Feel the Seasons Change is an album recorded at the live shows played around Aotearoa in February this year, which saw Salmonella Dub team up with the NZSO and other Kiwi music legends such as Whirimako Black and Paddy Free.
The collaboration is an unmistakably ‘Aotearoa experience’, building on the distinctive sound that Sal Dub have created over the years, and incorporating te reo Maori and traditional Maori instruments (taonga puoro), which are expertly played by Richard Nunns. The live shows also integrated a slide-show of beautiful images of NZ, some of which can be seen on the short DVD that comes with the CD.
The first couple of short tracks are decidedly orchestral, with the opening beats of Tui Dub a happy reassurance that the Sal Dub sound will still feature on the album, albeit in a different form. The classic track (from Inside the Dub Plates) is given a new spin, with powerful vocals from Whirimako Black, who sings an adaptation of a traditional Tuhoe prayer.
At times you can imagine the added energy and depth that the orchestra would have brought to the live shows, such as in the classic Drifting, and Watching it Rain, from Sal Dub’s 2007 album Heal Me. Further tracks from that album feature next, including the title track Heal Me, Lightning, and Gifts. I must admit I haven’t heard the originals of these tracks, but listening to the orchestral versions didn’t inspire me to go out and buy Heal Me. The album finishes with another Inside the Dub Plates ripper, Platetectonics, but I’m not sure what the orchestra really added to a track with already such a big sound.
The album may appeal to Salmonella Dub fans wanting something new from a band who have been at the forefront of Aotearoa’s dub scene for years now. The team-up with the orchestra produces at times a beautiful soundscape, and is an interesting take on the Kiwi dub sound.
That said, the collaboration is a step away from what for me is always the best thing about Sal Dub – their unfailing ability to get a crowd on their feet with stonking rhythms and irrepressible energy. Respect to Sal Dub for developing their music, but for me this album is a little bit like a coffee-table book – a snapshot of what were no doubt spectacular audiovisual shows, but which doesn’t quite have the same magic on CD.
Erika
