DJ Old Rat

Pure Riddim

Genre: DUB / REGGAE

Cassette

Boomkat Product Review:

90 minutes of pure riddim and fire from the Berceuse Heroique tape series, compiled and arranged by ‘On the Wire’ don and Wire scribe Steve Barker aka DJ Old Rat - a bona fide living legend.

Steve Barker’s regular slot on BBC Lancashire is arguably the most consistently pioneering radio show ever broadcast on British radio. Its first ever guests back in 1984 were Adrian Sherwood and Keith LeBlanc, it had the world’s first ever play of Gerald’s Voodoo Ray, with the likes of Anthony Shake Shakir and A.R. Kane plus countless others guesting in the studio over the years since. Despite all that, it was shut down after nearly 40 years by some doyle at the BBC, before moving to a new home at Slack City Radio last year. For multiple British generations who grew up with his show, Barker has been a tireless champion of weirdos and misfits in an industry all too eager to lean into polite mediocrity.

On his Berceuse Heroique call-up, Barker slips into his DJ Old Rat gruds for a slew of mostly instrumental bullets plucked from dancehall’s 40 year+ timeline, taking in killer digi-dub romps, NYC heaters, UK steppers, and ruffest ‘90s ragga in his stride. It’s strewn with cuts from the island and closer to home, from the On-U Sound camp he has long been associated with, reaching to an international rhizome that has gained momentum and influence during the years he’s been broadcasting.

Fuck a mix ’n blend or beat juggle: the bomb-sniffing rodent plays vocal and riddims, banger after banger, sticking with or twisting up the timeline of style and pattern with deep expertise and deadly steez designed to keep bodies in motion, from end to end - rinse and repeat.

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