JStar releases first studio album “Stand To Order” gathering artists from all around the world
Last year in November, UK-based producer JStar, best known for remixing hits performed by global artists such as Major Lazer, released his first studio album “Stand to Order”. It is a 10-track dub-flavored Reggae album, which features artists from all around world. Each and every artist has his/her distinctive style and they all sing about different topics.
Premiered on David Rodigan’s weekly Scorcher on BBC 1Xtra
The very first track of the album titled “Liar Liar”. It was premiered on David Rodigan‘s weekly scorcher on BBC 1xtra. The song, performed by R’n’B artist Kinck, is one of the best tracks of the album. It’s a laid-back modern dubby Roots Reggae track with a solid bass line. In this cut, the artist sings about how she was heartbroken because her ex-lover cheated on her. An ensemble of digital strings sort of adds a dramatic effect to the whole song.Next on is a song titled “Baby Fan Ying” featuring asian artist MouseFX. As you can tell this song is not in english. I don’t know what this song is really about. However, I can tell the song has an asian vibe because of the incorporation of bell-like sounds.“My Truth” featuring Micala, is another beautiful Reggae song, which also ranks among the best tracks of the album. Even though it is a love song and it might sound a little cliché, it sounds good. The beauty of this song mostly lies in the grainy yet powerful voice of Micala.
Bad boy’s style
With the 4th track, “Deadly Dance” featuring Brother Culture, the album takes a different turn. No more heartbreak nor love song. On an uptempo riddim that would be the perfect theme for a horror/comedy movie like “BeetleJuice”, Brother Culture depicts the darker side of a gangster.In the keeping with the bad boy’s lifestyle, Ranking Joe delivers “Bad Boy Stepping” on a laid-back old-school flavored Dancehall riddim. The horn section of the riddim is particularly light and gentle. As a result, the overall track sounds .
Chant down Babylon
“Babylon Children” featuring Spikey T, is a Dub-oriented UK Roots Reggae track. As you could imagine, it’s a consciously-aware song about that depicts the babylonian system and suggests that we must chant down Babylon. The riddim is also interesting. It could be described as a soothing blend of psychedelic synths, dub delays or a regular one-drop beat.
After bad boy’s style, it’s Apache’s style
The next track, “Real Apache Style” was performed by French artist of Spanish-descent, Tomawok alongside romanian orchestra Mahala Rai Banda. It is a very colorful Reggae/Hip Hop track with an authentic oriental vibe brought by the brass ensemble, on which the French artist delivered rhyme after rhyme with his typical Ragga muffin style. “Stand To Order” can be compared to a sort of musical melting pot. It gathers artists from all around world. It’s a unique blend of sounds and styles with a UK touch of Dub. There are a few other tracks, which I haven’t talked about in this review, like “Stand To Order” ft. Soom T, Blackout JA‘s universal message of love “All I Have For You” and “Moving On” ft. Jackie Venson & Spikey T. Yet I don’t mind to undermine their potential. So, I invite you to check out this album. It’s available for free streaming on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Do not hesitate to let us know what you think about it by leaving a comment below.
Album info:
“Stand To Order” is available in various formats:
- Physical: 8 track album / 6 track dub album / 2 x 7″ singles
- Digital: 10 track album / 6 track dub album / 2 x remix EP’s including originals