Dub Ainu Deluxe by Oki

[howard male]

Artist - Oki
Title - Dub Ainu Deluxe
Label - Far Side Music

In this follow up to 2004's 'Dub Ainu' the edgy cool of Jamaica once again meets the kitsch cool of Japan in a mix of roots reggae, traditional Japanese instruments, spacey bass, and crisp retro drum machine sounds. It's the dry brittle sound of the guitar-like tonkori which gives this project its character as Oki make their quirky journey from straight dub on 'Dub Serenade', through hand-drum driven Nyahbinji on 'Utari' to warped rocksteady on the delightfully unhinged 'Dub Arrow' with its female Ainu chants. It's not reggae as we know it, Captain, but it is charming and compelling.