Christos DC & The Ligerians – Sensability – Review

Christos DC & The Ligerians Sensability Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.

After three well-received singles, the full album from Christos DC and the Ligerians has arrived – and it is a masterclass in modern, transcendent Roots Reggae.

Sensability, released via Soul Nurse Records and Honest Music Production, sees Christos DC and the Ligerians deliver a sumptuous and musically complex project that is thoroughly grounded in Roots culture. The sound is of the upmost quality – akin to something that any major label would happily release, and with an overall feel of the greats of modern Roots like Zion I Kings and the late Vaughn Benjamin and Akae Beka.

It should be noted that the rhythm section across Sensability it predominantly focuses on Roots arrangements: keys running bubble rhythms, basses on drop-beat arrangements, and drums performing one drops or variations thereof. Then, Christos and the Ligerians have utilised additional instrumentation and engineering to bring in different styles, techniques, and sounds – all to excellent effect.

Shadow of Perception opens the album. The first thing that stands out is the rhythmic trick of anacrusis (anticipating the beat) which is used at points throughout with both the instrumentation and the chord progression – a clever nod to the title of the track, as this device shifts the listener’s perception of the track.

Then, much of the arrangement is grounded in Roots. However, there are glitches to this. A secondary guitar runs a fascinating solo line. It’s rasping, Rock-like with plenty of bending and glissandos, and serves an almost background vocal duty. Tinkering in the background are various synths – but they’re engineered just to be out of earshot. Vocal samples, low down a male voice’s register, bring something more unsettling to proceedings. Then, Dub’s influence is also all over the track, too.

There are great breaks where the instrumentation is often stripped back to just the rhythm section, reverb has been laced across the keys and DC’s vocal, and the bassline is omnipresent in terms of the dB. This level of attention to detail is, of course, what discerning listeners have come to expect from the Ligerians – and overall, Shadow of Perception is a brilliant opener.

A Lesson delivers a haunting minor key across some Roots Reggae sensibilities. Here, the arrangement is stark at points across the verses, but fuller in the choruses – providing a shifting palette that keeps your ear engaged.

However, the additional touches are what make the track stand out. There is some additional arrangement across the keys which is lyrical and emotive. This is complemented by some evocative guitars: lilting, filled with bending and vibrato, which provide almost ethereal vibes – but each of them being slightly different in tone.

The additional touches continue with a nice electric organ and good use of additional percussion. However, the real treat is the Dub-esque use of synths and samples, which bring something edgier to the track – almost unsettling if you will. Backing vocals are minimal and breathy – and overall, A Lesson is stirring work.

Live Right an evocative, brooding, and somewhat unsettling track. Here, we’re treated to something gentler but albeit with the same powerful elements. Here, the main key is major – albeit cleverly using variations off the root (notably the seventh, like old skool Dancehall) to make the track sound like something is building. However, the use of a minor key on the bridges is effective.

Then, the instrumentation is arranged around traditional Roots devices. Guitars see one skank, while another runs occasional riffs with some pleasing bending and also keen attention to detail in terms of notation. There’s great use of an electric organ, filled with vibrato and employing some soulful riffs then chords. The use of extra percussion like a washboard works very well – while pattering bongos finish off the arrangement perfectly.

It’s also the engineering which make Live Right so good. There are flashes of reverb at just the right level to give the feeling of Dub. This is compounded by some great synths and samples – while the overall arrangement plays into this with some very pronounced and almost otherworldly breaks. The synth horn works well, too: it’s shrill and rasping, performing rapid-fire runs and seemingly improvised riffs – bringing some traditional Roots flavour but with a modern twist.

Refrain changes tack somewhat – albeit still within the boundaries of Roots. The focus here shifts to a deeper sound, with the bass taking centre stage along with Christos’s engineered vocal. The focus is also on Dub, with the use of engineering very prominent – from decay and next room technique to reverb. Synths and samples feature heavily, too – and the breaks are well-placed.

But what’s interesting is that this is against a backdrop of something more traditional. Keys once again steer away from their bubble rhythm into something broader. There is a wonderful horns section that creates a sound juxtaposing an earlier time versus the more modern Dub. The section is well-executed, providing some meandering melodies.

The track also has the feel of something nearer to Jungle at points – with its rapid-fire spins across the snare/hi-hats. Then, you have a searing singjay/vocal from French DJ and artist Tomawok – which, when placed with Christos’s smooth sound ties the track together perfectly.

Next, Destroy and Create smooths the sound out somewhat, with a sound more winding and fluid than the previous stuttering affair. This is created using electric keys on top of the standard rhythm section, that glide around the track across an angelic melodic pattern – laced with reverb on top. Their sound is almost bell bottle: glistening, like tear drops. The inclusion if haunting electric guitars complement this, too.

However, there is something still very winding about the arrangement – hammered home by the electric organ doubling up on the keys bubble rhythm. The chord progressions across the track are very attractive, too – providing an emotive backdrop to the complex instrumental arrangement, and overall, Destroy and Create is thought-provoking and compelling.

Sensibility, slows the pace down somewhat compared to what came before it – and also tones-down the level of arrangement. Here, the track is stripped back to a basic, bass-and drum-heavy rhythm section that is brooding and unnerving. The timbre of the snare is particularly stark, here – and is enhanced by crashing cymbals at points.

On top of the rhythm section, guitars are edgy and snarling, albeit it at a menacing pace. To accompany this wound-back affair, the engineering features slow reverb, and some keen attention to detail in terms of use of dB to accentuate certain lines. However, the finishing touch is the arrival of a melodica for the first time on the album – rounding off the sound of this intense and surreal track perfectly (and encapsulating the whole project, too).

Circumstance or Fact picks up the pace again, thanks to an obviously increased BPM but also some smart arrangement across the instrumentation. Here, the keys double up the bubble rhythm at points, while guitars help drive the sound forward with some rapid-fire riffs and runs. There’s a great synth which also does a pacey riff at points. An electric organ also joins in with this quicker feel, delivering some skanks at points across the track.

The percussion is also central to this. Once again, hi-hats run something more rapid than usually seen on a traditional one drop, while bongos, a washboard, and a shaker all add to the feeling of forward momentum. Also of note is the use of engineering. Away from the expected reverb, there a great inclusion of next room technique on parts of Christos’s vocal – creating the feeling of a duet. All this makes for a smart and interesting listen.

It’s Your Choice is an involved affair – seeing Roots sensibilities like the keys’ bubble rhythm, meandering bass on a drop-beat rhythm, and one-drop drums almost take a back seat at points. Instead, an electric organ is often positioned to the front – running a fascinating melody. Guitars also play their role, as does a stark synth, and electric piano – with horns even strutting in and out.

However, at other times the rhythm section comes back to the fore again – and further, at others we delve into that almost Jungle feeling seen before. Keys occasionally stray from their bubble rhythm to run a melody which is actually far-removed from Roots – providing a straight melody devoid of wind.

The classic reverb technique is utilised heavily across the track – and overall, It’s Your Choice is well-constructed and thought through.

Next, Law of Creation provides a rich and intricate musical palette that has inflections of Roots and Dub. The track is undoubtedly grounded in Roots – but the additional riffs and flourishes on some fourth beats are welcome – and at times, they break out into a fuller, attractive melody (which almost serves as a motif) to accompany Christos’s vocal.

Meanwhile, the rest of the rhythm section drives the track forward albeit at a meandering pace.

There are several guitars in play. One runs a skank that keeps the rhythm section moving forward in order; another provides some melodic interest to offset the main vocal – here, being whining yet rasping with good use of bending and brief glissandos. Just out of ear shot, an electric organ marries with the snaking guitar to add depth. The horn section across Law Of Creation is led by the trombone – and brilliantly so, with it providing a melancholy refrain at points across the track.

Dub arranging and engineering is very present – like the reverb across the keys and guitar, the breaks where the instrumentation is stripped back before building again, and the use of synths and samples at points. Backing vocals are rich, well-harmonised, and utilise both tenor and falsetto male ranges, as well as female vocals, well.

Sensability closes with Pride. Back to a minor key, it’s a stark yet forward-moving affair that barely stops for breath – apart from when intentionally-placed Dub breaks occur – but is actually stripped back at points in terms of instrumentation.

The rhythm section does a lot of the heavy lifting, here – providing an unrelenting accompaniment to the other instrumentation. The lead guitar, rasping and crisp, gives us a near-constant point of melodic interest, playing back up to Christos’s vocals. On that, the use of next room technique is back and well-placed, while an electric organ flits in and out at points with a staccato melody that is furious and driven. The rapidly-skanking pick guitar provides further elevation of the pace – and overall, Pride is a fitting closing to the album.

Vocally, Christos is on point across Sensability. He delivers generally light and airy performances – perfectly matching the arrangements– where at points he is almost breathless in his delivery; like he is gently whispering to the listener to compel them to action. He works well around the upper end of his vocal range – on occasion tipping up into a falsetto – but it never sounds forced. He has made good use of melodies, while delivering gently swaying rhythms which play into the Roots Reggae sounds. At points, and when needed, Christos does become more forthright – but across Sensability, less if definitely more – and his thoughtful vocals make the lyrical palette thoroughly engaging.

Shadow of Perception is a compelling narrative around each of our places in the world under Babylon, how we perceive ourselves and others in this context, and what a spiritually elevated path would look like. Live Right provides us with a veritable sermon on how to live a righteous, honest, and faith-centred existence – while avoiding the trappings Babylon would have us fall into.

A Lesson sees Christos provide a sermon around how humanity never seems to learn from its mistakes – yet we really should, given we have been here so many times before. Refrain delivers a call to maintain a conscious and righteous path – ‘good intentions’ – in the face of Babylon’s mendacity, no matter what it throws at you. Destroy and Create offers a stark message surrounding Babylon’s overall agenda: that, however you dress it up, it’s agenda is one that neither serves us or Jah.

Sensibility is a clarion call for those of is who are conscious to put our faith in our own beliefs and abilities thereof – and not to be distracted or swayed by the system’s fruit of temptation. Circumstance or Fact takes this idea further, pondering whether or not we can believe everything we are told – but also that our world view and own consciousness shapes how we perceive what Babylon does.

It’s Your Choice is a warning to those of us who struggle with faith and righteousness to remember that ultimately, despite what Babylon may throw at you, only you are responsible for your actions and must suffer the consequences accordingly. Law of Creation discusses spiritual purity and following a righteous path as opposed to what Babylon would have you do – while Pride is almost a reminder of that deadly sin – where ego and self-servility will be the downfall of many of us under Babylon’s toxic system; perhaps a nod to many in the music industry, too.

Overall, Sensability is a tour de force from Christos and the Ligerians. Effortlessly musical, it constitutes a moment in Roots history of recent years – showing what can be achieved when traditional values meet modern styles and compositional excellence. Christos delivers his performances with grace and understated aplomb, and the messages contained within are searing and pertinent. A must-have album for any Roots lover’s collection.

You can read the single reviews by Mr Topple for tracks from Sensability here on Pauzeradio, including the first release Shadow Of Perception,  the second Live Right and the third release from the album Law Of Creation.

Listen to the full Sensability album playlist on YouTube here.

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Christos DC & The Ligerians Sensability Review by Mr Topple / Pauzeradio PR Services.