RS001
AL DOBSON JR. - RYE LANE VOL 1
BUY/STREAM
Sprung up from his much-fêted clubnight of the same name, Bradley Zero has enlisted fellow Peckham local Al Dobson Jr to inaugurate Rhythm Section International with this: Rye Lane Volume 1, an 11 track mini-LP stuffed to the rafters with summery goodness. The importance of location on Rye Lane Volume 1 appears both tantamount and inconsequential: many of the titles on offer dot specific points of reference on the map (Peru, Grenada, Cameroon, Columbia, Peckham's Rye Lane), but Dobson Jr does his best to melt these heterogeneous influences down into something definably his own.
Elliptical funkiness and nimble calypso grooves bob and weave through the melodic, soft-tone jazz stylings, all underpinned by a steady bump. This melange of warm styles mirrors the Peckham streets upon which it was cooked up, teaming with raw energy but quietly confident enough not to shout too loud about it. Tempos shift up and down at will as Dobson Jr shuffles through his strong pack at speed, maxing out the replay value.
With it being almost impossible to define the sound of Rhythm Section in one record, Rye Lane Volume 1 perfectly fits the role of inaugural release by the way in which the album encapsulates the sum of Rhythm Section’s influences into one coherent blend of experimental, percussive led jams. This selection of tracks, carefully curated from over 200 never released works, is a concise statement from the Peckham based label as it confidently steps out from it’s humble suburban origins into the international arena.It's been getting a heap of love from across the board, too: DJs as diverse as DJ Nature, Leon Vynehall, Horse Meat Disco's Severino, Lefto, Midland, PAN's Bill Kouligas, Anthony Naples and Gilles Peterson have been affording regular play to Al Dobson Jr. joints on offer; but we'll leave the final word to Eglo head honcho Alex Nut: "SO SO SO SO GOOOOD! Al Dob is ridonculazZz for sure.
““These album snippets feature sharply sequenced organic breaks, stumbling over the kind of silky organs that give Gilles Peterson or Theo Parrish sleepless nights. Spoken-word samples drift in and out, all of it capturing something of the good-natured madness of a hot evening on the titular lane.””