Bass of Sobriety

On emerging from his mole-like toil, steering commuters through the trogloditic world occupied by London Underground, Jah Wobble returned tentatively to a music business that had been seriously pissed-off with many of the madcap bassist's pre-subterranean antics.

It was difficult for anyone to take him seriously; he had gained reputation: he was difficult, drunk, and often disorderly.

But he had a vision.
An aural vision.
And he found just the right musician to help give his vision substance.

Ex-Etonian and 'Ubertoff' (as Wobble dubbed him) Justin Adams had a sensibility in his guitar playing that was inspired by and reminiscent of Middle-Eastern and Arabic sounds.
This was music to Wobble's ears, and they were soon playing together under the name Invaders of the Heart.

It did take a couple of years before anyone really took notice of their efforts, and it was only through Wobble's dogged persistency that the breakthrough album Without Judgment was ever released at all.

While they were waiting for their breakthrough to happen, Wobble and Adams recorded several tracks for Aki Nawaz's Nation Records, for inclusion on their seminal world-music dance fusion compilation Fuse.

Nation released the better of the tracks as 12" singles; Invaders of the Heart's 'The Unspoken Word' being one of them.

With the assistance of Zahrema's voice, 'The Unspoken Word' is a bubbly piece of arabic flavoured dub; essentially Jah Wobble, the Ovation bass fluid and confident; but Adams forceful in his playing, reminds the listener that it was the combination of Wobble and Adams that formed and shaped the distinctive sound; a sound so immediately identifiable to Invaders of the Heart.

Invaders of the Heart - The Unspoken Word (1989)

A: The Unspoken Word
B: The Unspoken Word (Dub)

Decent vinyl rip @320kbs
A segues nicely into B, creating a continuous piece lasting 16 minutes.

Make your ears all Wobbly here