Dubtribe Sound System vs. Chillifunk Recordings: Heavyweight Soundclash CD

Here's Sunshine, one-half of the duo that calls themselves Dubtribe Sound System: "We do not pretend to be a reggae band." Well, right, except that every word in your band's name is taken from the reggae lexicon, as are both words in the title of that band's album. Whatever its musical contents, an album called Dubtribe Sound System Vs. Chillifunk Recordings: Heavyweight Soundclash by a band called Dubtribe Sound System is most certainly pretending to be reggae. But Sunshine is right about the music itself, which on this album is all taken from the well-regarded British house label Chillifunk Recordings and mixed up by the Dubtribe Sound System boys into a sweet-natured, continuous set of deep house confections that are perfectly designed for summer listening. From the conga-heavy Lacarno & Burns remix of D.S.L. and Nate Juan's "Loca Blue" that opens the program to the (gulp) four mixes of East West Connection's "The More I Get" that close it, the mood is breezy and gently funky and most of the source material is quite impressive. For low points, you have the dodgy vocals of Terry Callier on "Tomorrow in Your Eyes" (in two separate mixes, groan) and the run-of-the-mill thump-thump of East West Connection's "Once I've Been There." But "Never Lost Faith" features some great falsetto singing from Anthony Flanagan and the "Black Science Inner Groove Mix" of "Rollin'" is lots of hard, happy fun. Overall this is, like most house music, mainly utilitarian, but that's not a bad thing. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson

4th Rel;San Francisco House

Audio Remixers: Sunshine Jones; Black Science Orchestra.

Recording information: Gracelands Studio; Rocksteady Studios; The Dubtribe House, SF; The Shack, London, England; The Yellow Room.

Arrangers: Chris Howard; Lofty; Neil Cowley.

Personnel: Hayley Morris, Eugene Bridges, Anthony Flanagan, Terry Callier (vocals); Matt Coldrick, Alan Simpson (guitar); Nathan Haines (flute, keyboards); Steve Meices (saxophone); Moonbeam Jones, Neil Cowley (keyboards); Chris Howard, Sunshine Jones, Karl Van Den Bossche (percussion); David Tyler, James Razor Brown , Ashley Beedle (programming).

Audio Mixers: Sunshine Jones; David Tyler; Moonbeam Jones.