al cisneros vs the bug: rosin

The friendship between Al Cisneros (Sleep/OM) and Kevin Martin (The Bug/King Midas Sound) begun when King Midas Sound supported OM at the Scala in London in 2012. Subsequently the duo quickly realized via passionately animated conversations, that they shared a serous addiction to reggae 7", and in particular, a mutually insatiable appetite for roots and the deepest dub versions being consistently transmitted from Jamaica... This resulted in Cisneros, then inviting Martin to specifically drop hardcore dub sessions as support to Sleep in Berlin, and on tour with OM. It was during the European Om tour in 2019, that Cisneros offered to record an ep for The Bug's fledgling Pressure label. And now "Rosin" is the fulfillment of that promise. Al's side of the single, showcases the low-end specialist extending the bassbin pounding methodologies of those incredible bline masters who first inspired him to relentlessly explore the infinitely resonant worlds of bass and space. So "Rosin Immersion" and it's subsequent dub "Dabby You", echo "Flabba Holt's classic work with the Roots Radics or Robbie Shakespeare's tremendous output for Channel One with The Revolutionaries... These devastating mixes extend the hallowed roots tradition that Cisneros worships, and gleefully opts for an even lower, slower, grind... It's another fantastic example of Al's parallel dub world, that he has been tirelessly promoting with his incredible Sinai label releases for the past few years, as he simultaneously continues to reshape metal with Sleep and zoned "out" rock with OM too. On the flipside, Martin took up Al's invitation to remix his original song, but Kevin here opts for radical mutation instead of homage. What may have begun as a single remix, ends as two militantly distinct future dubs aimed straight at the body and dome... Echoing Kevin's recent collaborations with Will Bevan aka Burial, for their collaborative Flame series, as previously released on Pressure, this pair of thundering tracks reflect The Bug at his most immersive and psychedelic. "Fathoms" and "50 hz" revel in their otherness, and the sonic sorcery of his Brussels based sound lab. The twin rhythms are undoubtedly inspired by the spirit of The Bug's production heroes Scientist, King Tubby or Adrian Sherwood, but are set adrift in a futuristic sci-fi format for ambient heads and sound system disciples alike to get fully lost in.