Sly & Robbie Drum & Bass Strip To The Bone By Howie B CD

By the time of this album's release, bass player Robbie Shakespeare and drummer Lowell "Sly" Dunbar had been working together for almost 25 years. On this collaboration Sly & Robbie lay down twelve tracks that are their own unique reggae-inflected interpretation of drum-and-bass. Famed producer/remixer Howie B combines the duo's source music with electronic beats. The result is a hypnotic, mind-bending trip through the world of booming beats and spacey textures.

Some of the tracks that stand out are "Fatigue Chic," the reggae-influenced "Ballistic Squeeze" and the throbbing pulse of "Major Magic." New fans of Electronica and old fans of Sly & Robbie will both be happy with STRIP TO THE BONE. Though this album defies expectations, the explosive, thick bass lines combined with slick, interesting beats and worldly rhythms make STRIP TO THE BONE drum-and-bass by any definition.

With DJ/Prod/Remixer Howie B

Audio Mixer: Will O'Donovan.

Recording information: Mixing Lab, Metropolis.

Photographer: Philippe McClelland.

Personnel: Sly Dunbar (synthesizer, drum programming); Robbie Shakespeare (bass); Lloyd Willis (guitar); Howie B (keyboards, programming); Steve Marsden, Jeremy Shaw (keyboards); Jony Rockstar (programming).

Personnel: Lloyd "Gitsy" Willis (guitar); Jeremy Shaw (keyboards); Robbie Shakespeare (bass guitar); Sly Dunbar (drum programming).

Rolling Stone (2/18/99, p.61) - "...no matter how sci-fi things get, DRUM-AND-BASS always follows dub's decades-old rule: Create expansive architectures of sound that take you far away without ever leaving the ground."
Entertainment Weekly (1/15/99, p.63) - "...The dynamic drum-and-bass duo pump out thick island beats while Howie B splinters their dense melodies with blips and synthesized funk noise. Heads will bob." - Rating: B+
CMJ (2/1/99, p.29) - "...hypnotizing basslines and traditional Jamaican-influenced melodies are set to pulsating, electronic textures and rhythms....The ride is smooth and laid-back, but the scenery will twist your mind into knots."
Rap Pages (7/99, p.153) - "...Combining [Sly & Robbie and Howie B] in the studio was excellent foresight, and God hasn't intended your ears to experience such wild, experimental sounds....this trippy merger of reggae and electronica is indeed fascinating....technologically creative..."