Teledubgnosis

Ted Parsons is a drummer with a heavy past, having been one of the founding members of Prong and more recently ending up in post-metal terrorist group Godflesh. With that group on (permanent?) hiatus Parsons has activated a dub project that has more in common with early NY "Illbient” sounds, such as DJ Spooky and We, than his metallic day jobs. The soundscape, laid out by Jason Wolford, of the Decadent Dub Team and G.D. Grinnell of the Toasters, features loops and atmospheres you’d expect if Lee Perry got into Skinny Puppy’s old tape box. Pere Ubu’s Tony Maimone shows up on a few tracks to get all rubbery on the bass. The vibe is mainly modern, but not without a few nods towards the Mad Prof.’s Jamaica and a few Middle Eastern flavours cropping up. Two tacked-on remixes by the Bug (Kevin Martin) and Techlevel 2 (Justin Broadrick of Godflesh) don’t add much to what is already an excellent, chilled out future-dub album.