Twilight Circus Dub Sound System

This is the second coming of the Twilight Dub Plates 2 set. It originally appeared "on pure 180 gram vinyl" in 1999. It seems to have found its way into wider distribution via CD. For the uninitiated, "dub plates" belong in their own subsection of dub. Dub plates are heavy acetate discs that are produced one by one, or in very small batches, usually for promotional purposes. The dub plate is the foundation for the ubiquitous white label records of house, techno and drum & bass. As with a white label, the dub plate is meant for dancing. It should be mixed for the dance floor and move the crowd. Like the first volume, Dub Plates Volume 2 accomplishes the task mightily. The dub effects are thick and more aggressive than usual, and urgent tunes dominate; especially "Binshaker Dub" and "New Rockers." If anything, Volume 2 is diminished only by its successor, 2000's Dub Voyage, possibly Ryan Moore's greatest triumph. Dub Voyage is rootsier and hangs together so well as an album that Volume 2's collection of twelve-inches can't quite match it. This is still better than the majority of all contemporary dub.