The big man Chad Dubz is no stranger to my record box. I’ve been a fan of the Bristol-based dubstep producer’s output since roughly 2017 when I picked up his sophomore release on his Foundation Audio imprint “Kingdom Dub EP”, that led me to grabbing his “22 Ounces” release on Boka and the rest is history. With “Universal Vibrations”, Chad Dubz completes his third full-length album this time coming on Mala’s untouchable Deep Medi Muzik.

One thing to note about this album is that it very much is a vocal record. Chad notes in on the Bandcamp page that he completed the instrumentals relatively quickly and then chose to bring in some of his favourite vocalists for the finishing touches. The decision to place them front and center sets “Universal Vibrations” apart from most other dubstep and bass music albums in a similar niche. The production itself intermeshes perfectly with the vocal features throughout the eight track vinyl release, with only two songs (and the digital extra) actually not featuring a guest vocalist. The vocal credits are something wild too, counting Riko Dan, Warrior Queen and Killa P among the artists blessing the microphone on these tracks.

Chad has also used this album to flex out at lower tempos, with no track coming in faster than 120 BPM. The album also has a distinctly dark flavour to it. I know Chad Dubz can be a producer of tough tracks. “Kingdom Dub” and “22 Ounces” are both HARD EPs, but they’re both a bit abstract and/or tribal-kind of works. The more recent Chad Dubz work that I tend to play is more in line with the subtle, minimalist work on releases like “Wrath of God”, “Addicts” or “Iggy’s Castle”. The tunes on this album are more like a Chestplate release; big chuggy basslines with a distinctly mechanic flavour to it. It’s a very different style to Chad Dubz and I’m here for it.

The opening track “Universal Vibration” starts with proclamations from Warrior Queen on what is to come and chorus vocals from Bozanna Evans. The beat on this track is one of the more chill ones on the album outside of the non-vocal tracks, with the dub and reggae elements of the track on full display. Warrior Queen’s chattings bless the track with exhultations to the listener of the unity of the human race, the strength of that connection and stating that love is the answer to our questions; though given the lyrical content of the later tracks, you’d be forgiven for believing things are bleak. (I know they are really, but still, this is music and we get to suspend belief in the real world for a bit.)

“Babylon Fuckry” featuring D-Los and Logan is a significantly darker track, opening with the sampled screams of a woman crying that there are “babies out here”, the menacing bassline drops and the vocals come in. At a higher tempo than the opener, but still lower than 140 BPM, the tracks on this album don’t lack for energy despite their pace and this tune is no exception. The dub vibes are still here with the occasional echoed horn flourish on the beat but the main star of the track is the heavy, rugged bassline and the grime bars loaded over top. While “Universal Vibrations” gave us a glimpse of the directions that Chad Dubz can go when he chooses to keep things light, this track is unrelentingly heavy and sets the tone for much of the rest of the album.

Third up, we have “In The Red” featuring Riko Dan who announces his presence with the typical callout to the London City that you’ve come to expect from the Warlord. “In The Red” is a dancefloor stomper with an absolutely crushing beat behind it. Riko Dan’s vocals are 10/10 as to be expected. Chad’s instrumental delivers probably the crunchiest bassline of the album on this one; while also releasing all the elements you know from the classic Bristol instrumental grime sound. Honestly, it’s tough not to pick this tune as my favourite of the release and I can say for sure that it WILL be seeing some play when I get down to mixing these tunes.

Track four on the LP is the first track not to feature a guest vocalist. “Forever” is one of the slower tempo tunes and also arguably the most melodic on the release. Synthwork from Chad is the main star on this track with shifting melodies and pads weaving in and out over the minimal beat and baseline. After setting all the elements up, the final third of the track drops in a contemplative vocal sample to let all the elements shine together.

Returning again on “Broken N Busted”, Warrior Queen’s vocals have transitioned into her classic ragga chattings which pair perfectly with the slamming beat that underlies the track. The instrumental on this tune is one of my favourites, with it’s sustained/distorted bass hits on the main kick drum, it conveys serious rhythm. When the bass finally releases during the breakdown your ears are greeted with subtle offbeat pads and a climbing piano flourish that gives the otherwise unrelentingly heavy track a splash of colour. A great example of the energy that can be generated at the 120 BPM tempo and definitely one of the strongest tracks on the release.

My personal favourite track on the LP has to be “Flatline” featuring Killa P. The track is one of the most dancefloor accessible tracks and as it features one of my favourite MCs, it’s probably obvious that I would pick it. The track is a great reflection of the lyrical versatility of Killa P, letting him make the best of his dancehall style of delivery while the slower tempo no doubt opens up a degree of space for his always impeccable double-time delivery.

“Wall of Sound” featuring Magugu is the final vocal tune of the release and the title of the track is absolutely fitting given the sonic violence the track releases on the listener. The creeping, almost bubbling bassline on the tune phases in and out over sci-fi sound-FX and distorted percussion. A wall of distortion cloaks every element in the track with a static like radiance, as if the speaker itself is going to electrocute you as the listener. The deep tones of Magugu’s voice are perfect on this tune, completing the dread inducing, sludgy ambience that pervades the LP.

The final track on the vinyl release is the instrumental work “Love is Everything”. Sitting firmly in the dub end of the dubstep spectrum, the tune churns along at a a comfortable roll as the reggae bassline and offbeat, distorted chords run smoothly over clean, swinging percussion. Later on the focus of the melody shifts to horns, with the occasional orchestral or solo flourish blasting up from seemingly nowhere as a haunted saxophone slowly steps into center stage. The refrain that “Love is Everything” repeats and repeats as the hypnotic rhythm chugs along before finally evaporating in a cloud of digital sea foam.

I purchased the album on Bandcamp which meant I also got access to the digital only track “Om”. This tune clocks in at seven minutes and thirty-five seconds, making it by far the longest track on the release. Understandable as to why they didn’t include it on the vinyl release as it would have taken up an entire side to itself had it been pressed. “Om” is easily the most abstract tune of the release. It comes in at 100 BPM and the sonic weirdness and tribal percussion on it makes it seem far more familiar to me as a “Chad Dubz”-style track than anything else on the album. Chad chose to put the Arturia Microbrute on the cover of the album and my uneducated guess is that we have that particular synth to thank for many of the unconventional melodies on display in this tune. An interesting end to an interesting album.

Overall, “Universal Vibrations” is not what you’d expect when you pick up a Deep Medi Musik release. With its generally low tempo and complete lack of 140 tunes, it may not be a release for everyone. That said, the explorations of slower BPMs is something that seems to be on the rise within the “deep dubstep/bass music” scene. If anything the album shows the diversity of the dubstep genre, as I won’t hesitate to label any of these tracks as being within that umbrella, despite the fact that none of them have the almost universally accepted characteristic 140 BPM tempo. I’ll venture to say that this album may be a significant one in the future of the genre as we increasingly see producers working with slower tempos. I’m personally glad to have it in my collection as its going to give me something to mix in relatively easily with Hypho’s “Badman Tune” and Drone’s “Evil Sky”. Don’t be surprised if another low tempo dubstep mix comes out at some point once Nickel City Frequencies gets back on the air at the end of October.

You can purchase “Universal Vibrations” by Chad Dubz on Bandcamp at the following link:

https://chaddubz.bandcamp.com/album/universal-vibrations

It’s also probably in record stores like Juno and Unearthed.