REVIEW: LONE ARK - Oil & Water (FAK Records)

I don't know too much about Lone Ark other than it is mainly connected to the works around singer, musician and engineer Roberto Sanchez and the people around him. I reckon Lone Ark are more or less the group of people who's been passing through and recording at the A-Lone Music Studio in Santander Spain. The same studio which Roberto Sanchez were one of the founders of together with Borja Juanco in 1994. The idea for the studio was to be able to create roots reggae and dub music with that live element in both recordng and mixinig. Over the years music by Spanish reggae groups like Loud & Lone, Better Collie and BDF (Basque Dub Foundation) among others has been recorded and mixed there. All groups of which Roberto Sanchez has been apart of in some way. In recent time Lone Ark has put out two 10:inch vinyls, before this CD, which featured European reggae artists like African Simba and Rod Taylor (now resident in France) as well as Roberto Sanchez and Lone Arks own contributions.

This album consists on ten tracks compiled between 2002 to 2006. Productionwise one can't really tell the four years apart since all of the tracks are of the same high qualitive roots music. If I didn't know who this was and when it was done I would probably say the rhythms on the album was a early eighties production out of Jamaica since it clearly has the same atmosphere and vibe as some of those works from that period of time. It's actually a joy to listen to this solid album with it's tight played instrumentaion of live instruments and beautiful voices singing. I remember Earl Sixteen saying at one point that what he really misses in modern day reggae productions is real arrangements and thought through productions which he so much enjoyed in the sevenites. Well, I guess he meant reggae music as a whole but if he ever get to hear these tracks I'd guess it would give him plessure knowing there's still people producing roots music with the same heartfelt vibe as in the days of old.

soundclip - Dubby Ambassah - Gonna Fight

The ten tracks presented on the album makes it just perfect because it's not too short nor too long. Although since most of the tracks are pure goodies it's bound to be set on repeat anyway. It's hard to actually point of a favorite but Roberto Sanchez contributions stands strong. Among the four tracks he got on the album three are real stand outs, "Mankind", "The West" and especially "Oil & Water" with its wonderfully played flute melody. Another good track is UK singer Kenny Knots "Mighty One" where he rides a recut of Gregory Isaacs classic "Uncle Joe" rhythm and sings in a lower tone than we heard him do before. Dubby Ambassah and Ben-Jammin who both worked with Lone Ark on Dubby Ambassah's album "Rub A Dub Showcase Part 1" which came last year each contributes with rootical tunes. Dubby Ambassah's "Gonna Fight" sounds well sweet with its drowsy rhythm and moody hornlines. "Helping Hand" by Ben-Jammin strongly reminds me of Aswad's eighties classic "Roots Rocking" which also would be the best description for the track. Roots rocking that is.

soundclip - Roberto Sanchez - Oil & Water

The only female singer on the album is Inés Pardo who's "Everyday Task" rides the same rhythm as Lone Ark put on 10:inch vinyl not so long ago. Then voiced by Rod Taylor ("You're Going Away") and Roberto Sanchez ("Don't Try To Use Me"). There's more gems on the album but I'll leave them for you to discover.

The album as a whole has a very laid back and jazzy vibe to it. Many rhythms made today lacks the jazz in them, meaning that the players of instruments add their own little melody or twist to the song, be it guitar, organ or percussion, and not just playing it plain straight but with feel and a true vibe. Feel and vibe seems to be the key words for this album. So you might get the idea by now what kind of music this is. Yes, you're right. Sweet roots music with a message of love, harmony and thoughtfullness. Being a dub enthusiat I can also gladly say that there's a dub version available of this album which I unfortunatly haven't heard but I got good expectations.

Jakob Levi - 29/8-06

Read more about this release HERE (in Spanish!)

Forward to media