early media praise for re-issues of African Head Charge
A fraction of the laudatory media response to the newly released set of re-issues of the seminal experimental dub work of African Head Charge released by the UK’s pioneering avant/reggae label On-U Sound. The label is issuing
four studio albums originally released 1990 – 2011 alongside an album of unreleased music from the 1980’s and a 5 CD box set.
Part one of the epic reissue campaign On-U Sound started in 2016 with the reissues of the crucial early years of African Head Charge, the long-running collaboration between master percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah and maverick UK dub producer Adrian Sherwood is what’s discussed in the coverage below.
There’s a brilliant box-set coming from another legendary ’80s group, African Head Charge, known for their revolutionary take on dub music. Bob Boilen/NPR.org[
listen to his comments: https://n.pr/2Ii9jbe]
African Head Charge began as a challenge to Brian Eno. The liner notes for the dub ensemble’s new box set share the story how producer Adrian Sherwood read a 1981 interview about My Life In The Bush of Ghosts, where Eno described that album as his “vision of a psychedelic Africa.” Sherwood initially thought that statement was “pompous,” but decided to try his own hand at creating what it might sound like. Teaming up with Jamaican percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, the result was the duo’s debut album, My Life In A Hole In The Ground. Alongside laying groundwork for the next four decades of this prolific project, it would find an altered version of their song “Far Away Chant” used to terrifying effect in David Lynch’s Wild At Heart.As a sequel to their early album collection Environmental Holes & Drastic Tracks 1981 – 1986, African Head Charge have compiled the later years of their On-U Sound recordings in this 5CD, 9LP set. Alongside expanding their classic ’90s albums Songs of Praise and In Pursuit of Shashamane Land with bonus tracks, they have pressed 2005’s Vision of a Psychedelic Africa and 2011’s Voodoo of the Godsent on vinyl for the first time. The liners featuring an extended interview with Iyabinghi Noah are especially illuminating, with stories about unusual projects such as his cover of the theme song to Neighbours, an Australian soap opera starring Kylie Minogue, and a collaboration with Norman Cook before he changed his name to Fatboy Slim.
Churchical Chant of the Iyabinghi is the crown jewel of this collection. A set of outtakes from Songs of Praise and In Pursuit of Shashamane Land, described as “the dubbier and more out-there experiments mixed down whilst Sherwood was shaping the sound of the albums”, they have never been heard before. The basis of songs like “Dervish Chant” and “Animal Law” will sound familiar to anyone who’s lived with the originals, but these versions (“Dervish Dub” and “Jungle Law”) are even trippier. Listening on headphones, the stereo-panned hand drums and shaking percussion will rattle in your brain, while their ghostly vocal samples are applied with a liberal dose of hallucinogenic effects. The dreamy guitar licks of “Dub Some More” recall Sherwood’s work with post-punk group Maximum Joy, while the danceable rhythms of “Dub For The Spirits” are perhaps closer to his remixes for Primal Scream. Fans of AHC will be singing their praises for years to come. j locke/AquariumDrunkard.com 3/13
Behold the premiere of “Peace and Happiness,” a previously unreleased track from Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi, one of On-U Sound’s upcoming spate of releases by African Head Charge on vinyl. African Head Charge is the long-running collaboration between master Nyabinghi percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah and maverick UK dub producer Adrian Sherwood. Some of the trippiest dub you’ll ever encounter.Comprised of music originally released between 1990 and 2011, Drumming Is A Language, a 5 CD box set including material from these same releases alongside Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi-an album of unreleased music and rarities dating from the early 90s that were rescued from decaying tapes…This new series picks up the story in 1990 with the album that is widely regarded as their masterpiece, Songs Of Praise. It’s been expanded to a double album with a whole raft of bonus tracks, as has 1993’s In Pursuit Of Shashamane Land.In recent years African Head Charge have returned to the live stage with a line-up featuring original African Head Charge participants.Richard Metzger/DangerousMinds.net 2/5
For nearly forty years, master Nyabinghi percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah has collaborated with dub magician Adrian Sherwood/On-U Sound and friends in a psychedelic reggae ensemble called African Head Charge. Sherwood has said the idea for the group and the first album, “My Life in a Hole in the Ground” (1981) was sparked by Brian Eno’s “”vision of a psychedelic Africa,” a phrase he used to describe his wonderful album with David Byrne, “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.” Throughout the 1980s, I’d often return to “My Life in a Hole in the Ground” as the soundtrack for my own personal journeys into inner space.On March 6, African Head Charge is following up a series of vinyl reissues with Drumming Is A Language: 1990-2011 a CD box set or vinyl bundle containing five essential albums along with “Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi,” a collection of unreleased version mixes from the early 1990s. David Pescovitz/BoingBoing.net 2/11
Continuing a series of spectacular reissues in the last few years, On-U Sound Records have now dropped a box-set of seminal and recent recordings from African Head Charge. Drumming is a Language 1990-2011 compiles five essential releases from the legendary dub, world music collective. And while this most recent material is more abstract (in spots) than earlier offerings from the group, the selections here largely remain essential, and visionary.Songs of Praise (1990) opens the set with a record that’s busy creating its own genre of music. Equal parts dub and ambient, and fusion even, the album envelops a listener like only the best Adrian Sherwood-associated projects can. “Dervish Chant” and “Healing Father” conjure up moods even as the rhythms here carry these forward with verve. “Ethiopian Praises” and “Chant for the Spirits” mix light techno elements with the samples of chanting and African poly-rhythms to shine as real highlights here, and examples of the kind of music that is nearly impossible to describe to newbies to African Head Charge. Of course for fans this will feel familiar, and the natural progression on from heavier, funkier albums from AHC in the Eighties.
1993’s In Pursuit of Shashamane Land is in some ways the perfect African Head Charge album. Largely accessible, the tunes here all bounce, but a few, like “Pursuit” and “Fever Pitch” throb in the service of a mood. These cuts, like many here, conjure a mood as much as a vibe, with the whole album containing some of Adrian Sherwood’s most instinctive work as a producer. The vocals from musicians like Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah give this a lyricism in spots, like on “Somebody Touch I”, that is almost mainstream, even as the entire album serves as a textbook example of how to mix dub and ambient touches with enormous ease, and in a natural fashion.Vision of a Psychedelic Africa (2005) comes next and this rare record will surprise and jolt the pleasure-centers of any fan of this music.
With guitar from Crucial Tony and drums from Keith LeBlanc (Tackhead), this might be the funkiest release in Drumming is a Language 1990-2011. “Positive Thoughts and Mind” swings on top of a woozy hook, while “Drumming is a Language”, the song that gave this entire set its title, churns and pulses like the kind of thing David Byrne and Brian Eno once attempted. Vocalist Bonjo I A Binghi Noah uses a light touch here, preferring instead to let the samples and live drums anchor this. Elsewhere, “Who Are You?” sounds like the kind of thing Tackhead cranked out on occasion, while “Unplanned” is closer to Cabaret Voltaire than to dub itself.
Voodoo of the Godsent from 2011 is elegantly mysterious, with large portions of this one seeming more oblique than earlier releases in this box-set. “Undulating” and “This and That and The Other” benefit from some creative samples, while “Take Heed…and Smoke Up Your Collyweed” is buoyed by samples of Prince Far I. His voice is treated here, such that some of his distinctive growl is stretched out into the groove itself, but the overall effect is a blissful one. Skip McDonald provides some great guitar-work on this set, with the legendary George Oban holding things down on the bass. This might be my second favorite album in this Drumming is a Language 1990-2011 collection, and that’s largely because the down-tempo space dub here succeeds at enveloping a listener in the way that only the best African Head Charge material can.
The compilation Churchical Chant of the Iyabinghi closes out this set. Complied in 2020, the album is available separately but here, in the context of this entire package, it provides a nice footnote to what’s gone before. “Disciplined and Dignified” pops, and “Jungle Law” finds a groove to pound into submission, but most of the material here is similar to what’s gone before, if only a bit more spacious and space-y.
Drumming is a Language 1990-2011 covers a huge time period in the history of this group, but it does it fairly successfully. While a listener, or even casual fan, won’t be too surprised at what’s here, I think, when taken in next to earlier recordings from African Head Charge, this five-disc set indicates a loosening of the divine groove, and a pursuit of something holy and pure through heavy rhythms. In that sense, there’s a spiritual connection to more straightforward forms of reggae and dub but, as always, this is an Adrian Sherwood production we’re talking about. For that reason, it’s best to consider this as visionary and out there in the best possible way. Sherwood and the dozens of excellent players here mix very earthy hooks with nearly trance-like vocal-lines (in the cuts with vocals), and hypnotic samples in others. Throughout, there’s a totality of sound that’s distinctly recognizable as that of Sherwood and African Head Charge, but also an expansion of a style set down in earlier years. Progressive in the realest sense, Drumming is a Language 1990-2011 is essential, of course. Glenn Griffith/APessimistIsSeldomDisappointed.com 3/10
This new series picks up the story in 1990 with the album that is widely regarded as their masterpiece, Songs Of Praise. It’s been expanded to a double album with a whole raft of bonus tracks, as has 1993’s In Pursuit Of Shashamane Land. 2005’s Vision Of A Psychedelic Africa and 2011’s Voodoo Of The Godsent are pressed to vinyl for the first time, both as double LP sets, and as a companion piece to the Return Of The Crocodile LP of early rarities, Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi compiles alternate mixes and dubs from 1990 -1993. Each vinyl LP comes with a double-sided 24″ x 12″ poster containing an exclusive new interview with Bonjo in 5 parts alongside rare photos. All of the contents from the vinyl reissues are also anthologized in the 5CD and 36 page book box set, Drumming Is A Language, the companion set to the acclaimed Environmental Holes & Drastic Tracks.
About African Head Charge
African Head Charge started life as a studio recording project in 1981 when the percussion talents of Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah combined with the studio wizardry of Adrian Sherwood. Bonjo had come to England from a Rasta camp in the hills of Clarendon, Jamaica. From as early as he can remember he studied and played percussion, learning not only Rasta/Nyabinghi drums but also African and Afro Cuban rhythms. He also loved to experiment, which made working with Sherwood perfect. Working with tape loops, manipulated and vari-speeded 1/4 inch tape that was re-recorded back to the multi-track tape, reverbs and delays, this was then applied to the performances of the musicians. And so the first psychedelic African dub LP My Life In A Hole In The Ground was created. It was not until the late 1980s that African Head Charge made its first appearance as a live band, taking place at the University of London (ULU) and instantly a sold-out success. What followed in the next few years gave them semi-legendary status, with performances at festivals such as Glastonbury and Womad, and visits to Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Three more largely experimental studio albums followed throughout the 80’s: Environmental Studies (1982), Drastic Season (1983) and Off The Beaten Track (1986). The latter has been hailed as both a seminal recording in the progressive use of sound-bite technology and an excellent example of the integration of live instrumentation and programmed music. 1990 saw the release of the Songs Of Praise LP widely acknowledged as their masterpiece. It featured religious chants from different parts of the world set to an African dub backdrop of multi-layered percussion and demonstrated another evolution in their sound. It was followed by the complimentary In Pursuit Of Shashamane Land album in 1993. In 1995 Bonjo left London to start a new life in Ghana and it was not until 2003 that he made a return visit to London and renewed his partnership with Adrian Sherwood on Vision Of A Psychedelic Africa, released in 2005. Voodoo of the Godsent is their most recent studio album, described by the label as being ‘the culmination of thirty years of endeavour.’ In 2016 On-U Sound put out vinyl reissues of the first four African Head Charge albums, which had become increasingly sought after by DJs and collectors. These were followed this up with an LP of unreleased tracks and version excursions from from that same early-80s period, Return Of The Crocodile, carefully transferred from the original decaying tapes and sequenced for release by On-U archivist Patrick Dokter.African Head Charge have returned to the live stage in recent years with a line-up featuring original African Head Charge members and augmented by the electronics of Gaudi (recently heard on Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Rainford and Heavy Rain). The current show fuses together djembes, guitars, drums, keys and vocals with heavy electronic sampling and visuals. The collective use this blend of live and electronica to generate an intoxicating soundscape of reggae-inflected drumming, visceral vocals and bottomless, thrumming bass-lines that truly reach to the heart of your being.Buy/Stream/Pre-order link: https://on-u-sound.ffm.to/ahcdrum
About On-U Sound
On-U Sound is an iconic independent label with a treasure trove of remarkable music, and sits in a unique position historically as a junction point between the heavy influence of Jamaican music on UK culture and the development of disparate sounds such as post-punk, hip-hop, industrial, jungle, dubstep and beyond.The label emerged from a fertile UK DIY scene that birthed contemporary imprints such as Rough Trade, 4AD and Factory. Since 1981, with label boss and producer Adrian Sherwood at the helm, On-U Sound has released over 100 albums and singles and launched the careers of countless artists.As a producer, Adrian has worked with The Slits, Cabaret Voltaire, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, The Fall, Sinead O’Connor and more. His remix credits include Depeche Mode, Afrika Bambaataa, Blur, Primal Scream, Air and Peaking Lights. Key On-U Sound artists include Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Tackhead, Dub Syndicate, African Head Charge, New Age Steppers, Singers & Players and Bim Sherman.In 2015, Adrian continues to be in-demand for his unique sonic vision as a producer and he tours globally with his unique live mixing/DJ hybrid sets. There is also a major project underway to reissue and reappraise the amazing back catalogue of classic records that have been released on the imprint, with represses of classics sides, retrospective compilations such as the Sherwood At The Controls volumes and Science Fiction Dancehall Classics, rare cuts from the vaults, all complimented by critically acclaimed new productions with Pinch, Nissennenmondai, Roots Manuva and Lee “Scratch” Perry. The label recently scored their first Billboard number 1 with Heavy Rain, a dub album co-produced by Perry and Sherwood and featuring guest musicians including Brian Eno, which hit the top of the US reggae charts on release.http://on-usound.com/https://onusound.bleepstores.com
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