September 2008 - Reggae-Vibes at reggae-vibes.com
(Beat Beat Beat)

Rating: from 5 (excellent) to 1 (poor) ---- Vocals: - Backing: 4 Production: 4 Sound quality: 4/5 Sleeve: 5

Jamaican dub music might be dead and burried (it is ages ago that a noteworthy dub album coming from the Island has been issued), it certainly isn't in other parts of the world as proven by Slade Anderson a.k.a. Burning Babylon out of Boston, Massachusetts.

In the past decade he has been working on his own dub projects -- deeply inspired and influenced by celebrated 1970s dub works of King Tubby, Scientist and Lee "Scratch" Perry -- which led to the release of five, mostly critical acclaimed albums including "Roots Heavy", "Garden Of Dub", "Dub Shack", "Knives To The Treble" and "Stereo Mash Up". With his latest effort entitled "Beat Beat Beat" he adds another worthwhile full length album to his discography.

Like in the heydays of vinyl releases, "Beat Beat Beat" contains 12 tracks and it really shouldn't be more as it often doesn't make sense to fill up a cd with 18 or 20 tracks. The album features a wide variety of riddims including Steppers, One Drop, Ska, and even Version, all of them created with the 'roots of dub' in mind. The drum and the heavy bass beat continue to be the driving force throughout, but on most tracks there's an emphasis on the keyboard reminiscent of the sound of the early 1970s created by for example Lee "Scratch" Perry.

One goes through various moods when listening to the sounds incorporated on this album, but above all it are the positive vibrations that dominate. It makes it a joyful listening experience from beginning to end with tracks such as "Below The B-line", "Wires To Riot", "Manuka Skank", "Rewind Deluxe" and the exceptional "Djungle" urging you to push the repeat button for them. However tomorrow it could be another selection, depending on the mood you're in.

All in all another very entertaining dub collection from Burning Babylon, presented in a well designed package.

Reggae-Vibes Review (select Reviews > Albums > alphabetical listing)

Top of Page

August 2008 - DubFlash at dubflash.com/
(Beat Beat Beat)

**** (4 stars) A lot of Bs in here: Burning Babylons from Boston presents bis bew bubbling bub balbum "Beat Beat Beat". :D

It's the fourth longplayer of this one man dub reggae project after "Knives to the Treble", "Stereo Mash Up" and "Garden of Dub". All these albums have received good reviews on this website and you can find them by using our new search engine *hint, hint*

"Beat Beat Beat" stays strictly in BB's rootical dubbing tradition and is the logical successor: 12 fresh dubs full of fat beats and basses, many playful melodies, heavy skanking and positive vibrations. Familiar sounds of the previous albums (I'd like to say: the good ones) are mixed with new sounds that you haven't heard on his previous albums (check "Djungle" for a good example).

Beatwise we get some tough steppers, some crucial one drops, even some ska riddims ("Manuka Skank" with some really cool skanks; Manuka by the way is a plant from New Zealand of which you get honey and a very strong etherial oil, it is argued whether the oil & honey have a healing functionality or not) and also a bit of unusual reggae beats like on my favourite tune "Thumpy Skunkz" which features some old schoolish breakbeat / hip hop beat. Dusty and muddy. Nice one.

Generally, BB's albums always bring some kind of good mood, at least for me. It is not really my prefered style of dub as you all might know but it always leaves me feeling a bit more relaxed as usual and the wrinkles on my forhead ease-off when I listen to his albums. ;) "Bashe & the Tiger" is such an example, again with some groovy beats and a lot of positive energy, it's like a toy car for a young boy who is just happy playing around with it.

"System a Vampire" is another of these tunes that just have a certain something, again, it's mainly the really crispy beats here that make a difference. In combinaton with the very deep bass, I feel reminded of Bill Lasweel's explorations into the dubby orbit.

All in all, Burning Babylon delivered once again a serious piece of dub works on "Beat Beat Beat" which fits perfectly into his series of roots dub. Fans of his style will surely love it, others who are interested in an easy-going, entertaining rootical dub album, should definitely visit www.burningbabylon.com for more information.

Dub Flash Review

Top of Page

October 2006 - Reggae Vibes at www.reggae-vibes.com
(Garden of Dub)

Although Burning Babylon's "Garden Of Dub" follows up the albums "Knives To The Treble" (2004) and "Stereo Mash Up" (2005), it's actually the debut set from 2001, which according to the liner notes is 'the long lost bredren and esteemed predecessor' of the aforementioned albums.

Slade Anderson, actually the man who created the one man Dub Reggae project Burning Babylon, recorded "Garden Of Dub" at his makeshift studio "The SoundShack", a spare bedroom in his apartment in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts USA. At that time he didn't have a record label to release his music, so he made 50 copies on CD-R and gave most of those away to local radio stations, friends and anyone else who asked for a copy. Since 2003 he's officially releasing his music through Mars Recordings, and thus "Garden Of Dub" can finally see the light of day.

"Garden Of Dub", an album with a consciously created theme/concept in mind, features some serious new style dub outings, which unmistakable have links to the Jamaican roots of dub and its originators. From beginning to end the listener is taken on a truly hallucinating trip through imaginative soundscapes with plenty of echo and soundeffects, with the drum and the bass as the driving force. Personal favorites are the beautiful "Into Twilight" with its jazzy horn parts and angelic vocals flowing in and out of the mix, "Dance A Yard", the awesome bass driven "Rootical I-ration", "Ashes Of Babylon" and the wicked "Earth And Stone".

All in all a nice dub album, worthwhile checking out!

Reggae Vibes Review

Top of Page

September 2006 - All Music Guide at www.allmusic.com
(Garden of Dub)

Although this is the third commercial release from one-man dub factory Slade Anderson (who records under the name Burning Babylon), it actually consists of music that predates his previous two releases, 2004's Knives to the Treble and 2005's Stereo Mash Up. Garden of Dub consists of tracks he created in his rudimentary bedroom studio throughout 2001, when his equipment consisted of an old Fender Jazz bass, a cheap Mexican Stratocaster copy, an equally cheap keyboard and a handful of old pedal and rack effects. He played everything himself, recording straight to an eight-track cassette deck. But as was the case with the legendary Black Ark studio in 1970s Kingston -- a studio also known for its bare-bones equipment -- Anderson's bedroom setup produced some absolutely wonderful instrumental reggae. The musical world lost something when the Kingston recording studios went digital, and some of that special quality is regained in these lo-fi but high-quality recordings: notice, for example, the insightfult ways that Anderson deconstructs and then reconstructs the groove on "Into Twilight", or offsets the blocky one drop beat of "Rootical Iration" with delicate wisps of shreeded vocal, or spins melodic gold from the dirty straw of his crappy Yamaha keyboard on "Fire in the East". It just goes to show that it's the brain, not the equipment, that makes a musician. Very highly recommended. - Rick Anderson

All Music Guide Review

Top of Page

September 2006 - Dub Flash at dubflash.com
(Garden of Dub)

Burning Babylon, one of the USA's most important dub exports, is back. And with a flashback to the best, they show the future of US Dub. How come? Simply, because "Garden Of Dub" presents Burning Babylon's first tracks, still produced in an analogue way.

Well, what shall I say? When I first listened to the CD, I didn't know the above mentioned tracks and I was absolutely sure that the 14 presented tracks are absolutely new works because they sound so fresh, lively and, well, in a way, beautiful. I immediately thought: That's BB's best album by far. But now I don't know if he would see it as a compliment when I write that I like his old tracks more than his new ones. (I hope he does, anyway!)

I am quite sure it's not because of the analogue production technique (I bet some of you are looking shocked now when I tell that I don't even know if I would really notice a difference between analogue and digital - or maybe I would, I don't know, I have honestly never ever thought about this topic). It is more because the tunes are really cool and have their own unique style.

Although definitely connected to the original 70s sound, it doesn't sound as rootical and vintage as the other BB albums (although I think he would say the contrary). There's a cool touch to the songs as if the songs would have been recorded in Jamaica but then mixed and mastered in Alaska in deep snow. Extra-nice mixture to my ears!

There's also some kind of unconstraint in this album which is consistent to all tracks. That makes it a very enjoyable pleasure to listen to the complete album in a row without getting bored or feeling the need to change the CD.

Usually, I name particular tracks of an album here and say something about it, tell that I like them more than others. Here, I can't mention any tune. All tunes have at least one ingredient that I like a lot. There are of course ingredients (sometimes the drums sound a bit boring; I also recognized some samples (e. g. in "Mash Up The Dub") from sample-CDs I have as well - that always irritates me) that I don't like that much but all in all there's not one song I don't like. Realy, no kidding. Of course, it's not a heavy stepping soundsystem optimzed album which would always be my favourite. But this one is for home-listening. And how many really good albums for home-listening come out per year? Not so many, I'd say.

OK, well, if you need to know some names, I go for "Into Twilight", true beauty expressed only through music (awesome; you are allowed to let a tear roll down your cheek here, no kidding!), "Dub Positive" (stepping forward) and "Sativa" which is so unbelievable laid-back and relaxing with a marvellous rolling bassline and wonderful melodies. It reminds me of some of meditation CDs that I have. Turn off the light and close your eyes then drift away into the spheres of your subconsciousness. Goodbye, see you tomorrow!

Is there a need for a conclusion? I think the above lines speak for themselves. Of course, keep in mind that it is American dub and that's not really comparable with what we're used to listen to in Europe. Usually, I call US dub "lightweight" and this CD is, too. But in contrary to for example a "Bud light" beer which is really awfull compaired to - let's say - a German strong dark-beer, that record deserves to be played and listened to. That means: Bud NO, Dub YES! ;)

P. S. I nearly forgot to mention: The CD layout is beautiful as well.

Dub Flash Review

Top of Page

September 2006 - Small Axe at rayx.freeserve.co.uk
(Garden of Dub)

Many people have wondered about the origins of dub. In Jamaica it was of course the version era that led to dub, but what of outside influences. This third CD from Burning Babylon which is in fact the first CD, (I love this kind of stuff!) provides a big clue. On this excellent set you will find lots of little musical links way back to the fifties. I don't know if Slade Anderson/Burning Babylon is a rockabilly fan, but that is what he's picking up on here, and it all makes sense, because some of the earliest examples of dubwise come from people like Bill Haley and the Comets!!! Pure bass and drum with plenty of echo!!! Anyways this is another magnificent set with some great playing and a lot of imagination. Its also presented in a great digipak, featuring some interesting sleevenotes!!! Great stuff.

Small Axe Review

Top of Page

November 2005 - The Wire
(Stereo Mash Up)

Stereo Mash Up is the fifth release by Slade Anderson aka Burning Babylon and a follow up to last year's Knives to the Treble. Since the last album, Anderson has carried on the studio experimentation in the certain knowledge that hard work will take him wherever he wants to go.

Although at times the sound may be a little metronomic, as is the case with all early stage one-man operations, this is a collection of conscious variation and experimentation ranging from the sweet and light "Pressure Tones" - which sounds like Two Tone melodies recollected in a frothy daydream - through Ruts/Clash-style guitar-driven Kasbah rockers like "Zamora Version", to tougher dancehall and deeply dubby excursions sourced with a better class of vocal sample.

Steve Barker

The Wire, November 2005, Issue 261, p.74

Top of Page

October 2005- Robert Nelson (reviewer for The Beat)
(Stereo Mash Up)

Burning Babylon is the "nom de dub" of Boston's Slade Anderson. His modern dub sound makes use of classical reggae tempos featuring bubbling bass slathered in dub effects and judicious use of echo. Stereo Mash Up collects fifteen toe-tapping delights. The traditional love of dub process matches up quite well with the 21st century electronic sound and an infectious yet unobtrusive use of guitar.

"7 Nine Skank (The Creeper)" starts off with flange guitar and languid tempo reminiscent of the UK mutant dub foreparent Ruts DC. The swaying one-drop supports a succession of silky blues guitar licks, "Wadada - means love" shouts and a snippet of ethereal space-age synth harmonics. The funky intro breaks the cycle and repeats for effect. "Addis Red Dub" steps it lively in a martial cadence. The melody is colored with Far-East style violin and a layer of effects embellished in a cauldron of electrical effervescence. More flange-funk guitar punctuates the exotic and intermittent vocalizing.

"Pressure Tones" harkens back to 2 Tone era tempo and more pretty guitar playing that leavens the funk while playfully blending laser beam shots, jazzy hand drumming and the ever present supple bassline. "Zamora Version" leads off with shards of New Wave guitar a la Steel Pulse's "Ku Klux Klan" and then elongates the riddim into a relaxed tempo before the edgy guitar returns to cut the tether of atmospheric sound. "Soundshack Rockers" is dub meets Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" in a limber selection that deftly mixes and matches tempos, effects and instrumentation. Other superlative dubs are the souped-up Stalag update, "Heavy Dread" and the 4:20 Cannabis homage "Rude Boots" complete with woozy riddim and gurgling bong solo.

In my opinion the hallmark of a good new dub title is one that varies the tempos and melodies while still retaining a unique consistency in the production. The style and flow inherent to Stereo Mash Up is one that blends the brooding bass with dancefloor groove and uptempo lift; often times within the same dub.

Robert Nelson

Top of Page

October 2005- The Beat getthebeat.com
(Stereo Mash Up)

Burning Babylon extends their sinewy reach with Stereo Mash Up (Mars), an instrumental/dub extravaganza that captures the original experimental feel of dub in a crisp, contemporary recording informed by not co-opted by techno, house and dance. Phased vocals, springboard effects, echo and reverb and one of the secret elements of dub - great rhythm tracks to work with - make this an enjoyable experience that lives up to the promise of titles like "Heavy Dread," "Version Killer," "Soundshack Rockers," and "Rude Boots."

Spacious and spacey, with plenty of room in between notes and effects, this is contemporary dub informed by the roots. Outstanding cuts include "Midnight to Six," "7 Nine Skank (The Creeper)" and (inexplicably on the "dub lite" end of the spectrum) "1500 Tons." This one deserves a listen from dub lovers everywhere.

Reggae Update - Chuck Foster, Volume 24, No. 5 2005 (October/November 2005) (getthebeat.com)

Top of Page

August 2005- The Jammin Reggae Archives at niceup.com
(Stereo Mash Up)

The newest release from Boston-based one-man-band Slade Anderson is, if anything, even better than last year's Knives to the Treble. Recording as Burning Babylon, Anderson plays all his own instruments and does his own engineering, and the sound he creates is both refreshingly unique and true to the best traditions of rootswise instrumental reggae. Stereo Mash-Up is infused with positive energy -- the sound is always heavyweight, but never dark. Note in particular the sweetly simple ska groove of "Pressure Tones" and the funky-fresh "Soundshack Rockers," not to mention his wonderful update of the "Stalag 17" rhythm on "Heavy Dread." Brilliant!

Jammin Reggae Archives Review (niceup.com)

Top of Page

July 2005 - Small Axe at rayx.freeserve.co.uk
(Stereo Mash Up)

Slade Anderson comes again with some new style dub - featuring solid reggae rhythms from a variety of eras mixed in with samples - and like the first set its all great stuff. Its not roots dub, its just dub - you can hear the man's real love of reggae music - and that's all it takes. Trying to reproduce something is not his style. This is dub 30 years on from when dub first made its mark in Jamaica - but what makes it really good is that its firmly rooted in the reggae tradition. Samples yes - gimmicks NO! A truly great set all well presented in a very colourful digipak.

Small Axe Review

Top of Page

June 2005 - Dub Flash at dubflash.com
(Stereo Mash Up)

"**** (4 Stars) - "Stereo Mash Up" is already the fifth release from Boston based dub producer Slade Anderson aka Burning Babylon. Like his previous releases BB mixes old school roots vibes with some funky, modern styles which leads to a wild, pumping mix of roots dub causing positive vibrations and making bodies move.

15 tracks can be found on the album. The range goes from absolutely funky, head nodding, tunes like "Addis Red Dub" to sweet-melody-pop-reggae ("Pressure Tones"; definitely nothing for me) to smooth soul-dub ("Midnight To Six"; a new style is born?) to punk-dub ("Zamora Version"; sounds like The Clash meets Ruts DC) to wild stepper orgies ("Trouble Dub"; including Eastern sounds).

All in all, there is a lot happening on this album. Sometimes maybe even too much. So many melodies and instruments. I wonder where he has all his ideas from. ;-) My personal favourite tune is "Parkton Special", what massive bassline and pushing drums."

Burning Babylon, a different dub producer he is. Wouldn't know another name to compare with. Surely far away from the European dub output but because of his unique sound a very welcome alternation in between all the heavy steppers. Give it a try.

Dub Flash: Select Record Reviews, 2005, Stereo Mash Up is Review #354.

Top of Page

February/March 2005 - The Beat
(Knives to the Treble)

Knives to the Treble named one of "The Best of 2004" in The Beat magazine (bi-monthly source on Reggae, African, Carribbean and World music). Robert Nelson, "Expert" Contributor to The Beat and host of "Smile Jamaica" on KRCL-FM, Salt Lake City, UT, names Knives in his list of "Top Ten Mutant Dub," sharing the spotlight with Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, and Twilight Circus Dub Sound System, among others.

The Beat. Vol. 24: #1 (February/March 2005), p. 39.

Top of Page

December 2004 - Reggae-Vibes at reggae-vibes.com
(Knives to the Treble)

"...Slade Anderson definitely has his own unique take on dub, which comes to full expression on the 13 tracks of this entertaining dub excursion. A couple of tracks feature snippets of vocals and deejay calls, mixed in and out of the dub, while the rest are pure dubbed up original riddims. Particular worth of hearing are the wicked album opener "Roots Fi Cool", "King Dubby", "Mash Up The DJ", "Satta Stylee" and "Selector A Go Dub It". "Knives To The Treble" shouldn't be missed by anyone who likes to hear solid dub style music!!"

Reggae-Vibes (look under "Albums")

Top of Page

November 2004 - Zion's Gate
(Knives to the Treble)

""Awesome new school mutant dub ala Twilight Circus. Still keeping the roots of dub in mind... This album has a little bit of dub for everyone. From UK Steppers through twisted studio one vibes. LOVE IT!"

Zion's Gate Records

Top of Page

November 2004 - The Wire
(Knives to the Treble)

Burning Babylon is a one-man dub reggae project from Boston, created by Slade Anderson, previously a guitarist in various Metal/punk groups in Massachusetts. This was in the 80s before he underwent overdue bass conversion, ditched all that toppy twang and headed overboard deep into the bottom end. Glen Brown’s Tubby-mixed Termination Dub provided the Damascene moment.

Despite some of the titles here sounding like an intended pastiche – "Mash Up The DJ" and "Satta Stylee", indeed! – it’s clear from the music within that the boy Slade was determined not [to] come out to play until he understood the rules. Still, inhabiting the ground between early Twilight Circus and Dub Syndicate is not a place to stay for long right now. "Mek We Jump", the set’s sweetest and least glum track might be the way for BB to go."

The Wire, November 2004, Issue 249, p.66

Top of Page

October 2004 - Dub Flash at dubflash.com
(Knives to the Treble)

**** (4 Stars) - "Burning Babylon is a dub producer from Boston in Babylon (USA). His album "Knives To The Treble" is one of these records which you have to listen a few times until you realize what a good album it is. My first impression was: ah, again one of these sweet American poppy reggae records. But I was quite wrong. After the third or fourth listening I started to feel that it's a really good album. And this is my opinion until now (and I have this record now for already 5 months).

It surely is different than any Europe-releases you will find. Especially the beats are more funky and therefore give the whole album more variety, also the use of samples is quite extensive here. 12 titles can be found on the record. The style of music goes rom 70s oriented roots riddims ("Roots Fi Cool") to technoid dubs ("Babylon Overdrive"). In between there are some real gems like the wicked "King Dubby" with an awesome sweet melody, the stepping "Diabolique" or "Double Axe", coming along with heavy dope beats and hypnotic organ and synthie sound carpets, yeah.

The adjective "funky" fits to all of the tracks and therefore I would describe the album as "groovy". Easy-going as most of the US releases but with a better mix of ingredients. Altogether it ends up in a tasty dub-soup that I would like to recommend to all dub fans who sometimes like their dubs a bit different."

Dub Flash: Select Record Reviews, 2004, Knives to the Treble is Review #261

Top of Page

August 2004 - The Jammin Reggae Archives at niceup.com
(Knives to the Treble)

"Burning Babylon is the stage name of one Slade Anderson, a Boston-based musician who came of age playing in hardcore punk bands and developed an interest in reggae during the 1990s. Like Ryan Moore (who records one-man-band dub albums under the name Twilight Circus or Twilight Circus Dub Sound System), Anderson creates his instrumental reggae albums by himself, layering samples and his own instrumental parts on top of each other to create a shifting, kaleidoscopic welter of dubwise reggae sounds. The result is impressive, as his latest album demonstrates; his sound is somewhere between the wild experimentalism of Adrian Sherwood and the more traditional approach of Moore. No dub fan should miss the chance to give this music a listen. "

niceup.com Review Page

Top of Page

July 2004 - Small Axe at rayx.freeserve.co.uk
(Knives to the Treble)

"Burning Babylon are trodding on the same path as Twilight Circus - superheavy weight rhythms inspired by the Radics - only Burning Babylon are partial to a fx here and there - nothing wrong in that in moderation and this set stay well within the codes of dub laid down by King Tubby and the rest of the dubmasters of Jamaica. The 13 tracks hit the ground running with 'Roots Fi Cool' and move across the muscial landscape with all the ease of huge 4X4. Recorded in the US in NYC - produced and engineered by Odd Jobb it all comes in a very nice digipak. Now where did they get that title from?"

Small Axe Review

Top of Page

April 2004 - Ernie B's Reggae at ebreggae.com
(Knives to the Treble)

"Essential Pick. All dub, very good!"

Ernie B's

Top of Page