Dub to Mali: Douba (Season 3)

The French-born, Rastafari multiinstrumentalist Julien Souletie hit upon a winning formula when he launched his Dub to Mali series in 2005 under the pseudonym Manjul. Having initially based himself in the Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte and La Réunion, he relocated to Bamako in 2001 where he built his studio. His music is predominantly dub reggae with the addition of traditional Malian voices, melodies and instrumentation.

The excellent first Dub to Mali volume featured guest vocals from Amadou & Mariam and Tiken Jah Fakoly but was primarily instrumental. This third volume continues in a highly organic dub fashion but with more voices – predominantly Malian and including one of Salif Keita's backing vocalists. Manjul's main influences appear to be King Tubby and mid-period Lee Perry – his recording studio is named Humble Ark, a reference to Perry's legendary Black Ark Studio. The discreet use of Malian instruments such as kora, ngoni, soku (fiddle), traditional flute and tama (drum) mesh well with the heavy reggae ‘one drop’ and Rastafarian Nyabinghi drumming. Dub to Mali: Douba (Season 3) is an engaging, well executed and highly enjoyable album.