Ebn E Sync - review

WordSound Recordings is one of the underground scene's few labels able to combine cutting-edge dub sounds with a distinctly 'grass-roots' approach to releasing records. The self-titled debut LP from Brooklyn New York's Ebn E Sync illustrates in vivid tones the reason why listeners from Brighton to Baltimore are willing to pay top dollar for any record bearing the notorious WordSound logo.

From the foreboding strains of Dorood, the album's opening cut, Ebn E Sync inform us that any notions of what 'fusion music' should sound like are to be discarded. Immediately. Not content with seamlessly blending traditional Persian and Afghan instruments with solid drum'n'bass grooves, Ebn E Sync choose to venture bravely into the FX realms of dub studio trickery, with startling results.

Nava and Noor (Persian for 'divine light') display not simply a breath-taking musicality, but the welcome disregard for conventional western song structures for which the WordSound posse have become renowned.

Despite being the strongest single track, the album's closer, Drunken Monkey, highlights it's only real shortcoming. With only seven songs, and clocking in at just over 45 minutes, Ebn E Sync is far too brief an affair. Then again, this is perhaps a moot point given that no matter how long the album, for most music-lovers it would still not suffice.

With this dazzling introduction to their world, Ebn E Sync take us on a mystical trip from ancient Khorasan to modern-day New York via the timeless sound of dub. Essential.