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Roots Tonic
Roots Tonic Meets Bill Laswell
(ROIR)
First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2008, Volume 15, #3
Written by Douglas Heselgrave
Sun, March 9, 2008, 05:00
PM CDT
American dub music currently is experiencing a renaissance. In this regard,
Roots Tonic Meets Bill Laswell, much as its title suggests, brings
together legendary bassist and producer Bill Laswell and Roots Tonic, the
backing band for Hasidic reggae singer Matisyahu. It also is a true summit of
homegrown masters.
Records like this provide proof that reggae has been around long enough to
have insinuated itself deep into popular culture’s consciousness, so much so
that it now can be played and understood by musicians outside Jamaica. Roots
Tonic, for example, is a Brooklyn-based trio that features Josh Warner on bass
and keyboards, Aaron Dugan on guitars and effects, and Jonah David on drums and
percussion. Its members not only are top-flight artists, but they also perform
at the same level as their Caribbean counterparts. Throughout Roots Tonic
Meets Bill Laswell, their playing is inventive and completely credible, and
the lack of a singer on this effort brings their powerful and intuitive
abilities into the spotlight. There exists a level of ease and energy in their
instrumental interplay that demonstrates how much Roots Tonic collectively has
internalized reggae’s often deceptively challenging rhythms and counterpoints.
Roots Tonic essentially plays the brand of King Tubby-influenced, roots-dub
fare that has become immensely popular in recent years. What sets the group
apart from other bands playing this type of music is the powerful, "take no
prisoners" drumming that drives each song. The straight-ahead percussive charge
that David mounts on each of the tracks on Roots Tonic Meets Bill Laswell
proves that he is a force with which to be reckoned. In addition to the hypnotic
rhythms that map out each tune’s trajectory, the material is fleshed out by —
and, hence, it benefits from — Laswell’s trademark sonic touches. Taking his cue
from Lee "Scratch" Perry’s love of found and manufactured sounds, Laswell has
spent the better part of the past two decades concocting his own arsenal of
bells, bangs, drones, and other assorted swampy effects, all of which give his
mixes depth as well as swirling cadences. The atmospherics on this album are
wonderful, though they create a more sinister mood than the zany, Inspector
Gadget-isms that Perry loves to employ.
Roots Tonic Meets Bill Laswell is a great record, and it is a wonderful
sign that American dub music has matured and grown out of the awkwardness and
overcompensation that marked early efforts in the genre. In fact, tunes like Employees Must Wash Your Hands and Instrument of the Trinity are as
inventive and complex as any dub tunes being recorded in the world today. To put
it simply, this is powerful music that is played with passion and without
compromise. It comes highly recommended for fans of old-school dub. 
Roots Tonic Meets Bill Laswell is available from
Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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