Horns Up/Dubbing With Horns

Description

Tappa Zukie is not only one of the greatest Jamaican DJs, he is also a highly respected producer and arranger. While going through his master tapes, we found a lost release that, due to his status as an international artist and the pressures that entails, remained on his musical shelf and was overlooked... until now.When rhythm was king in the 1970s, the predominant element of the final mix was in most cases the drums and bass.By pushing the drums and bass to the forefront, the other instruments that create the mood of the tracks took a back seat in the mix. With such talented musicians in the horn sections as Vin Gordon, Deadly 'Headley' Bennett, and the unstoppable Tommy McCook, it sometimes felt like their services were slightly underutilized.One way to rectify this situation was therefore the one that Tappa himself initiated, by assembling some of his favorite productions that featured classic horn lines alongside those precisely recorded rhythms. By pushing those horn lines forward in the mix and highlighting some of those touches that, while adding color to the original track, faded in the mix compared to the more Sound System-friendly drum and bass track.Looking at the music with this approach, some of the other influences that were also on Tappa's mind can be noticed more. Perhaps it is a more jazzy / bluesy feeling that shines through.