Tor.Ma in Dub is Mexican producer and musician Rafael Hernandez. After a successful debut in Iono Music and a number of singles and compilation releases, Tor.ma in Dub releases Jump High (From the Roots to the Stars).
Well, nothing to say about this album but the following: Imagine yourself on a tropical beach somewhere, wind blowing softly over your skin, palms waving, nice girls in bikinis walking around, drinking a nice cocktail and relaxing the day away. There. Settle that image in your mind, or take anything else that you find relaxing and this is the perfect soundtrack for it. Chilling to the max. Every single track has got that kinda reggae vibe, without the annoying lyrics (at least for me, because I don’t really like reggae). But hey, I like dub and that is where this guy comes in very nicely.
I knew this reminded me of something and I went back and dove in my collection and found it. Stress Assassin. I only have the Carriertrack album, but that is what this reminded me of. But, it must be said, Rafael does have his own style, particularly in the way he uses regular instruments sometimes throughout the tracks. Guitars, piano, saxophone, you name it. It’s in there somewhere, expertly crafted between all the dubs. Sometimes surprises are also waiting around the corner like the sudden tempo shift and transformation to breakbeat in Out of There (T3). But for the most part this relaxes your ass off.
Nice sampling in this album helps it to maintain a classy feeling throughout, not like other dub artists that suddenly come up with tabla wailing or Indian chanting stuff which totally ruins the vibe in my opinion. Thumbs up to Rafael for keeping it real and keeping it DUB, which is actually what the moniker stands for. Dub is without vocals people… |
