Mad Professor / Cuts & Dubs / Test Pressing

This is a really cool compilation. A smart cross section of Mad Professor’s back catalogue, that serves as both a brilliant sampler to the uninitiated and a treasure trove to the obsessive (1). The 3 compliers, Paul Byrne, Piers Harrison and Toby Tobias, have acquitted themselves admirably when confronted with the daunting task of cherry picking from Ariwa Studios’ vast archive. Their selections sorta fall, 50:50, into 2 camps. Tracks like the opening “Ariwa The Dub Sampler” are drum machine driven doses of Caribbean funk. Typically cut up, collaged and busy with chopped and skewed vocals. “H2SO4”, for example, is a bonkers, schizophrenic concoction, with no melody as such but crazy with mixing desk effects. In places, a whirlpool of juxtaposition. Built around a rare groove-ish break, Ragga Doll’s “Hippamuffin” begins with a back spin, and sets sampled, snipped voices spiralling off into space (2). Professor Doppler’s “Cook Up Rice” has tumbling beats, stutter, stall, trip over them…