Don Letts – The Rebel Dread @ Echo Beach – Backseat Mafia

Echo Beach proudly presents: Don Letts – The Rebel Dread – legendary film and video director, disc jockey and musician. Don Letts, in his capacity as a selector (it’s not for nothing that he hosts his own show on BBC6 radio), enthusiastically accepted the invitation to create a compilation from Echo Beach’s extensive catalog to mark its 30th anniversary. A splendid and crisp selection.

Don Letts: Ever since I first picked up a Super 8mm movie camera and pointed it at punks and dreads alike, I’ve been chasing the sound of culture in collision—where dub meets rebellion, where echoes stretch beyond boundaries. That’s exactly what Echo Beach has been doing for years: quietly, consistently, and with style. So when the chance came to put together this compilation I didn’t hesitate. You see Echo Beach isn’t just a label, it’s a frequency. A dubwise state of mind, rooted in reggae but never chained to it, experimental yet grounded. Global in reach but with that unmistakable bass-heavy heartbeat. The artists you’ll hear on this selection all orbit that echo chamber, but each brings their own version, their own language. From Dubblestandart to Lee “Scratch” Perry from Dubxanne to Dubstax this collection speaks in delay, distortion and defiance.

Dub, for me, has always been more than just a sound. It’s a weapon and a tool. A way of dismantling and rebuilding—whether it’s a beat, an idea, or a whole system. And what Echo Beach has done so brilliantly over the years is curate that energy across generations and genres. They’ve invited post-punk, electronica, and even krautrock into the dub circle – not as tourists, but as kindred spirits. So within these grooves you’ll hear echoes of Elvis Presley, Ramones, Booker T. & The M.G’s, Kraftwerk, David Bowie, Kate Bush and more.

This compilation is a journey through those outer dub dimensions. Sure you’ll find heavyweight riddims, but also whispers in the static, sirens in the distance, fragments of protest, pulses of hope. It’s music built not just to dance to, but to think to. From Hamburg to Kingston, London to Vienna, Echo Beach has been building a kind of global dub diaspora—and it’s still growing. These versions are messages in a bottle from across the spectrum: personal, political and playful. But all live in the space between bass and silence. This isn’t background music, it’s soundtrack to cities, to movements, to moods. So whether you’re lighting one up or turning down the lights – just press play and let it roll. _ Don Letts – The Rebel Dread 2025

Verdict: I love me some dub, and this compilation doesn’t disappoint. It has its deep dub moments, but overall its skankin level energy. Solid covers of some stone cold classics throughout, a bass heavy trip containing some high quality dub retakes on tunes we all know and love. All artists involved bringing their A-Game to create a compilation that will get heavy rotation from all the Dub lovers. Track it down.

Track List:

Dubinator – Dubinator (Jam Hot Version)
Martha And The Muffins – Echo Beach (Lee Groves Remix)
Dubmones feat. Earl 16 & Oku Onuora – I Believe In Miracles (Gaudi Remix)
Dubblestandart – Evil Burma Dub
Dubxanne feat. Claire Parsons – Running Up That Hill
Dub Stax – Time Is Tight (Dub)
Don Letts Dub Cartel – One People
Aaron – Blue Moon (Dub Edit)
Dubblestandart feat. Marcia Griffiths – Holding You Close (RSD aka Rob Smith – DUB Remix)
Fade To Grey – Dubxanne feat. Toogah
Fila Brazillia – Blood & Fire Megamix
Ari Up feat. Lee Scratch Perry – Island Girl (Robo Bass Hifi´s Defending Rights & Justice Remix)
Noiseshaper – Bushmaster (Paolo Baldini Dubfiles Remix)
Kid Loco meets Soul Sugar – The Robots (Dub)
RSD aka Rob Smith feat. Ammoye – Baby I Love You So (Dub)
Dub Spencer & Trance Hill – Guns Of Brixton (Manasseh Dub Version)
Dubby Stardust feat. James Riley – Space Oddity

Available NOW!!!

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