Systemwide

Head straight for the instrumentals on this album, which are great up-tempo dub jams done live. Systemwide is a San Franciscan quintet, with members sharing duties on live instruments, turntables and electronic instruments; they clearly enjoy playing together. Being a dub band, the songs are underpinned by deep bass lines that reach very low frequencies, while the drums are played live and electronic percussion adds a zip to many of the songs. Other electronic instruments and sounds are used to complement many of the songs and keep things interesting and modern sounding. Also, there are a handful of vocal tracks, which are mostly down-tempo, but only "People of the Book" is striking, featuring the biblical and psychedelic ramblings of guest vocalist Dr. Israel. It is a clear exception to the "avoid the vocals" rule. For good dub-party music, stick to the instrumentals.