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"Molam Dub" unites the UK's Jah Wobble and friends with the European based Laotian group Molam Lao. Molam is the beloved traditional music of Laos, a competitive courtship ritual based on improvised singing and the khene (a bamboo mouthorgan similar to an accordian/harmonica). It surprised me at first just how well the Laotians complement and mesh with the old school deep dub groove of team Wobble. It sounds and feels completely natural as though the two were always meant to go together.Most tracks feature the sing-song of a single male lead singer who is occasionally joined by the joyous chants and squeals of the rest of the Lao crew. Several songs add tastefully programmed drum loops and dub mixing techniques, the original "Saravane" is entirely instrumental with intricate string and wind instrument jamming and "Lam Long" lets us hear a few minutes of just Molam (which, I admit, these Western tuned ears finds a bit grating by itself). The final 2 tracks - a 'dance' mix and "Hill Music", the latter composed solely by Wobble's unit - are thankfully not tacky add-ons and fit in just fine with the rest of the album. I'm very impressed with and frankly amazed by "Molam Dub" as I feared nearly 70 minutes of native singing would be too difficult a listen. The performances are spirited and sound 'real' throughout, it's always interesting and it simply gives you all the groove you'd want from a classic dub record, only with more of an international flavor ...
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