Sherwood & Pinch

Man Vs Sofa

On-U Sound Vs Tectonic Recordings

VETERAN dub producer and well-connected man Adrian Sherwood began working with the rather young Bristolian dubstep DJ Rob Ellis – a.k.a. Pinch – after they met at Fabric, the London club whose fight against closure won support that sadly was not forthcoming for Glasgow's Arches, although the cases had close parallels. Their partnership has already produced one album but this one, for all its confrontational dual-label presentation, showcases a collaboration that is in full flow, Pinch's floor-filling focus benefitting from Sherwood's individuality, perspective and contact book.

The latter produces a vocal contribution from the legendary Jamaican proprietor of the Black Ark, Lee "Scratch" Perry, on Lies, adding words of wisdom as gnomic as we know to expect. The late Junior Delgado also crops up, sampled on Gun Law, and there are other snatches of spoken word dropped on to other tracks, none of which, it is worth noting, outstay their welcome. At its best, as on Unlearn (which will reveal new facets of itself over many listenings), this is a rich mix indeed, but most of it is also very dance-able, including a delightfully wayward pitch-bending cover of Ryuichi Sakamoto's Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence that David Bowie would surely have loved.

Keith Bruce