Second Light (Virgin, 1995)

*GUEST REVIEW*
Dreadzone recently participated in the Keep it Peel night on BBC Radio 1.  Keep it Peel was a six-hour mix of live music and DJ sets to celebrate the life of John Peel and the music he exposed his listeners to.  I first heard Dreadzone on Peel's show in the mid-1990s.  They are Greg Roberts, Tim Bran, and Leo Williams, with some help from Dan Donovan, Earl 16, and Donna McKevitt amongst others.  They produce nu dub which incorporates a broad mix of samples and influences. The non-reggae influences include Middle Eastern music, trance, Celtic, techno and even the Penguin Cafe Orchestra/sea shanties.  The album samples Johnny Clarke, Patrick Street, The Upsetters, and Ryuichi Sakamoto.  Second Light is an interesting album that would sit well with fans of The Orb, The Black Dog, Mega Dog, Sons of Arqa, and Transglobal Underground, as well as Zion Train. Even the most conservative reggae fan would probably enjoy a few tracks on Second Light as it contains four singles.  Not all tracks work perfectly, but altogether a nice musical journey.