Jah Wobble and Keith Levene - "Yin & Yang" CD

A reunion of alumni from classic-era Public Image Limited, "Yin & Yang" is a definite harkening back to those great days of dub-influenced post-punk. The title track features huge Wobbly bass and Levene's dissonant guitars -- all that's missing are vocals by Lydon and it's virtually classic PIL, which is quite nice to hear. Wobble's vocals are adequate, but it's the music here that speaks loudest.

After a rather forgettable rock/dub crossover ("Strut"), the sharp spoken invectives and near-familiar bass of "Jags & Staffs" recalls "Religion" to some degree. "Mississippi" is an effective down-home pop song with a carefree Americana vibe (though Wobble's sub-sonic bass is still present), and "Fluid" touches on a dub/jazz fusion, with big brass alongside Wobble's stalwart bass. The brief dub of "Vampires" features Little Annie, before "Understand" and "Understand Dub" close things out, with spiky vocals from Nathan Maverick (who I'm not familiar with, but whose vocal style sounds eerily similar to Lydon). 

Wobble and Levene form a formidable post-punk duo here, and here's to hoping they can continue on this path if there are to be future endeavors. 

Cherry Red/30Hz Records

Cherry Red site

30Hz Records (Wobble's home)

Murder Global - Levene's site

The Damage Manual "The Damage Manual" DVD

When Martin Atkins enlisted the considerable talents (not to mention pedigrees) of Jah Wobble (PIL), Geordie Walker (Killing Joke), and Chris Connelly for his Damage Manual project, the result was a startlingly powerful EP. What followed was a lesser LP, then a slew of remixes, dub versions, and recycled releases that really put some tarnish on this landmark post-punk 'band''s "public image".
This video is a collection of Atkins' handi-cam tapes from the original sessions. There's what seems like an endless array of in-studio footage, from raw takes, horsing around (leave the damned doorbell buzzer cam alone already!!), photo shoots, Geordie smoking, and unrecognizably muttered comments. Needless to say, regardless of anyone's involvement, this is a fairly tedious watch. Plenty of bored faces, people shuffling about, and unsteady camerawork. Granted, the couple of tracks that the band plays live in the studio are heavy and amazing (what an amazing collision of musicians), but overall this is one for the completists only, and much of it should've stayed in the vault. (Invisible Records /MVD Visual)

Martin Atkins China Dub Soundsystem - "Made In China" CD

Drummer extraordinaire (and Invisible Records/Pigface founder) Atkins documented his 2007 trip to Beijing not only in photo/video form, but by recording this album (as well as compiling the 'Look Directly At The Sun' comp). For 'Made In China', he assembled a troupe of China's finest indie musicians and managed to record alongside them and produce/mix these 11 tracks - essentially a Chinese Pigface album. It's an entertaining inter-cultural mix, with traditional Chinese instruments and melodies accompanying Atkins' drumming and scratch-n-dub production. There's funky hip-hop ('China MC Brothers vs. Martin Atkins', 'Re:Load'), electronica ('Mostly Hulusi', featuring Shao Feng on the bagpipe-like hulusi instrument), traditional Tibetan-meets-industrial rock ('Tibetans vs. Dirty Girl'), cynical indie rock ('Yellow Cab', with Chen Xi of Snapline sounding not unlike Mark E. Smith of The Fall), and other odd creatures that co-exist peacefully. The wonderful 'Beijing Taxi' is my favorite, with super-huge drums, dub effects, Dave Wright of Not Breathing's electronics, and traditional Chinese female vocals. A great cultural melding and a fun listen. (Invisible China/Bloodshot Records)

Martin Atkins - "Tour Smart - And Break The Band" DVD

Martin Atkins has spent the better part of 30 years touring, recording, performing, networking, running a label, screenprinting, and generally 'fucking it up (pigface)'. He's spent time with a number of pretty damned important bands. (look it up, or read my old Godsend Online interview with him here.)

In essence, Atkins knows his shit.

In-between all this musical work, Martin has been working as a lecturer, and he's now an author. His book, 'Tour Smart', has been hailed as an essential read for bands or artists who are looking at touring and building up a fanbase.

This DVD release, which basically collects a bunch of (mostly brief) clips of Atkins explaining and demonstrating his ideas and experiences, is an entertaining and oftentimes enlightening bit of work. From mapping out and strategizing a tour (his easy 'how-to' here could logically save new bands hundreds of dollars and many hours), to his no-nonsense marketing basics, this DVD is a wise investment indeed, for any musician or artist, regardless of genre or affiliation. Atkins' charismatic and animated personality is down-to-earth, and his tips are easy to grasp. This one's fun to watch if you're a fan of any of Atkins' many musical projects, but it's a must-have if you're starting a band, or even thinking about it. I, personally, am wiser for seeing this one! (Invisible/MVD Visual)