Search - Bill Laswell :: Boniche Dub

Taking as its source the album Alger, Alger by Arab-Occidental-Jewish singer-guitarist Lili Boniche (discovered playing in a Paris café at age 78), Boniche Dub is producer Bill Laswell's reinterpretation of an interesting confluence of musical genres. Taking five of the original tracks, Laswell applies his usual swirling, almost psychedelic, techniques to create an ambient pastiche of pan-Andalusian-Algerian textures and beats. Taking nearly all of the vocals out and building trancelike vehicles from the rhythm tracks, Laswell leaves the listener floating in a mistral breeze of bass and percussion while melodies weave in and out of the mix in a manner similar to the productions of the late, great dubmaster from Jamaica, King Tubby. These hybrid mutations seemingly have little form, nor do they go anywhere in particular, as their purpose is to enhance a sense of being or place. Recommended for late-night headphone listening. --Derek Rath