Wonderful words by the ever erudite Adam Turner.

In 1983 Khartomb released a post- punk / dub 7” single. The two cuts contained, Swahili Lullaby and Teekon Warriors, were a perfect 45 RPM slice of that year’s summer. Much loved by John Peel, their DIY indie- dub chimed immediately with bands like The Slits, The Raincoats. Khartomb got some solid support from the music press but for whatever reason, nothing further happened, and the 7” was the group’s sole release… Until now. 

Jason Boardman’s Before I Die label is becoming one of those imprints where everything they do is essential. Last year Jason put out an album by Konformer – a set of slow motion kosmische sounds from Nuremberg – and he matched that this year with KlangKollector’s Dubtapes Vol 1, a double  album of very chilled, very Balearic dub  – all deep bass, machine rhythms and rippling piano lines. Jason now follows up with an expanded version of Khartomb’s single, a limited 12” that’ll be out at the end of June.

Opening with Swahili Lullaby, a killer track of rattling post punk percussion, spindly guitar, a cool, jazz / reggae-flecked vocal, and underneath it all the deep throb of a dub bassline. A genuine lost but rediscovered dub / post punk gem. Teekon Warriors boasts a big repeating bass riff, tape hiss, rimshot drumming, and bursts of echo-laden fretwork. Set off by the sweetest of vocals. Daisy High, is previously unreleased, and a favourite of indie fan / footballer Pat Nevin apparently. Slowed down and sparser, it’s a cut made for the early 80s indie jazz / bossa nova scene. The sound of The Swamp Children, Weekend, etc. 

The E.P. also features two remixes of Swahili Lullaby. Both are superb “secret weapons” and both the work of local talent. Stockport’s Synkro takes it upon himself to fuck with the very fabric of time. His Balearic Dub Mix slows the song right down to a pitter patter of drums, filters, and FX, all elegantly echoing into infinity, and somehow adds the actual sound of a sunset, before gently, but persuasively, setting it adrift. Talking Drums’ Redub brings the reggae rhythms back, drums and percussion showing the way with a swinging lope that bounces around in delay. The bass and guitar play off each other. One bumping and prodding, the other skinny and jerky, while a chopped up vocal reverberates into space. The sounds and FX pile up, layer upon layer, to create the kind of psychedelic dub that On U Sound and African Head Charge excel at, while remaining still very much its own thing.

You can order a copy of Khartomb’s Swahili Lullaby from your favourite store, but Manchester’s Piccadilly Records might be the obvious choice. 

You can find more proper, on point, prose from Adam Turner over at his own brilliant blog, The Bagging Area. Adam is also part of the admin team at the mighty Flightpath Estate.