Red-i and his ability to seemingly suspend space and time is something music enthusiasts everywhere should study. The Filipino dub reggae producer has become a household name through his Irie Sunday soundsystem events, which features his own custom-built soundsystem made for dub music. With his latest release, Praise Jah / Ready Now, released on February 6 – the birthday of Jamaican reggae artist Bob Marley — the producer doubles down on the genre’s hypnotic qualities.
Released through his own label, Dubplate Pressure Records, Red-i teams up with Jamaican dub reggae stalwart Ranking Joe for a collaboration that transports listeners to a different plane of existence. Both tracks, “Praise Jah” and “Ready Now,” share the same tempo but serve distinct purposes: one is chant-heavy, while the other prominently features a melodica — a 2-in-1 harmonica and organ instrument that’s noteworthy in the dub music genre.
The collaboration is an accomplishment in its faithfulness to the genre, with Red-i utilizing the syncopated “skank” rhythm that is characteristic of dub music, along with hypnotic delay effects and metallic reverb percussions; this complements Ranking Joe’s tongue-rolling chants. But overall, the tracks show very little variety — aside from a minor tweak on the echo or reverb — which makes the singles nearly indistinguishable from another when played for extended periods of time. This might be owed to Red-i’s hybrid approach to production where combining digital and analog instruments illustrates limitations on the latter. But these tracks are intended to be heard in a big towering soundsystem, which needs to be considered in the experience of this release.
Red-i’s double single also includes two versions for each track, one of which features dub echoes laced in Ranking Joe’s vocal lines, while the other is a freestyle performance of an instrumental melodica. These versions carry an ethereal, almost pastoral quality — the synth and bass seem to stretch and wobble endlessly, yet these elements never feel weighed down or excessive.
Much like the collaboration between Red-i and Ranking Joe, each artist’s contribution is essential, and dub reggae thrives on this synergy. Praise Jah / Ready Now stands as a shining example of this tradition.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Red-i’s dub and melodica versions as “remixes,” initially likened to its use in electronic dance music. The term “remix” is an inaccurate description when contextualized in the tradition of dub music.
