We at ZamZam Sounds have been captivated by Egoless’ roots-heavy dubwise style since his first landmark 12”, “Rainbow Dub” on Portland’s seminal Lo Dubs label in 2012. His follow up was equally strong, and we have been following him closely ever since, so it is a genuine pleasure to reveal ZamZam 25.

“Yërmënde” (“Compassion”) features the soulful vocals of Senegalese roots reggae singer Daba Makourejah over a ground-up rebuild of Sly & Robbie’s classic “Revolution” riddim, most famously voiced by Dennis Brown. As soon as we heard a brief snippet of the riddim’s rough draft we knew we had to have it. Right away Egoless knew he wanted to work with Daba, and she turned in an inspired lyric in Wolof on the importance of education in the upliftment of a country’s youth – a common enough theme in reggae, but seldom heard from an African woman’s perspective, to say nothing of an African language.

Egoless’ mixing on the vocal side and dubbing on the flip are nothing short of masterful. Early 80s vibes are in full effect, growling delays panning across the spectrum, syn-drum style bubbling, rockers hi hats, haunting organ lead and skanks, slicing snares, hands- on-desk live dubbing and one of the most propulsive basslines in the history of reggae music.

Egoless started 2015 with a heavily-praised (and now heavily sought-after) 12” on Lion Charge. We are proud to offer the next release in what promises to be a very busy chapter for a seriously rising talent.