrors (Tabou1)

The cover illustration of this dub album - a design reminiscent of the work of Greensleeves illustrator Tony McDermott - will no doubt evoke memories of ‘Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires’, the iconic 1981 production by Junjo Lawes. But the connection with that album runs deeper than just the artwork.

Behind ‘Dancehall Of Horrors’ stands Dartanyan Winston aka GreenLion, a Detroit-born mix engineer who revisited and reworked a selection of Junjo Lawes-produced tracks for this project. Those same tracks were originally gifted by Junjo as payment to fellow engineer Gaylord Bravo, who first dubbed them back in 2000 for his ‘Dub Fi Junjo’ album.

And of course, there’s a clear link to Scientist himself. As GreenLion explains: “I just wanted to do dub albums in tribute to the mixing engineers who inspired me, and Scientist passed me a lot of knowledge since I’ve met him. He’s the only mixing engineer I’ve met who would actually call to check on me. He told me he was relieved to meet a young Black mixing engineer who’s just as passionate about mixing dubs as he was!”

Naturally, the Roots Radics, the backbone behind both ‘Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires’ and ‘Dancehall Of Horrors’, are once again at the core of the sound.

About ten years ago, Tabou1 discovered Dartanyan through his YouTube remixes, immediately recognizing his talent and bringing him on board as a producer. After a string of increasingly acclaimed releases such as ‘Dubmaster Voyage’, ‘Dubocalypse’ and ‘Book Of Dubelation’ (all reworks of Sly & Robbie material), we now get ‘Dancehall Of Horrors’, the fruit of years of self-study and guidance from masters like Godwin Logie and Scientist.

Perfectly chilling dub trip for those who prefer to spend their Halloween with dread rather than dead silence!