Khaliphonic 15 is the first full length release from Japanese experimental dub duo Undefined. Well-established as a live act since 2014, and releasing on their own Newdubhall label as well as ZamZam Sounds since 2017, it’s well-past time that their expansive and immersive sound be allowed to span the length of an LP, and this set is nothing short of a triumph.

The powerhouse duo of keyboardist/programmer Sahara (formerly of Heavymanners) and drummer Ohkuma (formerly of Soul Dimension) create an absolutely unique form of dubwise firmly grounded and rooted in rockstone reggae principles, while focusing intently on expansive spaces, subtle inflections, and exploratory minimalism and abstraction – deep dives into the heart of rootical riddim and space. Luminary vocalists Paul St. Hilaire, Rider Shafique, and Ras Dasher were invited on the journey, and the resulting set is absolutely timeless, a crowning achievement in the rich history of reggae, dub, and dub techno in Japan, and the world.

With “Defined Riddim” the two-man band has created something ruff & rugged while somehow delicate and utterly elegant throughout. Undefined honors the roots while taking them in an deeply personal, unconventional and unique direction unburdened by cliches, follow-fashion or any other concerns beyond creating an honest music – dub from the heart. Words fail when trying to describe the richly saturated color and tones of Sahara’s keys & bass; Ohkuma’s drumming is muscular, lithe, incredibly tight & subtle. The two together are nothing short of a force, a single spirit of riddim moving through two individuals with a fully-unified vision, the vision magnified by E-Mura’s (Bim One Production) masterfully restrained mix.

It’s an absolute honor to release this album in physical form, including a bonus 7” featuring the heartfelt vocals of Ras Dasher, who passed away suddenly before he could celebrate the release with us. Undefined and Khaliphonic/ZamZam Sounds dedicate this set to him, and to dearly-departed Naoki E-Jima, whose Disc Shop Zero was the heart of the scene in Japan until he left this plane in 2020. Naoki was also an early, enthusiastic, and steadfast supporter of ZamZam Sounds & Khaliphonic, and we are forever grateful to him and his family for the love they showed us and so many others.

Strictly limited to 700 copies for the world. No digital, no repress. Art and design by Polygon Press. Mastered by Sam Precise. Releasing last week of April, 2022.

Bristol’s Dubkasm is an absolute pillar of the worldwide roots, dub, and sound system movement. In fact it’s hard to imagine the contemporary UK dub scene without them. Massive releases on Peng! Sound, Bristol Archive, ZamZam, and especially their own Sufferah’s Choice and Dubkasm labels have made Stryda & Digistep household names among lovers of contemporary sound system reggae. Holding down and forwarding traditional dubplate culture for 25 years now, “Two X Two” showcases two slices of two different tunes, both in a raw steppers style, and demonstrates why they are among the world’s most beloved groups, a link back to the elder generations of Bristol sound, and a beacon to the younger.

“Discipline,” presented in two pieces, cuts to the chase with a massive, relentless, fully saturated digital bassline blasting straight into the future of dubwise steppers. No surprise that it has a ‘Year 3000’ vibe, as it was, in Stryda’s words “originally built for Iration Steppas to run at Teachings In Dub against his pupil Sinai Sound. All those who remember the dubplate special version “schooool him iyaaaah..!!” If the main mix, “Discipline”, feels extra heady for a ‘Part 1,’ the “Lights On Mix” charts a course even further into reverb space with the tape echo running mad and the snares ricocheting to infinity.

Opening with a beautifully resonant piano figure, “The Key” featuring Ashanti Selah is another propulsive steppers, also presented in two pieces, this one with a galloping live-drums feel, Digi’s sax surfacing majestically through the flurry of syndrum and rim shots. Of “The Key” Stryda says “it’s been played by Aba Shanti-I on dubplate for the past couple of years, and there is a Keety Roots vocal and horns cut which rumour has it will see the light of day next year…” Stay tuned!!

Mastered by Sam at Precise. Art & Design by Polygon Press. Limited to 600 12″ vinyl copies for the world. No repress, no digital. Releasing first week of November 2019.

ZamZam’s first encounter with the music of Diggory Kenrick was “The Lion Flute,” a wind-led cut to one of Jamaican music’s toughest riddims, the Mighty Diamonds’ “Africa.” Years later it still hasn’t left the box, and it led us on a quest to acquire as many of his tunes as possible… E3 became obsessed with reaching out to him for a collaboration, and “Temple Duel” b/w “Temple Dub” is the resulting plate. Collaborations with legends including Bunny Lee, Lee Perry, and Jah Wobble have resulted in an extraordinary catalog of 7”, 10”, and 12” singles, to say nothing of producing an outstanding documentary on Mr. Lee, “I Am The Gorgon,” and countless liner notes and production credits for the untouchable Pressure Sounds label.

Kenrick’s signature sound is haunting and richly melodic, phased and distorted, lending an ancient-to-the-future vibe to everything he touches, whether rootical collaborations or left-field version excursions.

Alter Echo & E3 and Headland had been wanting to collaborate for some time, and Kenrick’s high-plains-meets-far-east vibes seemed the perfect opportunity to build something truly unique.

The scene takes place deep underground, in blackened chambers untouched by the sun, ancient halls where reverb space is the guide and ritual combat is the only way out. Subsonic 808 bass undergirds a near-industrial mid-range bass guitar groove, stiff snares, stick-fighting percussion, and the melody an ever-present narrative arc through the dark. “Temple Dub” strips down the flute and widens the cinemascope, with claustrophobic panning and vertiginous detuning echoes creating ghostly traps for the unwary.

Mastered by Sam at Precise. Art & Design by Polygon Press. Limited to 700 10″ vinyl copies for the world. No repress, no digital. Releasing first week of November 2019.

Khaliphonic 11 is a truly epic release from one of our most prolific artists, Brendon Moeller AKA Echologist, AKA Beat Pharmacy. In just the last two years, Moeller has released on labels as varied as Echocord, Silent Season, Kynant, and Rohs!, to name only the most well-known. Recognized globally for a singularly organic and dubwise approach to techno, we are proud to have a close working relationship with an artist who coaxes humanity and warmth from machines like few others. The Dub Purpose EP is one of his finest achievements.

As we planned a third ZamZam release from our favorite well of hardware sonics, four tracks emerged as comprising a set that simply did not want to be separated. The four tunes that make up this EP felt like chapters in a single gorgeous narrative, and so a 12” was born.

We asked Brendon how dub influences his process, and what this EP specifically is about. He replied:

“Dub facilitates whatever vision I have with music, which is one of the reasons I incorporate a dub approach in everything I do. Whether infusing Nyabinghi rhythms with epic strings, roots dub with industrial dread or grungy modular antics with stepping vibes, dub is the glue that keeps it together. The inspiration behind these tracks are On-U Sound, Wordsound and Bill Laswell, travelers who understood the possibilities of dub.”

The Dub Purpose EP does in four tunes what many LPs struggle to do in eight – it builds a cohesive narrative arc that moves from menace, to exploration, through mystery, closing with beauty. And just wait til you hear it on a proper Sound…

Mastered by Sam Precise. Released March 15, 2019. Limited to 500 12″ vinyl copies for the world. Design by Polygon Press. No repress, no digital.

Ophir Kutiel AKA Kutiman is a multi-instrumentalist from Tel Aviv, a “psychedelic space funk architect” to quote Straight No Chaser. When we were approached by his label Siyal about recruiting ZamZam/Khaliphonic artists for a remix project, we loved the idea right away – dub without borders or boundaries is our passion, and getting our hands on Kutiman’s freeform analog explorations felt like an amazing opportunity to push that passion further. All four remixes revel in the freedom of the original tunes, and each, while anchored in dubwise techniques, are totally unhindered by tempo or other genre constraints.

Alter Echo & E3 open with a remix of “Unknown,” the set’s only 140 tune, full up with a bubbling cauldron of bassline and flutes, esoteric vinyl archaeology, spring reverb shocks, and swung percussion.

J:Kenzo, known for 140 and 160 bpm sound system bangers, here takes the chance to stay deep – but in a chill mode – unfurling a beautiful journey of syncopated drum work and slapping percussion framing the lush, meandering melodies of the original “Behind The Noise.”

Gulls’ rework of “Mineral” rocks with an offbeat feel, technically in four, but swaying like it’s in three. Plucked guitar figures recall the African roots of contemporary bass music, and tape hiss buffets the listener back and forth through a sonic hall of portals and passages.

Perhaps the most surprising of all four four versions is Headland’s closing “Lucid Dream” remix, which sets course for dub techno country and never looks back. Combining the best of the producer’s masterful sound design and sense of build-and-drop dynamics with the idiom’s 4/4 pulse and focus on immersive space, Headland closes a set as inspired as the album it was based on.

Shipping the last week of June, 2019. Limited to 500 copies for the world, 12″ vinyl, no digital, no repress. Design & screen print by Polygon Press. Mastered by Precise Mastering.

Known for a broad swath of genre-obliterating club tracks on crucial labels including Critical, Exit, and 50Weapons, Sam Binga approached us earlier this year with a radically different kind of project, a collaboration with Welfare, true junglist and label boss at D&B bastion Rua Sound. The result of their team-up is Conamara Fieldworks. Its unique inspiration and patient process are best described by the duo themselves:

“In early November 2016, we set off through the bleakness of an Irish November into the wilderness that is Conamara, County Galway, Ireland, with about half an idea of what we wanted to do. Our friend Laney had been kind enough to allow us the use of a 300 year old cottage overlooking the sea, itself belonging to her family through generations which she was bit by bit restoring to its former glory. The isolation was perfect – very little in the way of creature comforts, no network coverage, but plenty of turf for the stove and Guinness for the belly.

Our routine for the next few days consisted of trudging the length of the rugged coastline in search of interesting sounds we could potentially process into usable elements for some kind of dub/dub techno-inspired composition…This took us inside tidal caves and abandoned ruins, across sheep fields, up and down mountains and winding country lanes, in and out of the odd pub, under upturned boats and (carefully) across huge washes of seaweed-covered shoreline. Using our handheld recorder (shouts Danny Scrilla for the lend) we assembled a palette of varied noises, constantly battling with the peaking and distortion created by the incessant Atlantic gusts.

Each evening, following some intense huddling around the stove and vital Irish home cuisine and stout, we’d examine and dissect what we had collected that day, sometimes discovering the most interesting material firmly planted in the background of the soundscapes. A certain amount of (but not too much) processing later we had the bones of a few short loops of each sound which made some kind of musical sense when played alongside each other.

Binga suggested staying true to the craft and keeping the rawness to the foreground by attempting to develop the loops into full compositions via live desk mixing, arrangement and effects. We said our goodbyes to Conamara and a month or two later said our hellos to the Dubkasm shedio. Following a crash course from the dynamic duo, we set to work for the day, learning as we went along and enjoying to the full the unpredictability, intuition and sheer vibes a dubbing session can bring, particularly in a studio kitted out with some fine analogue gear which undoubtedly helped us to keep that damp, saturated feeling that Conamara had sown.”

The resulting collection of music speaks for itself, and does so in its own language. It is meditative, deeply textural, and richly saturated, with awesome sound design, generous bass weight, and dubwise finesse. Referencing ambient, concrete, and dub techno while never letting any genre dictate its path, Conamara Fieldworks is a deeply rewarding and intensely involving listen. A restrained yet transporting remix from the one Ossia completes the set.

Mastered by Sam Precise. Design by Polygon Press. Distributed by Unearthed Sounds UK.

Limited to 600 vinyl LPs – no repress, no digital.

Worldwide release 29 October, 2018.

Paul Dickow AKA Strategy is a musical polymath with a signature sound derived from his immersion in hardware-based electronic music. He has spent close to two decades traveling freely through house, techno, rave, noise, ambient, and sounds more difficult to categorize. Strategy’s sound is inimitable because it is literally built by hand – his hands. Through all of this sonic journeying, including multiple full length releases, a constant has been his love of reggae and dub, yet somehow a proper dub album has never emerged – until now.

After two much-loved 7” singles on ZamZam – to say nothing of dubwise excursions on Idle Hands, Shockout, Peak Oil, 100% Silk and more – “Dub Mind Paradigm” is the fulfillment of a clear, simple goal. “I set out to make a full set of dub tracks good enough to make an album — something that had always eluded me– and it worked, finally. A simple exercise in seeing if we could launch the capsule to orbit Planet Reggae and make it home again.”

Reaching Planet Reggae, the album explores analog caverns of dubwise at all tempos, from the 80s to 140, full of the ghosts of ancient and future technologies, glimmering shards of hope among heaps of folly, ruin and rubble. Music fans with crates deeper than the contemporary will find shades of Wackies, Firehouse, Unity Sound, Burial Mix and more, but only winks and nods… no one sounds like Strategy, and Strategy sounds like no one.

Worldwide release 22 June 2018. Mastered by Sam Precise. Distributed by Unearthed Sounds UK.

Art & design by Polygon Press.

Limited to 700 vinyl LPs – no repress, no digital.

Release Window: Mid-July, 2018

Jerome Meyer AKA Von D is a master craftsman, well-known for releasing dubstep and bass music since 2009. On an increasingly prolific trajectory since last year, recent 12”s on Infernal Sounds, Trojan Audio and Scotch Bonnet have signaled his renewed focus on dubwise productions.  We are proud to say that Von D’s Khaliphonic debut sees him fully committing to reggae and dub – in his words, “going back to my musical roots.”

“Politricks” is a masterwork, cut from the same living rock as the classic Cuss Cuss riddim, a simply huge bass and drum workout that is truly one for the ages.  Politricks is an anthem for now, a call to avoid the dead-end of politics-as-usual and a warning to beware of the lies politicians tell to keep themselves in power – full of promises but changing nothing.  Von D says that “working with Don Cotti was very natural,” and their easy relationship is audible – the tune fits the vocal like a glove, and Cotti’s instantly-recognizable singjay style gives even more gravitas to an already heavy track.  The dub version spools out the saturated echoes even further, and opens up spectral chambers of reverb that shimmer and glow.

“Ygrec” is an equally massive tune, just as compelling if more meditative and mysterious, coming in both one drop and power-steppers mixes for maximum versatility and vibes.   Both tunes and their versions feature an incredibly robust, warm, human sound – one that simply can’t come from machines alone – live drums, bass, and kete drum among other instruments maintain the tradition of live musicians in dub – to say nothing of expert desk-based mixing and deployment of live analog effects the way the elders intended.  Both tunes dial in at 140 making them perfect for roots and dubstep selectors alike.

Von D got his start as a drummer and engineer outside Paris, in the heady days of original jungle.  Early releases on Disfigured Dubz, Hench, Boka, Black Acre and the seminal V Recordings, as well as his reggae-oriented Liquid Wicked project, cemented his reputation.  Don Cotti is a prolific producer, DJ and MC with releases stretching back to 2006 on labels as varied as Bass Face, Studio Rockers, and Soul Jazz.

Mastered by Lewis at Star Delta.

Art & design by Polygon Press.

12” vinyl only, no digital, no repress.

Release Window: Mid-January, 2017

Khaliphonic’s eighth release is an absolutely unique seven track full length LP of beautifully focused outer dubwise excursions by some of our favorite artists. “Sounds From The Well: Collection 1” hauls in a net of captivating left-of-center sound system music rooted in or in some way influenced by the music of the Mediterranean or the Maghreb, the Near East or North Africa. An immersive journey from start to finish, this is one for the headphones as well as the sound system.

Gulls & XJ mangle gasbah flute-heavy rai vibes for a journey into trance-inducing Algerian funk.

Dubmonger & LXC build a sparkling, crunching, head-nodding beast that marries boom bap and Arabesque keyboard meanderings.

Sonza’s abstract chamber jazz builds from ambient abstraction to a mesmerizing, plaintive, percussion heavy masterwork of Anatolian dub vibes.

Alter Echo & E3 indulge their love of psychedelic dubwise with a riddim indebted to the reggada of Morocco, that sounds like nothing if not a night journey through a desert by moonlight.

The increasingly elusive El Mahdy Jr graces us with a gorgeous track of rhythmic complexity and emotional weight.

The album is bookended by two early, unreleased string quartet & percussion recordings by the legendary Badawi, lush and ominous, recently transferred from their 20th Century tape masters.

Available worldwide mid-August. Limited to 500 copies, vinyl LP only, no digital, no repress. Art & design by Polygon Press. Mastered by Lewis at Stardelta.

ZamZam 19, Alter Echo & E3’s “Nubian Dub” backed with “Warning Dub” was an underground hit that sold out its run of 600 copies almost instantly, and has been in constant demand ever since.  It is consistently named as many completists’ top ZamZam release.  Championed by selectors as diverse as The Bug, J:Kenzo, Alpha Steppa and Joe Nice, both tunes developed lives of their own, spawning remixes that we are now extremely proud to release as a pair of limited 10”s: Khaliphonic 05 (Nubian Dub Remixes) and 06 (Warning Dub Remixes).

Egoless’ live dubbing of the tunes in his sets early last year morphed into heavyweight remixes of both cuts.  His Nubian version is a funkdafied 140-affair with added clave, cyborg saxophone flavor, retooled low-end and a strangely uplifting mood animated by his unique sense of spatial dynamics and movement.  ZamZam veteran DJ Madd brings the 85 bpm slow-jungle rockers vibrations with his signature 808 depth drops, spacious synths and tuned tablas anchoring the original atmospherics in a completely different and unexpected riddim matrix.

Raising the visual aesthetic bar once again, in-house design & print master Polygon Press blesses each 10” with a striking, complementary geometric construction, teasing 2 and 3D in and out of each other in a captivatingly original style.  Screen printed by hand on heavy chip board jackets.

Design + Print by Polygon Press.
Mastered & cut by Lewis at Stardelta, Devon, UK.
Strictly limited to 800 copies each – No repress – No digital

Release Window: Week of January 11, 2016

ZamZam 19, Alter Echo & E3’s “Nubian Dub” backed with “Warning Dub” was an underground hit that sold out its run of 600 copies almost instantly, and has been in constant demand ever since.  It is consistently named as many completists’ top ZamZam release.  Championed by selectors as diverse as The Bug, J:Kenzo, Alpha Steppa and Joe Nice, both tunes developed lives of their own, spawning remixes that we are now extremely proud to release as a pair of limited 10”s: Khaliphonic 05 (Nubian Dub Remixes) and 06 (Warning Dub Remixes).

Egoless’ live dubbing of the tunes in his sets early last year morphed into heavyweight remixes of both cuts.

Microphone commando Rider Shafique introduces Ishan Sound’s refix, which began life as a special for Ishan, Alter Echo, and E3, but demanded a wider release.  A militant steppers of the highest order, a haunting melody floats above the pounding kick and galloping percussion while machine-gun snares cut through the miasmic swirling textures.  Egoless’ Warning remix seemingly pitches the entire original tune up an octave to make room for the monstrous, swollen, lurching bass, kick & claps that has become a swaggering anthem that demands multiple reloads wherever he performs it.

Raising the visual aesthetic bar once again, in-house design & print master Polygon Press blesses each 10” with a striking, complementary geometric construction, teasing 2 and 3D in and out of each other in a captivatingly original style.  Screen printed by hand on heavy chip board jackets.

Design + Print by Polygon Press.
Mastered & cut by Lewis at Stardelta, Devon, UK.
Strictly limited to 800 copies each – No repress – No digital

Release Window: Week of January 11, 2016

ZamZam Sounds presents a truly monumental double album, the third release on our 10”/12”/LP imprint Khaliphonic, in partnership once again with Llorona Records straight out of Colombia.

After last year’s Dub De Gaita 12” pairing Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto with producer Adrian Sherwood, ZamZam and Llorona knew we wanted to continue the partnership by releasing more material from the same incredible sessions that produced the three tracks on the single. The Dub De Gaita Vols II and III double LP is the result, a towering achievement in cumbia, dub, and international musical cross-pollination.

Produced by Adrian Sherwood and Diego Gómez, mixed by Adrian Sherwood at On-U Sound. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe at Sound Masters UK. Special guests include On-U Sound crew George Oban and Skip McDonald, and the Ital Horns.

Strictly limited to 1000 copies for the world (500 copies to Colombia) – No repress – No digital

Release Window: end of July, 2015

Summer of 2014 at Reconstrvct, Brooklyn NY – Ishan Sound was pummeling the capacity crowd with hi-powered steppers, cut after cut on beautiful acetate.  Suddenly a huge sonic space opened up with a tune that was like a blast of cool air through the suffocatingly hot room… ZamZam’s E3 was instantly captivated by the track, and knew we had to have it… but first we had to find out what it was!

The tune that had the crowd heaving and rocking in delight was Peaman’s “War” – a legendary dubplate by a mysterious producer, controlled by only a few including Ishan, Kahn and Bristol’s DJ Dad.  Massively warm sub-bass, uncompromisingly sparse one drop riddim, sublime horns and pads, and masterful control of reverbs define this understated killer.  Powerful in its restraint and minimalism, War touches all the right marks in the frequency spectrum, making it an unforgettable hit with every sound system it’s flexed on.

Khaliphonic 04 offers up the original tune alongside three versions on 12” vinyl.  “Horns of War,” an extended saxophone version excursion featuring James Morton soloing on the horn offers up pure, sparkling dubwise jazz like none we’ve ever heard.  Two remixes by Bristol producer Rhumius on the B side bring War into steppers territory with a more insistent kick drum and oh-so-sweet fuller horn melodics.

Mastered and cut at wide 33 rpm for maximum bass warmth by Lewis at Stardelta, Devon UK.  Limited to 600 copies for the world, no digital, no repress. Design & screen print by Polygon Press.

ZamZam Sounds is proud to present a truly massive release, the first on our new longer- format vinyl label, Khaliphonic, in partnership with Llorona Records (Colombia).

Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto are Colombian cumbia roots icons, legendary in their homeland as guardians of ancient regional musical and cultural traditions. Here they are joined by another legend, On-U Sound founder and dub producer Adrian Sherwood. Alongside Llorona Records ́s Diego Gómez, Sherwood and the band have created an absolutely unique sound that seamlessly blends timeless cumbia rhythms and sonorities with powerfully restrained dub mixing.

It is no exaggeration or hyperbole to call this mystical music, a heart-centered psychogeographical journey from the Caribbean Coast of Colombia through Jamaica and UK dubscapes. The heartbeat rhythms this team explores so deftly unite musical cultures in such a natural way that the sound they produce feels almost inevitable. Vocal exhortations, massed flutes, organic bass and keys, extraordinary volleys of percussion, echo trails, reggae skanks, and truly masterful arrangements and dubbing make this a simply crucial release. Miles beyond most attempts at cross-cultural musical fusion, we guarantee you will be mesmerized by the beauty and power of Dub De Gaita. There is simply nothing else like it.

Produced by Adrian Sherwood and Diego Gómez, mixed by Adrian Sherwood at On-U Sound. Assistant Producer: Skip McDonald
. Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe at Sound Masters UK.

Special Guests: George Oban (Bass on El Fin del Mundo), Diego Gómez (Bass on Maria Solá), The Ital Horns (Brass on El Fin del Mundo and Maria Solá), Skip McDonald (Keys and Guitar on El Fin del Mundo).

Strictly limited: 650 copies for the world – hand screen printed – No repress – No digital

ZamZam Sounds’ long-format sister-label Khaliphonic is proud to present four massive tunes from the Disciples vaults, with alternate dub versions of all four tunes. Representing both Russ D’s “regal” and “deep space” styles, in a stunning combination offset / screen print jacket…this is truly one for the ages.

Russ says these tunes were made in 1999, “trying some new ideas out” using a Waldorf 4 Pole Filter that he had recently acquired. “The sound was somewhat influenced by the Rhythm & Sound / Tikiman stuff. At the time I was checking them a little… that minimal sound.” What he created
was a small, finite body of work, these four tunes to be exact, that are both of-a-time and feel utterly contemporary 15 years later – deep, driving, focused yet exploratory. In short, powerful UK sound system music that defies easy categorization.  His powers are on full display here, charting a course into deepest dubwise territory. According to Russ the titles are roughly translated as “Unite,” “Serious,” and “Arise” but their original language has been lost over the years.

Disciples is one of the true originators of what has come to be known as “UK dub,” producing, remixing, and touring since the mid-80s. The name was bestowed by Jah Shaka in 1986 after Russ and his brother began supplying him exclusive tunes for his Sound. In the early 90’s the Disciples formed its own sound system, Boom Shacka Lacka (BSL), playing alongside the other big UK Sounds of the time, including Iration Steppas, Abashanti and Channel One. BSL ended in 1996, but Russ has carried on with a heavy production and DJ schedule that has taken him all over the world in the decade and a half since.

Limited vinyl – 700 copies for the world – hand screen printed in gold over offset print – No repress – No digital

Because ZamZam Sounds is committed to the 7″ format, Khaliphonic came into existence to release longer format records.