Lovers Dub | 01

A mix to rewind every sweet memory of romance in reverb. Soulful grooves and Lovers Rock blend with dub-soaked echoes and rhythms.

Sweet Sensation Dub - Love Dub Band / Sonia Whittingham

Xxplosive - Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band

Easier to Love - DJ Duckcomb Edit - Sonia

Snakeskin Bib - Fila Brazillia

Onde Anda O Meu Amor - Orlandivo

Rising To The Top - Dee Sharp

Music Is The Word - The Planty Herbs

Memory Lane - Will Sessions

All I Really Need - Emapea

Kiss The Sky - The Intern

Wen Uuu - Shlohmo

Falling (Instrumental) - Dudley Perkins and Madlib

Touch Me, Take Me Mauro Vecchi Re-Edit - Syreeta

Smouche - Dennis Bovell

Aaaaahhhh - Chief

Ceremony - Anchorsong

Sexual Instrumental - Glen Adams & Finesse

"Sweet Sensation Dub" – Love Dub Band feat. Sonia Whittingham

A coveted lovers rock 12″ – came backed with a dub version titled “Sweet Sensation Dub,” credited to the Love Dub Band. The vocal A-side was the sole release by UK singer Sonia Whittingham, produced by Glen Sloley and Milton “Whitie” Crawford on the short-lived Star Disc label in 1988. It’s considered a “holy grail” of the lovers rock genre, with original pressings fetching hundreds of dollars. The dub B-side strips down the soulful love song into a “dreamy ‘Sweet Dub’” instrumental mix emphasizing echo-laden drums, bass, and off-beat guitar skanks while ethereal traces of Whittingham’s vocals and melody drift in and out. This classic combination of romantic reggae and dub was largely overlooked at the time but has since been reissued (in 2023 via Isle of Jura) for a new generation of collectors.

"Xxplosive" – Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band

Dr. Dre’s G-funk anthem “Xxplosive” re-imagined as a funked-out steel pan instrumental. Bacao R&SB is a Hamburg-based group led by Björn Wagner, known for cutting steel-pan covers of hip-hop and R&B classics “for the DJs”. Dre’s original version, built around a mellow Isaac Hayes sample, is a West Coast hip-hop staple. Bacao’s 2018 cover (released on Big Crown Records) stays “proper BRSB fashion”, with smashing breakbeats and steel pans playing the signature bassline and melody. They even dub in synths and horn lines to echo vocal riffs, giving the track a breezy Caribbean funk twist.

"Easier to Love (DJ Duckcomb Edit)" – Sonia

DJ Duckcomb (Patrick Billard) put a modern spin on Sonia’s “Easier to Love,” extending and reworking this vintage Lovers Rock gem. The original track was recorded in 1980 by Sonia Ferguson (known simply as Sonia) for London’s Cha Cha label and is a reggae cover of a U.S. soul song, “Easier to Love,” which was first written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic for Sister Sledge’s 1979 We Are Family album. Sonia’s lovers rock version transforms the Chic ballad into a lilting reggae groove and became a favorite among lovers rock fans despite being quite hard to find for years. (Original pressings on 12″, backed with the rootsy tune “That’s The Way You Feel,” are rare and highly sought-after. The song’s pedigree is impressive: produced by Milton Wilson and backed by The Overnight Players band, Sonia’s 1980 recording is now regarded as an “essential 1980 shake” of the Sister Sledge tune – an underground classic that was finally officially reissued decades later. DJ Duckcomb’s edit of “Easier to Love” maintains the sultry vocals and soulful vibe of Sonia’s cut, but subtly extends breaks and adds touches to make it more DJ-friendly – perfect for sunset spins and slow dances. Sonia (Ferguson) had other covers in the early ’80s and later sang with the group Klearview Harmonix, but “Easier to Love” remains her signature – a song that connects reggae lovers and soul fans alike.

"Snakeskin Bib" – Fila Brazillia

Appears on their 1999 album A Touch of Cloth (released on Pork Recordings/Twentythree) during a peak creative period when Fila Brazillia (producers Steve Cobby and David McSherry) were fusing downtempo electronica with funk, jazz, and dub influences. Hard funk guitar elements blended with Moog-ish synths and jazzy horns to create a chilled yet immersive sound riding a laid-back breakbeat. The track cheekily samples “Queremos Guerra” by Brazilian icons Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Jorge Ben, embedding a fragment of Afro-Brazilian funk (chanting and percussion) into Fila’s downtempo groove. Fila Brazillia was one of the most acclaimed acts in the downtempo/lounge scene, hailing from the UK’s northeast. They gained a reputation for genre-blending productions and went on to remix dozens of artists across genres. Many fans consider a Touch of Cloth as “the absolute top of their career…a perfect blend of jazz and trip hop with a dose of abstract psychedelia,” with “Snakeskin Bib” often cited as a standout and an essential spin for downtempo DJs.

"Onde Anda O Meu Amor" – Orlandivo

A Brazilian samba-jazz groove with a great backstory. Orlandivo Honório (also known as Orlann Divo) was a singer, composer, and percussionist who came up in Rio de Janeiro’s bossa nova scene, and early on he played percussion in Ed Lincoln’s band and released solo records in the 1960s. He co-wrote “Onde Anda O Meu Amor” (translation: “Where Is My Love”) with partner Roberto Jorge and first recorded it in 1962, during the golden age of bossa nova. A young Jorge Ben even covered the song on his 1964 album Ben É Samba Bom. Fast forward to 1977: Orlandivo revisited “Onde Anda O Meu Amor” for his self-titled Orlandivo LP on Copacabana Records – an album that would later become a cult favorite among Brazilian music aficionados. Orlandivo’s warm vocals and scat singing glide over the mellow arrangement, giving it a timeless, dreamy quality. Interestingly, this album was recorded when classic bossa and samba were considered passé; by the late ’70s, Brazil was moving into disco and funk. As a result, Orlandivo’s record “gained little notice” on release in ’77. But decades later, crate-diggers and reissue labels (like Kindred Spirits) revived it, and now it’s hailed as a “true classic from the vaults of Brazilian bossa and downtempo samba.”

"Rising To The Top" – Dee Sharp

A Lovers Rock cover of an American R&B hit, given a reggae makeover in early 1980s London. The song originates from Keni Burke’s 1982 classic “Risin’ to the Top,” a smooth funk groove that became Burke’s signature tune and a Quiet Storm staple (later famously sampled in numerous hip-hop/R&B tracks). In 1983, Dee Sharp, a UK reggae singer, teamed with Fashion Records to record this faithful yet fresh reggae version. At the time, Dee Sharp (real name Derrick Sharp) was one of the rising stars of British lovers rock and had already notched reggae chart hits with “Let’s Dub It Up” and “Swing and Dine”. “Rising to The Top” became his fourth and final release for Fashion Records, hitting big in the reggae charts in 1983. Dee Sharp’s relaxed, honeyed vocals glide over a bubbling bassline, skanking guitar, and a rocksteady-style drum machine beat. Decades later, “Rising to The Top” remains a favorite – it was finally repressed in 2023 after years of being a collector’s item.

"Music Is The Word" – The Planty Herbs

A lush instrumental that balances jazzy, soulful vibes with modern beats. Dusty ’70s funk samples reassembled into a mellow hip-hop groove, with a warm, hazy Rhodes piano loop and a snappy boom-bap drum break. The Planty Herbs are a duo from Tilburg, Netherlands, Robbert van der Bildt and Bobby van Putten, both formally trained musicians (conservatory “herbalists,” as their bio cheekily calls them) with a passion for old-school sounds. They dig into crates for source material: one hint from their later liner notes mentions a Miroslav Vitous jazz fusion sample in a track, and for “Music Is The Word” the duo likely pieced together bits of obscure jazz-funk records (the exact samples are kept secret, adding to the mystique). Though an underground release, “Music Is The Word” achieved notable success in niche circles.

"Memory Lane" – Will Sessions

A soulful funk instrumental that pays loving tribute to the golden age of ’90s hip-hop with a live-band reimagining of Nas’s famous track “Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)” that captures all the nostalgic, jazzy warmth of the original while adding new layers of musicality. The tone here is smooth and wistful: picture buttery Rhodes electric piano chords, a gently loping bassline, and crisp boom-bap drums played live. Will Sessions includes background vocal harmonies (performed by vocalist Coko Buttafli) cooing in the mix, echoing the ethereal vocal sample from the Nas original (which sampled a 1970s Reuben Wilson soul-jazz tune). This detail gives the instrumental a dreamy feel, as if a memory is coming to life. The recording and mixing were done in Detroit – the band is known to record on analog tape when possible, which explains the warm, vintage tone. Will Sessions’ attention to detail was such that they transcribed the original Illmatic samples and notes by ear to replay them. The result is a track that sounds at once nostalgic and fresh.

"All I Really Need" – Emapea

A jazzy lo-fi hip-hop gem played late at night, with a vinyl crackle in the air and mellow piano chords floating over a boom-bap beat. Emapea delivers smooth, jazz-inflected melodies over hazy, downtempo drums. It’s also got a touch of dub influence in its spacious mixing with echoes and reverb tails on certain samples. Released in 2023 as the opening track of Emapea’s album Beat Catz Jazz, the core piano riff has a soulful, Bill Evans-meets-Bob James quality – one theory floating on forums is that it samples a Rhodes from a 1970s Polish jazz record, Emapea being Polish, it’s plausible he mined local vinyl, though he’s also a fan of American jazz-funk.

"Kiss The Sky" – The Intern

A dreamy, instrumental hip-hop track infused with dusty jazz and soul, the beat has a slow swing, around 85-90 BPM, with a deep kick and snappy snares that sit back in the mix, giving it a lo-fi warmth. There’s a vocal fragment that echoes the title, adding a haunting melody without full lyrics. The Intern’s style often edges into the lo-fi / chillhop realm, but with a distinct hip-hop backbone and jazz overtones - think along the lines of J Dilla’s gentler productions or Nujabes, but with a European jazz twist. “Kiss The Sky” was released unconventionally – it first appeared on SoundCloud on November 22, 2016, as part of The Intern’s early batch of beat uploads.

"Wen Uuu" – Shlohmo

Shlohmo released “Wen Uuu” on his Vacation EP in early 2012 (Friends of Friends Music). Specifically, the EP dropped on February 7, 2012, following his acclaimed 2011 debut album Bad Vibes. A beautiful electronic piece that can be described as ghostly and emotive. Shlohmo (Henry Laufer), an L.A. beat-scene icon, imbued “Wen Uuu” with his signature textural sound design: crackling static, detuned synth chords that wobble like they’re underwater, and sparse, heavily processed percussion. The drum programming is unorthodox: it has the swing of hip-hop but the spaciousness of dub or ambient. Shlohmo uses side-chain compression (making the music duck under the kick drum) to create a pulsing sensation. The track also features creative use of pitch-bending – those vocal “uuu” croons (from the title) slide up and down in pitch, giving an almost woozy feeling. Laufer used a field recorder to capture rain on his Echo Park patio, pitching it down for the track’s hissy “tape loop” texture. Over all of this, Shlohmo weaves melancholic melodies, often using chopped and pitch-shifted vocal samples as quasi-instruments. “Wen Uuu” contains an R&B sample from Aaliyah’s “No One Knows How to Love Me (Quite Like You Do)”, which he distorts into ethereal vocals that swirl around the mix. Genre-wise, “Wen Uuu” falls within the realm of what was dubbed post-dubstep or chillwave meets instrumental hip-hop in 2012.

“Falling (Instrumental)” – Dudley Perkins & Madlib

An instrumental hip-hop soul gem from 2003, “Falling” appears on Dudley Perkins’ A Lil’ Light album (Stones Throw Records), entirely produced by Otis “Madlib” Jackson Jr. The album was recorded in California and showcased Madlib’s signature dusty, sample-centric production beneath Perkins’ crooning rap vocals. “Falling” itself samples the lush orchestration of “Dawn Mists” by Stringtronics (from the 1972 Mindbender library LP), layering dreamy strings over a head-nodding beat. An official instrumental version was later issued on A Lil’ Light Instrumentals. Dudley Perkins, also known by his alter-ego Declaime, is an underground rapper/singer from Oxnard, California. A Lil’ Light was his debut under his real name, spotlighting an eccentric, stoned-soul vocal style over Madlib’s beats. Madlib, by this point, was renowned in indie hip-hop for his crate-digging production and projects like Quasimoto and Yesterdays New Quintet. Here he concocts a mellow, emotive vibe – blending dusty drums, muted bass, and that ethereal Stringtronics sample. The instrumental stands on its own as a downtempo mood piece, with Madlib’s penchant for obscure European library music giving it a cinematic feel.

“Touch Me, Take Me (Mauro Vecchi Re-Edit)” – Syreeta (Rita Wright)

Long before Italian DJ Mauro Vecchi gave it a modern re-edit, “Touch Me, Take Me” was an obscure late-’70s soul cut by Motown singer Syreeta Wright. Recording under her nickname Rita Wright, Syreeta released the song in 1978 as the B-side to “Love Is All You Need” on Jet Records in the UK. The track itself has an unusual pedigree: it’s a cover version of the Intimate Strangers’ 1976 disco tune “Love Sounds,” and in fact uses the same instrumental backing track as that original – complete with sultry bassline and wah-wah guitars – albeit with new vocals and a slightly “less raunchy” mix. Before Syreeta’s take, an earlier rendition titled “Touch Me – Take Me” had been recorded by Ester Byrde in 1975 (Survival Records). Byrde’s 45 was largely overlooked at the time but later became a “holy grail” for rare soul collectors. Syreeta’s 1978 version on Jet gave the song new life: her angelic voice glides over the orchestral soul arrangement, delivering a slow-burning performance that has made “Touch Me, Take Me” a beloved two-step soul classic. Fast-forward to the 2010s, and Italian DJ/producer Mauro Vecchi introduced “Touch Me, Take Me” to a new generation of disco and modern soul aficionados. His Re-Edit subtly extends and rearranges the original for contemporary dancefloors. The edit doesn’t add new instrumentation but rather re-sequences and emphasizes the danceable elements, making it DJ-friendly.

“Smouche” – Dennis Bovell

“Smouche” is a deep cut from Dennis Bovell’s 1981 album Brain Damage, a groundbreaking double LP that merged reggae with multiple genres. Recorded at Bovell’s own Studio 80 in South London on 24-track tape, the album gave the Barbadian-British musician free rein to experiment. Bovell wrote, produced, and played the majority of instruments on Brain Damage, demonstrating his virtuosity on guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and more. “Smouche” rides on a smooth midtempo rhythm that, while rooted in reggae, incorporates a soulful chord progression and warm horn melodies. In Bovell’s own words, the Brain Damage project was about “taking reggae as far as possible…like jazz” and hybridizing it with other styles. Dennis “Blackbeard” Bovell earned renown not only for roots reggae and dub (see his 1978 LP Strictly Dub Wize under the alias Blackbeard) but also for pioneering the softer lovers rock style – Bovell produced the genre’s seminal hit “Silly Games” by Janet Kay in 1979. For “Smouche,” Bovell enlisted top musicians: Rico Rodriguez on trombone, Eddie “Tan Tan” Thornton on trumpet, John Kpiaye on guitar, among others, in his Dub Band. Their finesse can be heard in the track’s arrangements – for example, the brass section adds a jazzy flourish that elevates “Smouche” beyond standard dub instrumentals. While Brain Damage spent years underappreciated, its resurgence in recent decades, with “Smouche” a highlight, solidifies its status as a collectible and influential record, connecting the dots between dub reggae, soul, and beyond.

“Aaaaahhhh” – Chief

A quirky instrumental hip-hop beat by Chief, a Swiss producer known for his mellow yet forward-thinking style, the track was released in February 2014. “Aaaaahhhh” is an interlude-like beat built around a distinctive vocal sample (a prolonged, expressive “aaaaahhhh” cry, as the title suggests) chopped over head-nodding drums. Chief recorded it using his arsenal of vintage samplers and synths, giving the track a warm, lo-fi texture reminiscent of J Dilla or Madlib’s instrumental work. There’s no glossy studio polish here – true to the Echo Chamber concept, it sounds like a raw snippet from the producer’s beat tapes, complete with vinyl crackle and unquantized drum kicks that swing off-grid. Despite its rough edges, “Aaaaahhhh” has musicality: Chief layers gentle Rhodes keyboard chords and a humming bassline under the vocal stab, creating an atmospheric vibe that’s equal parts soulful and abstract.

“Ceremony” – Anchorsong

A punchy and vibrant electronic instrumental by Anchorsong, released in 2016 on Brighton-based Tru Thoughts Records, the track is the lead single and closing song from Anchorsong’s sophomore album Ceremonial (2016). “Ceremony” has a celebratory, ritualistic feel: it blends percussive Afrobeat/Highlife influences with modern electronic beats. The entire Ceremonial album drew heavily from 1970s African music – Yoshida cites finding a copy of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo’s Vodoun Effect album and being transfixed by the voodoo funk rhythms. Anchorsong has said that after discovering West African recordings, he was struck by how “the music out of Africa in the seventies” was both rhythmically complex and melodically rich. The arrangement of “Ceremony” gradually introduces layers: a bouncing bassline, a syncopated kick drum pattern, and, most notably, dramatic violin and string arrangements that soar over the rhythmic foundation.

"Sexual (Instrumental)" – Glen Adams & Finesse

Recorded and mixed in 1982 at Blank Tape Studios in New York City, a hub for early hip-hop and disco. “Sexual (Instrumental)” is a synth-driven reggae-disco dub version of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Sexual Healing,” created by Jamaican reggae veteran Glen Adams alongside an outfit credited as Finesse. Stripping away T-Ski Valley’s rap vocals from the original 1982 release, the instrumental highlights a sultry groove driven by a pulsating bassline, crisp electronic drums, and Glen Adams’ own syncopated keyboard/organ riffs. Only traces of vocals remain – breathy female refrains drenched in reverb and delay float in and out of the mix, adding the Lovers Rock sensuality. The result is a spacious, dubbed-out “island disco” cut that transforms the soulful melody into a modern dub classic. After decades of obscurity, “Sexual (Instrumental)” was resurrected by Isle of Jura Records – an Adelaide-based reissue label known for unearthing “lost musical gems”. First reissued in 2022 (then in a 2024 edition) on Instrumental Dubs #1. By securing licensing and remastering this long-out-of-print track, the label has reintroduced “Sexual (Instrumental)” to a new generation, ensuring Glen Adams’ forward-thinking production gets its due recognition (becoming my favorite track of 2024).

Dig deeper: Crate Cannon | Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”