Oba Simba – The Arrival – Review
Oba Simba: The Arrival Album Review – Steve Topple for Pauzeradio.com.
You’d be forgiven for thinking Oba Simba had a vast back catalogue, given he’s been in the music industry since the early 2000s. But in actual fact, he’s recently released what is only his second full length album. But fear not – the near-six-year wait was well worth it.
Oba Simba The Arrival, released via Sunvibes Music and Leaguscam Music BMI, is another solid project from this up-and-coming record label. Its approach is, paradoxically, refreshingly old skool – as many of the riddims used on The Arrival have had previous incarnations on Prince Allah’s Stand Firm EP and Sylford Walker’s 2014 release Time Has Come.
They’re provided by the writing hands of Ababa Soul, New Town Kings, Courtney “Coozie” Mellers and Tony Lafon. But with Simba and co-producer (and founder of Sunvibes) Leon Cameron, these riddims take on new lives of their own.
The album opens with Just Like You. It’s a powerful and moving opener, not least because on backing vocal duties are Mr S’s children, “Simba’s Pride”. It’s set across a Palas Riddim (Peace and Love Academic Scholarship Organisation) by Mellers, originally used by Mason di Emperor on his track Bless the Children. Musically it’s a driving piece of work. The track is led by the unrelenting keys’ bubble rhythm, which barely moves from the offbeat chord formulation. The bass doubles up between a Roots/Dub riff which drops the third beat, and an authentic syncopated Rocksteady arrangement, mimicking the main melody’s rhythm. A drum one drop and some intermittent horns playing the root chords on semibreves, then with some response blasts, finish off the Roots vibe. It’s a strong riddim with a purposeful sense of direction. But it’s Simba’s melody and interpretation (along with his “Pride”) which lifts Just Like You up to higher plains; this elevation from him also transcends the album’s other cuts.
First, the melody is utterly compelling. It’s a clever piece of work: unfussy, moving up and down in tones to make it memorable. The mixing of half-beat and dotted notation gives it a wind along with a chanting feel, and the whole thing instantly sticks in your brain. The verses, meanwhile, take on more of a Soul arrangement, with the emphasis on the dotted notation, working up and down the harmonic root scale. Simba puts in a gorgeous vocal, showcasing his range well (switching between a top-end tenor and impressively rich and high falsetto). His enunciation is crystal clear; use of light and shade in dynamics effective, and his improvisation classy. And his Pride deliver an equally enchanting performance, giving a rounded and controlled vocal which juxtaposes with Simba’s freer delivery well. Just Like You is a strong beginning for The Arrival – and sets a high bar for the rest of the album.
Cinderella Icon features label mate Allah. His own recent release Stand Firm didn’t disappoint, and him and Simba make for a powerful duo. It’s a distinctly Rub-a-Dub affair. The keys are on a stripped back bubble rhythm, but the engineering has given them a high-passed, tinny timbre. Meanwhile, the bass is similar to Just Like You – switching between syncopated Rocksteady and straighter Dub drop riffs. It also veers across octaves, adding an attractive change of resonance at times. Electric guitars riff in and out, almost inaudibly. Drums do a standard one drop and the whole thing feels very ‘yard’. But from the first chorus onwards, Dub production comes in – with its heavily elongated reverb, breaks then instrumental layering and use of synths. It’s a back-to-basics Rub-a-Dub track fully fit for 2020, and the two artists complement each other well.
Next, and Fighting on Arrival takes the album into more brooding, uneasy Roots. The minor key is punctuated by prominent horns, which feature more heavily than on previous cuts – but whose presence is reserved for mimicking the keys’ bubble rhythm and running a counter melody to the main chorus. The bass is heavily syncopated, more in keeping with Rocksteady, barely pausing for breath. A washboard adds another dimension and accent to the drums somewhat disconcerting one drop, which is embellished on the final beat of every four-bar phrase; which when a shaker is added feels unrelenting and unsettling. It’s a brilliant piece of musical imagery which Simba’s reflects extremely well in his consummate vocal.
Wisdom Weed uses the riddim from Prince Allah’s Stand Firm track, Life Is, and also fellow Sunvibes artist Walker’s Righteous Rasta from Time Has Come. It’s an ingenious composition. The root chord changes just before the third beat drops, which provides an unexpected stutter. Then, the bass is on a clear lick and very prominently sets the beat on the second and then just off the third; complimenting the harmonic arrangement. While a bubble rhythm is there, the one drop is all but absent from Life Is. The drums and percussion take somewhat of a back seat, apart from a persistent washboard and a drum flourish at the end of every fourth bar. If you removed the bubble rhythm, the track could almost stray into Hip Hop territory.
The Arrival continues in this ambiguous territory with I’ve Found Rastafari, thanks in part to its riddim (again which featured on Stand Firm and Time Has Come). The musical arrangement uses an extremely effective one tone chord drop-down across each bar. All this gives the track a swaggery, edgy feel. A bubble rhythm on the keys and a percussive one drop, with the kick drum on the second and fourth beat, let you know you’re in safe Roots hands. The combination of Ska horns, whose appearance is fleeting, and a syncopated Rocksteady bass take the track direct to Marley territory. Just to make the riddim that bit more ambiguous, a Hammond organ appears for some added Soul. What’s important to note with this and the other previously used riddims is that the calibre of Sylford, Allah and Simba is such is that they all bring the same music to life in completely different ways. It’s also a credit to Sunvibes’ writing and production skills, as often riddims don’t maintain this level of freshness across both years and interpretations.
The label’s 2017 release, the I Mean It Riddim, is used on Blessings on Me which Simba released at the time. It’s possibly the most upbeat (mood-wise) track of the album. The riddim is a laid-back, carefree affair, ostensibly Roots with its lightly touched one drop, delicately skanking electric guitars, relaxed yet forward-moving bass line (with the dB noticeably reduced) and responding horns. But the Dub elements of the riddim bring added interest; albeit in keeping with the overall direction of the track: some dampened reverb and a heavily engineered clapper intentionally take the shimmer off the otherwise almost tropical feel. And again, Simba reflects this ‘sunshine’ vibe from Sunvibes well – giving a performance full of joy and humble self-confidence.
Walker features on Brain Food. It’s a brooding Roots-heavy affair, and instrumentally one of the more complex tracks of The Arrival – with a lot to unpack. The arrangement of the horns and melodica, featuring for the first time, is cleverly done. Both are running a counter-melody to the main one, but their orchestration is such that at times as the former fade out, the latter fades in – blurring the lines between where the horns end and the melodica starts. The bass is driving – at the start of each bar focusing on hitting the beats directly, before doing a semiquaver riff on the fourth. Keys run a traditional bubble rhythm with harmonic improvisation in the treble clef; a Hammond organ riffs; the drums do a forceful one drop and electric guitars do Marley-esque runs and skits in the background. Walker and Simba are well-suited, and the sum of these parts is a purposeful, assured track.
Oba Simba The Arrival concludes with Stidlydydoo. Using a riddim featured previously by Ikaam on his track Dash a Fire, Simba once more lifts the music into new territory. The music itself is a Roots/Dub hybrid affair, but leaning more towards the latter with its intricately arranged percussion line, which borders on Jungle. But Stidlydydoo’s stand out part is Simba. He turns what’s come before on The Arrival on its head, delivering a performance centred around a more traditional singjay, as opposed to the soulful vocals on the rest of the album. And boy, can he singjay. His use of rhythmic patterns is detailed; dynamics varied; enunciation clear and phrasing of syllables intuitive. Moreover, his skat singing is sublime: amusing and impressive in equal measure. It’s the perfect closing to the album’s tracks – showing the versatility of the artist.
Roberto Sanchez provides The Arrival with Dub versions of five of the album’s tracks; again, in keeping with the more authentic construction of the project. But Simba is the star of the show, and has delivered impressive interpretations across the various riddims which also build strong thematic narratives about family, cannabis, racism and prejudice, spirituality and humble self-confidence. He is a skilled vocalist and performer, not least in his accessibility of lyrics but also his delivery, which doesn’t fail to instantly draw you in. The album also using backing vocal lines to very good effect – flitting between straight-up layering around chords, to more Gospel-led call and response arrangements.
Oba Simba The Arrival is a cleverly delivered piece of work. The riddims have been well selected, and Simba has been given free-reign to marry his melodies, lyrics and performances perfectly with the music. But moreover, he is an impressive artist, whose obvious passion and enthusiasm for his craft leaps out at you through your speakers. It’s refreshing to see a label still promoting the idea of in-house riddims to really enhance the performances of its artists, and The Arrival has succeeded with this well. Quality, old skool works – while still 2020 fresh. Oba Simba The Arrival Review by Steve Topple (7th May 2020).
