2020 marks the centenary of the Leon Theremin\u2019s intriguing electrophonic instrument, an authentically \u201cethereal\u201d side-product of Soviet research into proximity sensors. An obscurity to this day, associated mostly with old science fiction movies, it does still have its determined devotees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2020 also marks four decades, minus a year, since the young Bolognese Daniele Gaudi took his first steps in music production, staking out territory somewhere between dub reggae, the nascent electronic dance-music movement, and what was then called worldbeat. It\u2019s served him well \u2013 living in London since the mid-\u201990s, he\u2019s a ubiquitous figure, having worked with most everyone who\u2019s anyone in U.K. club music and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s five of the biggest names in modern dub who join Gaudi for this celebration of his beloved Theremin \u2013 Mad Professor, Adrian Sherwood, The Scientist, Dennis Bovell, and Prince Fatty. The basic dub-reggae protocols aren\u2019t challenged, only observed with competence and cleanliness. That said, the melodies are strong and memorable, notably \u201cDub out of Theremin\u201d, with Adrian Sherwood, and the giddy \u201cSmokin Dub\u201d with Scientist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obviously, the Theremin is the preeminent element in each track, and Gaudi handles his with love and care, coaxing out not only the otherworldly weirdness it affords, but also the sentimental and melancholic flavours it can provide. A note of sadness for what the mechanical marvel might have been had history not swept it aside, and a note of wonder for what magic it might yet generate between two loving hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n