Natiruts Dub vs. Mad Professor (Free)

It's been a nice long while since I've mentioned Natiruts, and that's mainly because they don't make it easy for me to keep an eye on them. All the same, I like them enough to keep looking for that sweet Reggae bass and strong chilled vocals.

Just yesterday I decided to see if anything was new, and apparently they've recently released some re-made tracks by the amazing Dub producer, Mad Professor.

This is pretty different to the focused Reggae sound they usually provide. It's much more dubbed and experimental, so listen with an open mind.

Forgive inconveniences. You can find all the tracks here.

So what are you to expect? Well the first track, Raçaman Dub, shows you what you're in for. This might be a small shock if you're a Natiruts fan, but otherwise it's a generally tame sound. Here's the original, you'll notice the base of the song stays the same. The change is minimal, but enough to make or break it.

Next we've got Vento, Sol Dub, which starts off with some of that chill piano and just grazes it across the rest of the song. Super well produced. And for the curious, here's the original. The piano might be a bit more delicious.

Then we've got Fogueira de Desilusões. Unlike the previous two, this one is a lot more space-y than the original. Of Mad Professors work with Natiruts, Fogueira and Vento, Sol are my favorites.

Finishing the Professor's work is 1996. That one has a nice guitar riff intro but it's not the best version for me, I prefer the original way over the Dub version.

Of course these are all free. Just click the download button on the upper right while the song you want is on and it's yours. But if you prefer the originals, you can find them all on Raçaman.

Buy: CD

If you end up downloading some of those and feel like going for a bit more substance, this is the album you're probably gonna want. Their most recent release (2009) and it's full of a very basic but well done Reggae.

The Portuguese lyrics probably help make it magical. But honestly, no matter how great their sound is on this album, it just holds no grounds next to Nossa Missão. It continues to be some of my favorite work by them. It's laid back, relaxed and complex enough to make me keep listening. It's worth looking into if you like today's tracks or album.