Barnabas

In the late 70s, Kingston engineer and toaster Ranking Barnabas was everywhere and nowhere at once, forging dub from inside Channel One while rarely receiving credit. Working the desk by day and the mic by night, he cut versions, mixed riddims and stepped in wherever needed, leaving fingerprints across countless records. This lone album finally bears his name, and it plays like a private document from dub's engine room. 'Roast Fish & Stout' and 'Raw Meat' roll with blunt rhythm and clipped vocals, sound system logic front and centre. 'Cold Crusher' and 'Dub Them Roots Man' strip things back further, bass and echo doing the talking. It's unflashy, functional music that trusts pressure and repetition. Hearing it now feels overdue, and quietly corrective.