No Wahala in the Dance!: Adventures in Contemporary Reggae, Dub & Electronics

Independent label No Wahala Sounds emerged five years ago, releasing limited-edition vinyl reissues of little-known African gems. Now the label launches headlong into unknown territory with No Wahala in the Dance!, an agreeable compilation mostly profiling upcoming reggae and dub artists based in the UK (plus some Catalan and Czech input), with a smidgen of jungle and dubstep thrown in for good measure.

Jamaican-born Majah Tunder kicks things of with the castigating ‘Wicked Man,’ somewhat influenced by firebrand sing-jay, Capleton. Theshay Makeda's voice has lovely warmth and a pleasingly broad range, somewhere between the nu-soul of Erykah Badu and the new roots of Jah9; ‘OMG,’ her individual vision of spiritual faith, is accompanied by a bright horn line. ‘Last Days (Dub Version)’ is a reverberating drum-and-bass offering from Owen Hender & Trevor Westcarr, while popular toaster UK Principal salutes the diverse project on ‘Theme’. Other highlights include the optimistic ‘The Best is Yet to Come’ by esteemed selector, D'Oxman, and female toaster Mad-X's old-school weed anthem, ‘Real Sensimilla’. Although electronic tracks like Mosi's ambient ‘Search’ and Sasha Kahn's jungle remix of ‘More Peace’ provide a jarring contrast, the compilation has plenty to discover for anyone interested in contemporary British reggae.