Ban Ban Ton Ton is looking back on the musical year. Since Japanese superstition holds 7 as her luckiest number, we’re gonna try to keep each selection tight to this total, in the hope that our conjuring of 7 X 7 X 7 X … will collectively manifest some magic for 2025. You may witness some attempts to creatively bend the rules, blur / invent genres and rinse formats, in order to squeeze in as many great releases as possible…

Any spare cash I get still goes on records, and reggae and dub vinyl is perhaps my last remaining vice. Here are 7 + 7 brand new / good for you sides that, for me, over the last 12 months stood out. 

7s

Dubkasm & Eek A Mouse / Skateland Rocking

Veteran Dancehall MC Eek-A-Mouse teams up with dynamite Bristolian dub duo, Dubkasm, for a single on Tricky’s False Idols. I have J Walk to thank for the heads up on this one. To my ears, the version has something of the Sly & Robbie’s about it. 

Kings Of High Speed / False Start Dub

Razor-N-Tape ’s JKriv paid tribute to his former bandmate, Ethan White, with two terrific dub tracks. Showcasing White’s virtuoso keys, both sides of this totally surprising 45 – from the Brooklyn house / disco operation – blew me away. Too authentic to be labelled “leftfield.”

Peckings All Stars / Fela Rock

Funky, sax-y Afro rock voodoo from the Shepherd’s Bush-based institution. 

Hidden Sequence / Silent Roots 

Modern, dub techno-derived roots from Germany. I picked up the 7, but the 8-minutes plus digital track, Creation Dub, is also well worth investing in. 

Tengaku Dub / Tempura Dub

Nagano’s Jody Tengu turns the traditional enka of Torao Mitsuyama’s Torao’s Big Fishing Boat into an explosive meeting of Japanese o-matsuri and On-U Sound. 

Tokyo Riddim Band / Lazy Love

Izumi “Mimi” Kobayashi, together with the Tokyo Riddim Band, covers her ’80s cult cut Lazy Love. Her steamy lyrics and delivery, flipped by a fantastic Prince Fatty dub. 

Trinity / Jah Mi Protector

Grant Dell, man behind the Legsman label, launched a new imprint, Nine Channel, with a slice of digital dub toast from the legendary Trinity. Capturing one of the DJ’s final performances. 

12s

Joe Armon-Jones / Sorrow 

Jazzman Joe Armon-Jones issued a third 12 in his Aquarri In Dub series. Sorrow featured Liam Bailey’s stunning vocals, James Mollison’s smoky saxophone and fine Fender Rhodes from Armon-Jones himself. 

Nat Birchall / Ethiopian Sun

Cool keys, sweet sax and a tick-tock-ing drum machine that pays tribute to pioneering Black Ark tracks, such as the Congo’s Congoman. This laidback, tropical lilt spins back, and rewinds, into a more phased Part 2. Together adding up to a totally sublime 7 minutes. 

Daktari & Horace Andy / Rasta Forever / Mole Audio

More top quality German dub techno roots, here starring Horace Andy. The OG’s bottomless bass was easy to get lost in. The Zion Train mix was some trippy, chunky, chugging trodding.

Dialog & Benji / Child Was I

Deep dub tech roots from Finland. A super stoned musical meditation that surrounds some conscious lyrical Rasta wisdom, I had a proper sunset moment to this, just before the festive season madness started. Serious slow, half-speed, no quarter-speed, stepping. 

Dubamine / Mosquito Dub

Brilliant Bay Area gear with Babylon-busting horns and rush-inducing David Rodigan samples.

“I’m gonna play for you a dub that no other sound can play!”

Prince Mamba Meets Georges Dub / Junkanoo Is Coming…

Boss, Black Ark-influenced, and again boasting some serious Fender Rhodes, the versions here were chilled enough for Balearic Isle sunset cocktails.

Skruff / Dis Dub

Matt Stratton aka Skruff gave Mutabaruka’s Dis Poem a fresh shake. Ambient and ethereal, with celestial backing vocals, the more you listen, the better this one gets.