Especial Specials continues to unearth music in the digi-world to bring to vinyl, with part 2 of exploring the music of Dreems and his unique take on Edits and Dubs. Drums Ov Sage 2 attempts to encapsulate the unencapsulatable, quantifying the music of Angus “Gus” Gruzman, shining a light on some of his lost hidden gems.

Anyone spending a few moments in Dreems’ world realises “Sage” is an apt title, his espousing’s on life, love and music, fit his music – open minded, left of center, slightly trippy, dubbed out and always looking for a new adventure. The journey of his and cohort, Thomas Von Party’s Multi-Culti has seen dozens of mind-expanding, dance-floor twisting releases, all with a psychedelic touch but with a party never far from the horizon.

As with the earlier releases on Especial Specials, from Steaua Du Mare, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Covered In Gloria and Chill Mountain Records, the premise of bringing this music to a wider audience is a simple one. Featuring the likes of Khidja, Mehmet Aslan, Peaking Lights, Heatsick, Tom Noble, Red Axes, Bullion, Thool, Minor Science, Suzanne Kraft, Ground, Saeko Killy and Akio Nagase the diverse club sounds all convey a wide-screen, tripped out oeuvre, with dashes of dub and psychedelia laced around the groove.

EP2 starts with a bang, in Jungle Gym. Dreems talent for finding the off kilter and obscure is apparent, tongue is firmly in cheek, but all-in-all this is a dance floor party edit to match any. Next, the enigma Peter Power gets the dub treatment. A wonderful artist, appearing on Multi-Culti, Polychrome Sounds and Invisible Inc. gained cult status, so it seems apt that Adama Waro gets the Dreems offering, a previously unrelease horn inspired Dub, to the world, a wormhole of shuffling percussion, effects and trip-to-the-moon vox.

Zulu For Who opens the final side, an afro-melt, call and response, tribal, percussive and flute lifting ode, before the 303 slowly welds its way, turning the edit this way and that. Japan’s Ground & Kabamix follow, another unreleased psychedelic excursion, all Dreems inner mind presented to all. 100 bpm mastery, slowly builds, break and acid sunrise. Closing’s Simonas & Gustavas’ Undubbed sums up the premise. Dreems nocturnal studio meanderings, layering, fx, echo, dubwise, seeking, the distant drums of the sage. 

A1. Dreems – Jungle Gym
A2. Peter Power – Adama Waro (Dreems Horn Dub)
B1. Dreems – Zulu For Who
B2. Ground* & Kabamix – 2099 (Dreems Acid Dub)
B3. Simonas & Gustava – Undubbed (Dreems Redub)