World-Bass Technician MORiLLO Mines Harmonic Convergence On Latest LP ‘The Dub Cartographer’ [review]
In the expansive galaxies of sonic exploration, certain records reveal more than just a smattering of songs; they are celestial maps, ambitiously and meticulously charted for an intrepid voyager. With his latest full-length excursion The Dub Cartographer , Los Angeles-based producer MORiLLO has unfurled a kaleidoscopic dubbed-out odyssey through the space-time continuum, a sacred compass for the curious and vibrant vessel for the wanderer.
Government name Zach Morillo, he’s a veteran bass music producer as well as a world-class drummer with international reggae sensation Groundation. His most inspired solo offering thus far, The Dub Cartographer has finally cracked a crucial code, marrying the worlds of one-drop and boomshots with psychedelic bass sorcery. The mystical matrimony manifests a spiritualized brew that’s sure to satiate dreamers and dancers alike.
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The album title itself sings volumes. A cartographer, in MORiLLO’s universe, isn’t merely a mapmaker, but instead a trusted shepherd and narrator. A translator of distant linguistics and shamanic grooves meticulously woven into a connective tapestry of terrific tunes. The sum of these cross-generational, international parts is a progressive document and living, breathing organism, a cartographer’s field journal of discovery bubbling with eclectic melodies and meditative low-end rumble.
Stream/Download The Dub Cartographer
“I’m intentionally embracing my early dub reggae influences and heroes like King Tubby and Augustus Pablo, then bringing those elements into my electronic music in an organic way.” Zach Morillo told me via Zoom on a forthcoming episode of The Upful LIFE Podcast. “And that’s what The Dub Cartographer is all about. Blending a love of dub and reggae with my bass music styles, plus collaborating with numerous eclectic musicians that play pretty exotic world instruments, also a huge influence on me over the years.”
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The album’s nine tracks are distinct map points on this expressive journey, each one its own immersive world. We begin in Morocco with the hypnotic “The Dub of Essaouira,” featuring TheDudewithTheOud, a track that conjures coastal winds and bustling village markets, a longing for desert lands far far away. The phantasmagorical sojourn drops us into the atmospheric depths of “The Dead Sea Dub”, a head-nodding trek with French reggae phenoms Kino Doscun and Youthie that sparks a throbbing subaqueous session. Later, the route takes an Amazonian turn with “Dub of the Majestic Samauma Tree,” featuring Iyakuh and Girish Chatterjee, where the riddim pulsates with the primordial, arboreal power of its namesake.
Listen to The Dub Cartographer Mixtape
This collaborative spirit is the motor driving MORiLLO’s esoteric adventures in sound and energy that populateThe Dub Cartographer across the miles. Instead of traversing these spaces on strictly a solo mission, the captain has enlisted a crew of fellow genre-blurring sonic pioneers. Other album features include Evan Hatfield (Dirtwire), Gisaza, Scott Nice, and Mangia Mangi; with each collaborator contributing an offering of studied instrumentation. The oud, sitar, trombone, turntables, percussion, various vocalists, and a full band of friends coalesce alongside MORiLLO to concoct a potent potion and work of high art; energetically ancient with sound design profoundly of the now.
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Another evolution in MORiLLO’s sound: the warm, impactful prominence of live drums, which noticeably inform the aesthetics, textures, and physicality of these tracks.
The artist reflected on this recent development: “During Covid times, I was fortunate to finally invest in a bulk of the equipment I needed to properly record myself on drums. Ever since, it’s kind of been a journey into really incorporating live drumming into my productions, which has been an incredible experience. And, in my opinion, it’s also really changed the sound of my music”.
Purchase The Dub Cartographer via Bandcamp
This record isn’t your standard fare studio-polished fabrication, nor a trendy facsimile drowning in a cacophony of the latest technological bells and whistles. These nine unicorn compositions and the powerful performances embedded within are a testament to MORiLLO and Co.’s integrity, ingenuity, creativity, and intercontinental chemistry. The live drumming, a consistent anchor throughout this safari-in-sound, provides a grounded pulse for the more ethereal elements to swirl around, serenading a sublime symbiosis. The Dub Cartographer captures the spontaneity of a live jam, the serendipity of a sunrise set, and the soul-cleansing catharsis of a dubbed-out snare echo, together an intoxicating cross-pollination of the highest and most righteous order.
words: B.Getz
