Primarily associated with the sound of dub, the label’s heritage is far broader, with many of its artists having backgrounds in punk & post-punk, industrial, hip-hop and funk.

In this special programme label head-honcho Adrian digs deep in to the imprint’s back catalogue to bring a selection of classic On U Sound releases, some rare unreleased tracks and exclusive material from Adrian’s new album, which is coming out later in the year.

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Fire In Babylon

In a turbulent era of apartheid in South Africa; race-riots in England and civil unrest in the Caribbean, the West Indian cricketers struck a wonderfully defiant blow at the forces of white prejudice.

Watch the official film trailer below:

Formed in the early 80’s by On-U head honcho Adrian Sherwood and percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, African Head Charge have established a unique reputation over the years for producing exceptionally beautiful and deeply strange music.
This is their first release since 2005’s Visions of a Psychedelic Africa and sees Bonjo once again joining forces with long time On-U stable-mates Skip McDonald, Crocodile and the Crispy Horns together with contributions from legendary bassist George Oban, Dancehall pioneer Jazzwad and electronic wizard Adamski. All the elements of a classic Head Charge album; a triumphant mix of dub, psychedelia, trance, afro and tribal rhythms that have given them their own unique place in contemporary music.

Voodoo of the Godsent will be followed in April by the re-release of 3 seminal On-U Sound albums: Creation Rebel’s “Starship Africa”, African Head Charge’s “Off the Beaten Track” and The New Age Steppers’ eponymous first album that was the first ever LP release on the On-U Sound label

Adrian worked with DJ Tudo on a track titled Gaita Mestra (Cock Soup Mix)’. DJ Tudo makes field recordings around Brazil and uses elements of these to breathe new life into forgotten genres and create new fusions, in this case perre and dub-reggae.
The album has been compiled by Mais Um Gringo, and you can find out more about the release over at their website, where you can also get a free album sampler.

Adrian’s involvement on the release follows on from a visit he made to Brazil with Brother Culture in 2007.

“IR 25 Dubversive” features tracks from Asian Dub Foundation alumni and many of the On-U Sound crew including Adrian, Skip Mcdonald and Louis Beckett, working with indigenous people from Brazil, Canada, the Solomon Islands, and Sosolakam among others.

The track “Galdino 2010″‘ that Adrian mixed on this album is the first time indigenous chants from indigenous people in Brazil have been dubbed into reggae!

To launch the album a giant mural was created in Colombia, with environmental and indigenous themes to launch album. More information about the album can be found at Indigenous Resistance’s site here

Fire In Babylon explores the team’s achievement against the social, political and cultural backdrop of the period. It goes into moving detail of how it became a force for regional pride and a metaphor for post colonial revolt.

Expect to hear some rarities from the On-U Sound back catalogue as well as some peripheral artists from the period. The film was recently shown at the London Film Festival, and a nationwide release is expected in early 2011.