Jahtari

𝙎𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙨, 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙙𝙪𝙗 — Jahtarian Dubbers Vol. 5 marks the glorious return of Leipzig’s lo-fi reggae lab, celebrating 20 years of circuitry and consciousness with an all-new set of outsider dancehall detonations.

The comp kicks off with ‘The Loop Jerk’ by the late KingLMan, whose activist energy echoes through its off-kilter groove. Kiki Hitomi serves up lofi pink-sugar fire on ‘Red Mustang’, while Kris Kemist’s ‘Casio HipHop’ channels cheap drum machines into pure gold. El Fata and Naram heat things up with ‘Boom Sound’, and Jura Soundsystem steers into underwater riddim bliss on ‘On My Way (Dub)’.

Side B dives deeper: Pupajim’s ‘Tidal Wave’ swells into a long-form disco dub epic; Mystica Tribe and Legowelt cast analogue spells on ‘Cabal of Puppeteers’; and Speng Bond rides a seismic Rootah riddim on ‘Wha Mek’. Namahage’s ‘Voidout Dub’ throws Gameboys, horns, and dub acid into the blender, before the journey closes in hazy beauty with Tiiu Helinä’s ‘Muuri (Ambient Dub)’, with Tapes at the controls.

Essential listening for those who like their dub bent, burnt, and blissfully bizarre. Long live Jahtari.