Creation Rebel - High Above Harlesden 1978-2023 (Album)
On the 29th March, On-U Sound is set to release a comprehensive reissue of the key albums by Creation Rebel, the original On-U Sound house band. The series encompasses out-of-print and much in demand UK dub reggae albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s, all highlighting crucial early production work from the mixing desk of producer, remixer, and undisputed patriarch of On-U Sound, Adrian Sherwood.
Five influential and pioneering albums are all being repressed on vinyl, with faithful reproductions of the beautiful original sleeve artwork, and new inner sleeves containing detailed liner notes and archival photos. Those album are: Dub From Creation (1978), Close Encounters Of The Third World (1978), Rebel Vibrations (1979), Starship Africa (1980), Psychotic Jonkanoo (1981) and Hostile Environment (2023). In addition, there is also a 6CD anthology box set, entitled High Above Harlesden 1978-2023, all highlighting crucial early production work from the mixing desk of Sherwood, and a tribute to the working class area of North-West London where the band started out.
This activity comes hot on the heels of the group’s first new album in over forty years, 2023’s Hostile Environment, a righteous return from space that garnered a huge amount of critical acclaim, picked as one of the albums of the year by DJ Mag, The Quietus, The Wire and many other publications. The album makes an appearance as the final disc in the CD boxset to bring the group’s story up to date.
These reissues follow on from similarly comprehensive and lovingly assembled archival releases that the On-U Sound label has dedicated to African Head Charge, Dub Syndicate and New Age Steppers, all of whom share members with Creation Rebel, such is the nature of the cross-pollination of musical talents which has always been a core part of On-U Sound’s fusion-centric ethos.