Kaliroots Dub (Kaliroots, 2002)

Kaliroots is an up-and-coming French-language roots band from Montreal, Canada who won a ADISQ Award (Quebec's version of the Grammys?) for Best World Music Artists in 2001. Thus far they have released two albums, Rien a Perdre and its limited edition (read: hard to find) dub version, Kaliroots Dub. I happen to have heard Kaliroots Dub without hearing Rien a Perdre, which may or may not be a good thing – so what if there are no vocals; I wouldn’t understand them anyway! What is a good thing is Kaliroots’ sound. Like other recent North American "blue-eyed reggae" acts (Groundation, John Brown’s Body, Soldiers of Jah Army, to name a few), they feature a sound that harkens back to the 1970s "Golden Age" of roots reggae, complete with live horns, keyboards, guitars (wa-wa optional), drums, and organs. The sound quality is crisp and professional, aided by veteran Washington DC-area mixer/producer Jim Fox (who also worked on SOJA’s outstanding Peace in a Time of War). It’s refreshing to hear modern dub that remains true to its reggae origins instead of veering off into a hodgepodge of electonica (of course, being a dub version of a roots album dictates that it remain true to the roots sound). Although I generally prefer vocal tracks to dubs, I think that more of these neo-roots acts should issue dub albums, because the music is, to quote Outkast, so fresh and so clean. Kaliroots Dub is no exception; the music is funky, layered, at times more somber (like Groundation), at times more fun (like John Brown’s Body), with occasional electric guitar flourishes that at times prove jarring. Otherwise, this album is solid, particularly the first half. Maybe someday I’ll hear the vocals (after I take a few French lessons).