Gaudi is something of a dub institution. He’s just been given a World Music award from the BBC, and No Prisoners marks his umpteenth album (the actual amount depends if you count all the self-released albums or not). Yet, listening to the opening bars of this album, you could be mistaken that you were enjoying the fruits of a fresh-faced, up-and-coming producer setting out to make his mark on all things dub.
Not many albums open with as a good of a track as Bad Boy Bass. Ignore the slightly rubbish title, this is a track that instantly establishes the mood and sense of fun as it smoothly shifts key from old-school dub to an incredible bass-led bridge, narrated by an MC. As the album bounces straight into the second track, There’s Enough (a throbbing guitar-led track punctuated with some great vocals and a brutal bassline), Gaudi cements just how versatile album experience he intends to offer.
In fact nearly everything Gaudi tries his hand at works – from the standout track No Time, which combines the vocals of Dr Israel, classic dub horns and guitars, to the R&B backing vocals of Brainwashed Again. Everything bears Gaudi charactersitc dub imprint and thus works beautifully, the only real misstep begining the bagpipes on Hotel Caledonia, which come across as a cheesy, cheap gimmick reminiscent of leery '90s dance.
Electronica, dub, world music influences, dubstep orientated tracks, house beats – it’s all on offer. Whilst lesser producers with this many influences and styles often present disjointed or incoherent albums, the whole package comes together as a cohesive unit. However, that’s not to say this is an album devoid of the type of relatively straight-forward dub that Gaudi has made his name producing. Serious Ting and Barracudub both offer taut, fresh sounding dub that are sure to keep fans of Gaudi’s earlier work happy.
No Prisoners is an incredibly solid, fresh sounding album from someone who doesn’t have anything to prove, yet is keen to demonstrate he is as musically inspired in 2010 as he was when he started in 1991. With enough dub and raga influences to keep his fan base pleased, and a fusion of styles that is so rarely successful, No Prisoners is a solid example as to why bass-led music is still as interesting and relevant today as it was when the soundsystems first started making their mark on world culture.