Bursting onto the music scene from Long Beach, California, the progressive dub artist Soultry Dubs has released her debut album this month, making its way across the digital universe. The 13-track Soultry Sound is a psychedelically flavored album, with an all-female roster including appearances by Nattali Rize, Lion Child, Mpress Kandace, Sistren Kim and Ashley Irae.
Lyrically-conscious driven melodies — especially on tracks “Divine Energy” and “Soul Journ Dub” — switch from atmospheric, echoing drumscapes to tight, distorted melodies at the drop of a hat, creating a very unique rhythm that keeps things intriguing.
“I’m super proud to work with these amazing women…”
Another strong standout is “Age of Aquarius”. Here, Soultry Dubs captures the raw essence of the song’s instrumentals with Ashley Irae on vocals, making this track a cornerstone of the album.
Soultry Dubs comments, “It’s been a dream of mine to unite a female-driven, lyrically-conscious work of heart and to highlight my love of dub music. I’m super proud to work with these amazing women who I feel really embody what I consider a ‘Soultry Sound’ and to collaborate with my longtime musical partner and producer Josh Cardinali of Stoney Eye Studios. I also wanted to highlight the art of dub by including remixes performed live on my APC40. Why dub? Because it exposes all the elements of a song — it breaks it down, then puts it back together again. It gives the listener the opportunity to hear what a song is made of. It’s cosmic.”
Overall, Soultry Dubs has created a fantastic, atmospheric album appealing to many audiences. The ability to build up tension and then shift or disrupt into another dimension within the same song provides a highly enjoyable listening experience from start to finish.
Purchase or stream ‘Soultry Sound’ album:
Track listing:
- Soul Rizing Intro, feat. Nattali Rize
- Soul Journ, feat. Ashley Irae, Sistren Kim
- Divine Energy, feat. Lion Child
- 11:11 Verb Dub
- Babylon Fyah, feat. Ashley Irae, Sistren Kim
- Let Us Unite Dub, feat. Mpress Kandace, Sistren Kim
- Age of Aquarius, feat. Ashley Irae
- Heartbreaker, feat. Lion Child
- Soul Journ Dub, feat. Ashley Irae, Sistren Kim
- Divine Energy Dub, feat. Lion Child
- Babylon Fyah Dub, feat. Ashley Irae, Sistren Kim
- Age of Aquarius Dub, feat. Ashley Irae
- Heartbreaker Dub, feat. Lion Child
Links: Instagram | SoundCloud
Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.
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