40 Years of On-U Sound in one masterful evening @ O2 Forum

What bliss to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of our favourite label in the company of a few thousand other On-U-fans. For Adrian Sherwood or (a few years ago in Liège) Creation Rebel, only a handful of people usually show up in Belgium. On-U reggae sounds so completely different from the Jamaican sounds, and also from UK steppers and other sound system dub that it has become a sub-genre in itself, with fans of very different plumage. And of an advanced age, of course, because however innovative and revolutionary On-U Sound still sounds after all these years, the loyal fan base was built up in the 80s. 

The festivities started early, a bit too early for us (it was not yet seven o'clock in the evening), so we missed Denise Sherwood, daughter of Adrian. She released a wonderful album in 2020, produced by her father, who of course also provided the backing, with his own, live-mixed recordings. He did the same for Horace Andy after a short but intense DJ-set (which ranged from 'Ketch a fire' to crazy punk dub). Numerous Jamaican veterans (the late Lee Perry, the equally lamented Bim Sherman, Junior Delgado, Mikey Dread and Prince Far I) have made brilliant records with Adrian Sherwood, and Horace Andy, too, delivered a small masterpiece for On U this year, 'Midnight Rocker'. At 72, the sweet-voiced singer opened with 'This Must Be Hell', sung over a corrupted Take Five riddim. "There's no peace amongst mankind": a pity that old lyric is still so topical. For the remake of 'Problems' and the bouncy On-U rub-a-dub of 'Try Love', Ivan 'Celloman' Hussey joined in, who also participated in the album. For all the Studio One fans (whom Horace Andy never forgets to salute) there was 'Fever' and for the Massive Attack massive 'Safe From Harm'.

And then Adrian Sherwood moved from the stage to the mixing console in the hall. Horace Andy remained on stage and suddenly had a band behind him, Creation Rebel, supplemented by the Ital Horns (also known as Love Grocer, in this case Richard Doswell on saxophone and Dave Fullwood on trumpet). Together they performed a chillingly beautiful version of 'Every Tongue Shall Tell', perhaps my favourite Horace Andy tune, and the foundation classic 'Cuss Cuss'. Already a memorable evening, and it wasn't' even 9 'o clock. 

At the end of the 70s, Creation Rebel itself was already exploring a sound universe that no producer or engineer had gone before. From the deepest roots of reggae and with the energy of the rocker style that reigned supreme at the time, they created dub from outer space for On-U. And thus laid the foundations of the most inventive and groundbreaking sound in the UK: On-U Sound. Even though they often played classic Studio One riddims. But "...with Adrian Sherwood at the controls, even the most rudimentary dub gets the aura of a spectacular firework...", to quote our report of that show in Liège. Here an echo, there a reverb, not programmed but instinctively mixed live. Sherwood himself playing along on all kinds of pads with percussion, samples and very special effects. A sharp, powerful sound, never too loud or on the edge of the pain barrier, but inescapable and all-pervading. It's dub elevated to a kind of psychojazz, reggae made 40 years ago for the 21st century.

After a short DJ session by studio wizard Gaudi, next level dub spiced up with a hearty portion of raggamuffin in the person of Daddy Freddy, African Head Charge appeared on stage. Meanwhile, on the giant screen behind the stage, a mind-blowing collage of images kept running. We had already seen record sleeves and graffiti, African motifs and wallpaper, old studio images and maps, news clips, colour and black and white, art with the punk attitude that has always characterised Adrian Sherwood, seemingly disturbed, torn and random but, through repetition, ultimately clear and inescapable. 

With African Head Charge we suddenly saw the legendary BBC newsreel of Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica in 1966 on screen, and thus also the very first images of Count Ossie & Mystic Revelation of Rastafari. Of them, Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, Mister African Headcharge, is of course a direct heir, with his bongos and rasta shouts. With this act, Sherwood brought nyahbinghi to the new age. At the anniversary party of On-U Sound (postponed by two years due to well-known circumstances) he took African Head Charge to new heights. I don't think I've ever seen the band so good, and I remember especially the rollicking remake of 'Bam Bam' and the extravagant ganja tune 'Take Heed And Smoke Up Your Collieweed', built around a sample of Prince Far-I.

His voice was also heard a few times in the set of Tackhead, the famous trio Skip McDonald (guitar), Keith LeBlanc (drums) and Doug Wimbish (bass). The same line-up as, for example, The Police and Triggerfinger, but with a completely different sound, once described as a fusion of dub, funk and hip-hop. McDonald is one of the big stars of On-U Sound (also check out the blues dub of Little Axe or the soundtrack of the docu 'My Ras Tafari Roots'), and one of the best guitarists in the world. Wimbish was the bassist of Living Color and played his instrument prominently in 'The Message' (originally 'White Lines' by Liquid Liquid, give thanks Daniel Clay), a tune that helped define hip-hop and certainly has its place in the On-U universe. And then there was singer Bernard Fowler, his voice as impressive as his appearance. This too was a truly amazing show.

The three musicians were allowed to stay on for the closing act, Mark Stewart & The Mafia. Not our favourite On-U sound act, but clearly many think otherwise. Maybe it has to do with Stewart's radical, often politically tinged lyrics. But he doesn't sing (he's more of a shouter, although he initiated a "Happy Birthday On-U!" for Adrian), we'd come a long way since Horace Andy, just under five hours earlier. That time really flew by, which can only mean that we were not bored for a minute, on the contrary: seldom have I been under the spell of a concert or even a whole festival for such a long time. By the way, isn't that an idea, an On-U Sound festival? Akabu and Twinkle Brothers could also perform there, and Jebloy Nichols (who couldn't be there this time due to COVID-19 problems). Although we can still rely on that memorable birthday party in London for a long time to come. And in the summer Adrian Sherwood, Horace Andy and African Head charge will be at Reggae Geel. Time to finally make up for lost time, if you've never experienced the genius of On-U Sound.

Foto's: © Shawn Scallen