Eric Blowtorch and the Welders

Eric Blowtorch goes to admirable lengths to make hisreggae authentic and biting. The veteran Milwaukeesinger, instrumentalist and DJ dedicates his vinyl maxi-single to a doctor whoworks with Human Rights Watch (which will receive 10% of the record’s profits).For the occasion, he enlists such Jamaican talent as toaster Prince Jazzbo(whose rant organically follows Blowtorch’s original stern vocal) andtrombonist Rico Rodriguez. Rodriguez and English saxophonist Brian Edwardscollaborate on a scintillating dub version, rife with the kind of reverb andechoplexing so prominent on the B-sides of 45s on the Kingston labels that Blowtorch treasures. Thesingle wraps up with a meditation on the nature of work that melds Nyabinghidrumming to musique concrete vocalsampling, making Blowtorch’s socialist convictions eminently skankable.