Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

1. Joe Gibbs & The ProfessionalsAfrican Dub All-Mighty – Chapter 3

This album is a huge record for me. African Dub Chapter 3 is a record that’s beautiful and a work of art that’s ahead of its time. It still sounds so modern today in terms of production techniques and imagination. It has so much space, with the songs being really deconstructed. But they’re reconstructions and deconstructions of commercial singles that had been made avant-garde by just adding certain parts and dub effects. When I first heard this at 16 or 17, what with there being no West Indian population in Glasgow and just hearing this record, I immediately loved it. African Dub Chapter 3 is a record that has stayed with me forever, y’know? So when it came to working with Andy Weatherall, who remixed ‘I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have’ and then did ‘Loaded’ after that, to me, that’s like a rock version of dub. So I completely understood it. Meanwhile, there were those who never quite took to it as much as me because they didn’t have that art rock/dub background.

PreviousNext Record

The Quietus Digest

Sign up for our free Friday email newsletter.

Support The Quietus

Our journalism is funded by our readers. Become a subscriber today to help champion our writing, plus enjoy bonus essays, podcasts, playlists and music downloads.

Support & Subscribe Today