SHLP004 – Our Own Way – Stand High Patrol
UK > FRSince their inception at start of the 2000s, Stand High Patrol have rocked sound systems to their own riddim, assimilating and re-purposing the codes of the genre in their own unique style. From tiny bars in Brittany to huge festival stages, on independent radio or across national airwaves, the crew have quietly trod their own path, never compromising their core value of independence. Connoisseurs have long recognised Stand High’s credentials both as a dub group and a leading sound system, but they stand out from the crowd because of their ability to deliver the unexpected, whether live or on record. Their ability to draw such a diverse audience is testament to this atypical approach to making music.
In 2020, almost 20 years since their humble beginnings, the collective presents their fifth album, “Our Own Way”. As with their first two albums “Midnight Walkers” and “Matter Of Scale”, now considered as classics in their genre, this new opus asserts itself as the latest representation of the crew’s versatile approach to crafting sound. Their music, a blend of its own known as “Dubadub”, has always borrowed influences from multiple sources, and over the course of their career their roots in dub and reggae have intertwined with hip-hop, jazz, new wave, trip-hop and numerous other genres. The ‘Dubadub Musketeerz’ have never ceased experimenting, forever seeking to increase the sonic territory they cover, day after day. Both live and recorded, they’ve made it a point of honour to never offer up the same thing twice. Any resemblance that “Our Own Way” might bear to those first two albums is a consequence of this obvious creative continuity, rather than of going “back to basics”.
In contrast to the last two Stand High Patrol records, the hip-hop inspired “The Shift”, or the Bristol indebted “Summer On Mars”, “Our Own Way” doesn’t have a unifying concept or theme. Rather than being limited to a single aesthetic, the LP pays respect to the entire canon of Jamaican music, all unified under Stand High’s inimitable production values. With the wealth of experience gained during the recording of their last two records, the collective decided to aim for a freer project, letting themselves be guided by their own music and their own instincts. The end result is a musical portrait of what Stand High Patrol is in the present moment.
The tracks that make up the new LP burst out of the studio, each born out of unbridled, impulsive creativity. Previously unheard compositions and specially re-tooled dub plates have been assembled into a tracklist that shifts and moves like a classic Dubadub Musketeer live set. Each step of the process has been refined by years of practice : composition, effects, and the final mix. Throughout “On Our Way”, the brutal dub stepper, though still a favourite for sound system sessions, is noticeable by its absence. Instead, it’s the full weight of the crew’s reggae heritage that’s expressed in the mix. It’s not just the depth and weight of each tune that strikes the listener, but also the spaces heard between the notes that grab and hold their attention.. The sense of a trip, whether musical, internal or geographic, is omnipresent throughout the LP, linking each track to those before and after. “Our Own Way” finds Stand High Patrol exploring as usual, yet also narrating their journey as they’ve rarely done before.
Infos
STAND HIGH PATROL
“Our Own Way”
2LP – Gatefold / CD / MP3 / WAV / STREAM Available July 24, 2020
Distrib : Bigwax
Digital Distrib : The Orchard
Label : Stand High Records
Artwork : Kazy Usclef
Animated videos & Music videos : Kazy Usclef & Charlie Mars
Independent Record Shop Edition with a poster by Kazy Usclef
OUR OWN WAY LP – TRACKLIST
A1.Morning
A2.Sailing in rough seas
A3.Blues
A4.Dub o’clock
B1.Along the river
B2.The factory
B3.In the park
B4.Rain on the window
C1.Jay’s life
C2.Every plane
C3.Belleville rap
C4.The train
D1.Our own way
D2.The sound of nature
D3.Rainy ragga
D4.D Funk
D5.Last day of winter
All tracks composed by Pupajim, except track C2 composed by Mac Gyver
All Lyrics written by Pupajim
All tracks arranged by Pupajim, Mac Gyver, Rootystep
Trumpet by Meriadeg Guillanton on tracks B3, B4, C2 and D2
Kette Drum by I-Mitri Counteraction on track B2
Effects by Mac Gyver on all tracks
All beats & vocals recorded at the Donjon Studio
Mixed by Claude Samnick Bidima, Rootystep & Mac Gyver @ Les Studios Bellarue 17
Mastering => Studio Kerwax