Too often, dub is used as a superficial shorthand for slowed-down, chilled-out, reverb-laden instrumental bonus tracks. I tend to encounter “dub versions” of songs tacked onto the ends of albums like musical petit fours, which can come across as a tropicalist trope with broad appeal; who doesn’t like a breezy beat, after all?
Other artists use dub as a backdrop–not as far off from early uses of the technique as a canvas for toasting–but in ways that seem less interested in engaging with the form’s potentials and, again, more interested in imagining a flatly paradisiacal Caribbean. Certainly, dub deserves its time in the spotlight, but it can be easy, it seems, for producers to lose track of its roots.
Born in Puerto Rico and now based in Los Angeles, producer Pachyman (also known as Pachy Garcia) doubtless understands the complexities of the Caribbean–and of dub, whose innovative anti-establishment histories he cites as informing many of his choices. He’s demonstrated that on each of his releases, but it’s on his new album,Another Place,that he makes some of his most interesting moves to date.
Even the simplest of his tracks here have enough layers and emotional textures to keep a firm grip. Opening single “Calor Ahora” and following track “In Love” use dub’s inherent soft glow to radiate melancholy from even the most minimal lyrics (“I’m in love again / Falling for a friend,” sings Garcia on the latter, a two-line story that needs no further explanation). As the record goes on, it gets denser and more intriguing. The eerie, airy synth lines of “Berlin” and the psychedelic wah-wahs of “SJU” paint detailed instrumental scenes based on their titular places.
The soulful jazz of “Take Me to Dance” follows, a standout piece with Another Place‘s most creative bassline by a mile, hitting in low, sensuous steps. The voices and drones of politically charged “False Moves” land like a post-punk punch as Garcia builds a bridge between Lee “Scratch” Perry and Bauhaus. It flows directly into “Strikes Back”, a quick, neon-hued interlude. “Hard to Part” follows, a catchy, cathartic piece with an unexpected industrial edge. Spacey “Another Place” and “ADSH” end the LP with pure dub vibes; the synths return for the latter, adding a gorgeous retro electronic touch to the closing moments.
Pachyman gets dub. It’s his expertise, not just as something he wields but a context and tool he knows inside and out: dub, a chisel; dub, guiding his heart, ears, and hands. This is thoughtful work, Garcia’s dub diary, and stories from his own perspective are told in the form he knows the best and executes like few others.
If you haven’t been paying attention to him so far, now is the time to jump on the Pachyman bandwagon. What he’s doing is too fresh to ignore, crossing enough lines that even the most cynical reggae skeptic will find plenty to enjoy here. Another Place is vital and sincere, and Pachyman is a sonic sculptor whose loyalty to one genre does not limit him.
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