Adrian Sherwood c. 1987
 
Legendary English dub producer Adrian Sherwood and his On-U Sound label are getting ready to release the second volume of the career-spanning Sherwood at the Controls compilation. Devoid of filler, both of these beauties are “no duh” purchases for the discerning consumer: you get Sherwood’s masterful manipulations of time and space and a sampling of some of the most interesting underground musicians from the time period under examination.

The new disc, covering 1985 to 1990, collects Sherwood’s remixes of and collaborations with—among others—Mark Stewart of the Pop Group, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Flux (formerly Flux of Pink Indians), Tackhead, KMFDM, Ministry, the Beatnigs, and—On-U’s psychedelic dub outfit whose records are always blaring in my office—African Head Charge. (Volume One, released last year, covered 1979 to 1984 with tracks from Prince Far I, the Fall, the Slits, Annie Anxiety, Shriekback et al.)
 

 
As a taste of the delights that await you on Volume Two, we’ve got an unreleased dub of Bim Sherman’s “Haunting Ground.” Sherman, an early member of the On-U Sound crew, lent his otherworldly voice to records by New Age Steppers, Dub Syndicate, and Jah Wobble. Tessa Pollitt of the Slits credits him as an inspiration:

...I loved what he was doing with Adrian Sherwood. I used to listen to him again and again and again. Tracks like “My Whole World,” “Love Forever” and “Revolution/World Of Dispensation”: I listened to the purity of that music all the time, or more specifically, what attracted me was the purity which was so evident in Bim Sherman’s voice.

Adrian Sherwood and Bim Sherman
 
And here are Sherwood’s notes on the track from the liners of Volume Two:

Bim had started his Century label and had a house a few hundred yards from Southern Studios, near the police station in Wood Green. I originally recorded this for On-U Sound but gave him the vocal to use on his album. That’s Style Scott on drums, and I’m fairly sure it’s Crucial Tony on guitar.

Sherwood at the Controls, Volume Two comes out June 24. Pre-order it from On-U Sound or Amazon.
 

 
Below, Bim Sherman performs “The Power” on Snub TV in 1989: