8 Tracks: Of On-U Sound With Jimpster

Jamie Odell is a bit of a champion – the longstanding producer and label boss has cast a spell across electronic and dance music for decades now. Freerange has become an institution of sorts and his own talents in the studio and behind the booth are supreme and diverse. Most recently he has remixed Bawrut on the latest Ransom Note Records release which is obviously well worth a listen. We invited him to select eight tracks and he used the opportunity to focus in on a label with which he has an attachment, On-U Sound.
"There were a few years around about ‘86-‘89 that were some of the most inspiring and influential for me. My whole life began to revolve around music at this time; listening, buying, clubbing, going to live shows, starting to DJ and making my first tracks. In the period just before house Music really established itself in the UK it was Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound that I would most obsess over. From the post-punk industrial grooves of Tackhead, Gary Clail and Mark Stewart through to the twisted dub science of African Headcharge and digital dancehall of Singers & Players, On-U provided a world of sound and inspiration more than any other label at the time and so many of the releases still sound incredible and not at all dated 30 years on!" – Jamie Odell
This LP first dropped in 1984 but don’t think I heard it until around ’86 and it was my introduction to On-U Sound and Adrian Sherwood. The diversity on this compilation was it’s biggest draw for me, and as someone without much knowledge of reggae it felt accessible due to the mixture of crazy electronics, hip hop and electro influenced sampled beats, and more traditional dub and dancehall. This was where I discovered the likes of Singers & Players, Dub Syndicate and Mark Stewart And The Maffia and was a springboard for me to go onto discover the artists other releases.
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