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Twilight Circus Dub Sound System


    " Deeper Roots - Luciano " Music Reviews

    Artist / Title : Luciano - What We Got To Do / Dub / Club Mix / Acoustic Mix
    Label : M Records ???? Format : EP 10-inch Vinyl ????
    Date : October 10, 2003
    Rating : (1 to 5 stars) *****

    Ryan Moore aka Twilight Circus Dub Sound System gets together with one of the superstars of reggae music, Luciano. He's also known as The MessenJah, famous for his conscious outings, many of which have become classics. Here he voices an original Ryan Moore riddim, the dub wizzard who provides the heavy deep roots backing for Luciano's rootical vocal delivery. What a boom tune we've got here ! The 10 inch not only includes a magnificent acoustic version of the song, but also a Club Mix, definitely worthwhile spinning !

    www.reggae-vibes.com



    LUCIANO & TWILIGHT CIRCUS
    'What We Got To Do'
    M Records(Neth)MREC240

    Dutch based dub trawler Ryan Moore may have served an industrial apprenticeship, but his excellent series of solo dub odyssies have finally birthed a fullblown roots classic. Providing a swirling, mesmeric backdrop for Luciano's honey tongued tale of sufferation, Moore's rootsy vision truly flourishes. The 'Club Mix' provides a pounding battle anthem to beat down Babylon, whilst the accoustic mix is breathtakingly beautiful. Amazing.

    Kevin Martin - DJ MAG



    Luciano: What we got to do
    Big Youth/Michael Bammie Rose/Eddie Tan Tan - Love is what we need
    Ryan Moore's Twilight Circus make a more than welcome return with these two surreal 10" mixes, featuring the DJ originator, Big Youth and modern day digital contender for Dennis Brown's throne, Luciano.

    The Big Youth 10" features the great horns men Michael Bammie Rose and Eddie Tan Tan, fresh from their work with roots funk bass man Sketch ( ex Linx ) and Pharaoh Sanders ( John Coltrane's legendary one time sideman) on the 23 Skidoo album . Besides this they have also contributed outstanding work for Clifton "Bigga" Morrison's Jazz Jamaica.

    Big Youth's "Love is What We Need" is a huge impressionistic sound: Cavernous bass given depth and texture by a contrasting eddy of Tubby's submarine tones and harsh African percussion bubbling underneath.

    There are no less than four mixes on this 10". The final mix sounds like forest insects have somehow been sucked into the mix, echoes and shudders punctuating the lonely horn section.

    Big Youth's voice has lost none of its majesty and sense of impressionistic awe as the years have passed: His tone is as rich here as it was on "Train To Rhodesia" back in the late 70's.

    The Luciano 10" ( "What we Got to Do" ) has a firestorm bass approach, with what sounds like the howling whine of radio signals driving the whole spiralling sound forward. Rockers style snares and metallic cymbal work sustains the momentum as the piano and melodica tones get spliced and wrung out. The percussion is reminiscent of early Creation Rebel tracks like "African Space."

    Like the Big Youth 10", Luciano's "What we Got to Do" features four versions in total. Two vocals, one dub, one acoustic version. The vocal versions are deeply soulful, Luciano coming across like a roots and culture Stevie Wonder: Luciano the mesmer. His message is a simple yet pertinent one. The second vocal has a cold minimalist approach, all consuming dark bass and landscape tidal echo washing over the mix.

    Twilight Circus make deeply satisfying modern roots, and like Russ D's Backyard Movements rhythm section, are apparently dedicated to their craft. At their most inspired, the reflection and thought that goes into their mixes raises it some considerable way above generic clichˇ. Earlier works like "Binghi ( Brain Melt Mix) ", "Bin Shaker Dub" and "Other Worlds of Dub" possess aspects of the qualities of power and imagination that made early ONU Sound music so mentally involving.

    The next Twilight Circus album is awaited with considerable anticipation: If it lives up to the strong promise of their earlier releases, it is going to be one to watch out for.

    Greg Whitfield
    www.reggaenews.co.uk