I-Mitri meets Slimmah Sound Vocal and Dub Showcase Volume 1 Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.
UK-based artist I-Mitri has returned with a hot collaboration for 2025 – with Netherland producer supreme Slimmah Sound.
Vocal and Dub Showcase Volume 1, released via CounterAction Soundz in conjunction with Roots Tribe, sees Dimitris ‘I-Mitri’ Moraitis team up with Tim ‘Slimmah Sound’ Baumgarten. The release is made up of six tracks, all with Dub versions.
The label told Pauzeradio:
“Slimmah Sound from the Netherlands and I-Mitri, who these days is between Leicester and Greece, present I-Mitri Meets Slimmah Sound – Vocal and Dub Showcase Volume 1. Released on January 17th, this deeply personal album spans five years of collaboration, reflecting significant life changes for both artists.
“Featuring six vocal tracks paired with their dub counterparts, the record highlights Slimmah Sound’s masterful craftsmanship and I-Mitri’s commanding vocal presence. A journey through evolution and resilience, this limited vinyl and digital release is a testament to the power of creative synergy. Don’t miss this compelling addition to the world of Roots Reggae and Dub”.
With superb guitar work by both Robby ‘Sensi’ Sens and Matt ‘Phaeleh’ Preston, and the overall mastering from Matthew Martin (of Pressure Mastering UK) being slick and efficient, the sound of the Showcase is both authentic and high-quality – as the individual tracks and their dubs show.
Two elements of the album stand out. The first is that all the tracks are in minor key – perhaps reflective of the feelings of I-Mitri and Slimmah Sounds’ mindsets at the time of composition. Secondly, each track has its own, excellently composed instrumental riff that lends itself naturally to its respective Dub version; the hallmark of composers who instinctively know the genre they’re dealing with.
The album opens with Stress – a light-touch, meandering track dominated by a winding bass line that fails to drop a beat, with an incessant melody playing low down its register. A shrill bubble rhythm works in the mid register of the keys, while an electric organ complements this with some chords laced with vibrato. Drums are on the ubiquitous one drop, where the kick and snare mark the two and four as hi hats tinker in between. The use of additional percussion is pleasing, with blocks and bongos featuring. However, it’s the bass line which is central to Stress – as it’s repeated by multiple guitar lines to create a homophonic riff that is almost hypnotic. I-Mitri delivers a solid vocal, low down his register which matches the pace and arrangement of the homophonic main riff – and his lyrics about how life under Babylon, while filled with sufferation, is a lesson for us all, is compelling.
The Dub of Stress is stark and haunting, with the emphasis again being on the homophonic riff but this time putting it to the fore, with other instrumental lines being littered with rhythmic reverb and I-Mitri’s vocal nowhere to be seen.
Next, Change is far more intricate and darker than the previous track. Roots’ rudimental elements are there – like the bubble rhythm, a bass which winds around the track coupled with a guitar mimicking it, a shrill electric organ, and main drums which again perform a recognisable one drop. However, here the Dub elements are brought further in – like reverb and decay immediately across the keys and one guitar line. These elements increase in ferocity as the track progresses. There’s good use of additional synths, too – bringing the Dub sonics further to the fore. Meanwhile, I-Mitri expands his vocal performance here, bringing in a highly slick singjay (still in the low-to-mid range of his register) which is rhythmically complex – veering from rapid fire sequences to a strung-out bridge. Lyrically, he laments those who are ensnared in Babylon’s trap and their failure to escape from it – and how those of us who are conscious need to bring about ‘change’. The use of a melodica as a secondary vocal line towards the end is highly effective, too.
Dub for Change takes the themes of the original and runs away with them – as the guitars are placed centre stage across repetitive reverb and some stark engineering across the drums. The reverb is really quite something here, too – as it echoes around for what seems like eternity.
Living mixes up the sound once again – albeit via additional instrumentation and the vocal arrangement. The bass winds again around a pleasing melody, while drums perform a one drop, bongos’ patter, and keys tinker across a bubble rhythm. The electric organ is interesting, working with what is almost a skank which is matched by one guitar line; another patters around a persistent rhythm, while a third gives us a stunning opening refrain before falling into the shadows. There’s just a hint of Dub dripped across the track in the form of reverb. The overall arrangement feels quicker than what’s come before it, thanks to the organ and guitar lines driving momentum. The backing vocals are well-arranged, forming a choir-like sound with their layered harmonies. I-Mitri is once again on point, working just a touch higher up his register and with melodic and rhythmic aplomb – while lyrically he delivers a progression on the previous track, providing a narrative around resilience in the face of Babylon’s nefariousness.
The Alive Dub is exceptionally stark in places, but it also sees I-Mitri’s main and backing vocals come in for the first time. What this creates is almost a cappella at points (save a drum and the bass) – with Nyabinghi vibes – before more instrumentation enters and the vocals drop away. It’s one of the strongest dubs on the album.
The Moment is a switch up once again, diving deeper into Roots vibes and away from Dub sonics. There’s a hard wind here as the bass drops the fourth beat across a heavily dotted note-led melody. Keys run a bubble rhythm, augmented by the electric organ that hits the two and four with rasping chords. Guitars play into the wind with dotted-notes melodies – with a superb opening – as does the additional percussion including a tapping cow bell and some pattering bongos. I-Mitri then accentuates this, delivering a winding melody across some complex rhythms that complement the instrumental arrangement. He shows off more of his upper vocal register and provides a lyrical narrative around – what seems to be – the revelatory moment many of us experience when the curtain around Babylon’s world is pulled back, and how we then continue to tread our path through life. It’s brisk and stirring stuff.
The Dub version of that, Dub Time, centres the guitars and bass as well as some heavy use of reverb, and really gives the feeling of time with the relentless riffs and elongated use of engineering tricks.
Rise changes tack, as a regimental arrangement comes in across what is a Dub track. An electric organ leads this with a persistent riff (across two inputs) that then suddenly disappears, making way for a relentless bass line that is low, rich, and rounded – while keys run a gritty bubble rhythm which has dub laced across it on every second bar. The organ returns for the bridge, though, as guitars also skank. There’s some good additional percussion used, but this is really a Dub track as the bass and keys lead. I-Mitri swoops down his register again, matching the pace of the instrumentation with a brisk singjay that is clipped and forthright. All this plays well into his lyrics, warning of the impending doom we all face unless humanity can change course.
Dub Has Risen centres the genre well – employing more reverb across the higher kHz lines, while keeping the bass to the fore. This makes the depth and booming quality it has even more apparent – honing in on the dystopian lyrics that, on this version, have been removed.
Hanging is the final track on the album. In the same key as the previous cut, it winds the pace back and brings in instrumental complexity. For the first time, the bass takes on a one drop – directly missing the first beat of each bar but coming in on the half beat after it. Keys run their relentless bubble rhythm for the final time accompanied by the electric organ doing a skank of sorts, while drums deviate from a one drop, instead moving into Steppers territory with the four-to-the-floor feeling arrangement as the snare and kick hit every beat while hi hats run lazy riffs in between. Again, there are good synths used including a bell bottle-style sound. Guitars almost take a back seat for the first time with just an omnipresent riff to be found, making way for emphasis on Dub engineering. Reverb is a key feature, as are several breaks and the use of decay too. I-Mitri is once again excellent, employing stuttering rhythms across complex melodies while providing an almost resigned tone to the vocal – as he discusses how the grind of Babylon’s system ensnares us all, yet there are those of us that emancipate ourselves and others, elevating above the system’s toxicity – but only if we push hard enough.
The track’s dub, Dub Hang, goes full on Steppers, centring the drums and bass while messing with the other instrumentation perfectly – including great work across the keys, whose bubble rhythm is at point obliterated and at others turned into almost the main melodic interest. There are also additional synths brought in for good measure – and all in all, it’s another very strong Dub.
Overall, Vocal and Dub Showcase Volume 1 is a superb offering from I-Mitri, Slimmah Sounds, and their team. The compositions are musically deft and inventive; the dubs expansionist on what came before them; I-Mitri’s vocals are strong, and lyrically he’s crafted narratives which are timely and thought-provoking. A sterling effort all round.
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I-Mitri meets Slimmah Sound Vocal and Dub Showcase Volume 1 Review by Mr Topple / Pauzeradio PR Services.