Words by Justin Turford

Dub remixes come in many forms. Sometimes as a deconstruction of a song or as a stretched and twisted DJ accessory, at other times the entire feeling of a piece of music can shapeshift through the sonic manipulations of the dub producer, FX boxes and a non-linear approach to the idea of the ‘song’ producing a new abstraction.

For this gorgeously languid record, Ecuadorian producer Joaquín Cornejo has done his own dub interpretation of an already existing dub album. His second vinyl release for Earthly Measures is a reimagining of Swedish producer (though Colombia residing) Markandeya's dub album 'Vision Dubs'. The original album is a fine record but it has a heavier Rhythm and Sound / Burial Mix vibe about it, with cavernous horizontal chugging and Nyabinghi percussion lightened only by the sweet whispering vocals. Joaquín has interpreted the music by adding brighter colours, a lighter, gentler touch to the songs. It also sounds more organic and multifaceted, with extra live instrumentation and more dynamism in its rhythmic palette. Tracks like ‘Mountain High’ take a long and twisty journey away from the original with moments of percussive drama and light-footed acoustic guitar work. ‘Balance The Pressure’ even adds a touch of footwork to the pulse of the song, the inherent funk dramatically different to the tightly focussed hypnosis of Markandeya’s original.

We can patently tell that Joaquín is an explorer rather than a niche producer. His previous record for the label, the hugely popular 'Las Frutas' EP. was a genre-fluid collection of tracks that covered footwork, dub techno, wild percussion and more and even though ‘Vision Versions’ is a ‘dub’ album, there is a lot going on beneath the delays and echo box washes.

An excellent, quite beautiful record. 9.5/10

Released on June 9 2023 on Earthly Measures.

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