To mark the occasion of the first anniversary of its Hybrid series, Pear Trax presents two limited edition vinyl releases: the album, Rex ‘Scratchmaster’ Wagoner’s Texas Dub and the single Jack Drumlanrig Castle by Lady Hunter ‘Jammin’ Blair. Over the last year, Pear Trax officials have let the music do the talking but, following this recent double release, decided to shed some light on their venture into exotic music: ‘The Hybrid series aims to provide the true connoisseur with some real choice in a world of music otherwise dominated by commercial rehashes of tried and tested formulae.’(1) As is widely acknowledged, the dedicated music connoisseur is notoriously hard to please; very few of this minority will actually admit to enjoying any given piece of music, let alone a piece of writing about a piece of music. These people, who complain when their favorite band becomes popular, are like those who complain about the proliferation of art biennials. In this respect, the Pear Trax Hybrid series, and this text alike, may prove victims of their own popularity.

As the name suggests, the Hybrid series promotes musical composites of mixed origin. In the simplest of interpretations, Texas Dub could be classified as a dubilly music extravaganza, showcasing a coming together of country and dub music, while Jack Drumlanrig Castle could be dubbed acid ceilidh: a fusion of acid house and ceilidh music. Of course, dubilly and acid ceilidh scenes have been active for many years now and, naturally, developed unique characteristics far removed from those inherited from their respective parent musical genres.

Dubilly, for example – also called dubneck or country dub – is an amalgam of popular musical forms developed in Jamaica, the Southern United States and West of Scotland with roots in blues, Celtic music, gospel, old-time music, reggae, traditional folk and ska. However, dubilly is actually an all-encompassing category that embraces several different subgenres of music like Dubville sound(2) and dubgrass,(3) popularized by Cobra Corrie and the Rude Mountain Boys. Each style is unique in its execution, its use of rhythms, and its chord structures, with many songs adapted to include audio effects and studio trickery. An archetypal dubilly tune (if such a thing exists) is Old Dubaroo, an early dubgrass composition by Omokok Clark that has been performed in a wide variety of country dub styles by everyone from Disco Asphyxia to Jackie Strait, claimed here as his own by Rex ‘Scratchmaster’ Wagoner. Never having written a song himself, Wagoner is famous for his musical(4) scavengership, taking what he likes from other musicians(5) and rendering it in his own unique style. When a record is referred to as a ‘Wagoner classic’, it goes without saying that Wagoner will not have composed the piece himself, but also that it will be an impressive piece of music. Texas Dub is a rare example of the coexistence, on one disc, of quality and quantity; each of the twelve tracks that makes the final cut is present through merit, as one classic flows faultlessly into the next.(6)

The history of acid ceilidh music is slightly more clean cut than that of dubilly but no less intriguing. Since emerging from the highlands of Scotland in the early 2010s, there have been many debates on the broader social significance of the rapid critical success of acid ceilidh music. On the one hand, acid ceilidh is often seen as a cultural expression that goes beyond the boundaries enforced by the corporations who brand popular culture as a genre that transgresses class divides. Combining elements of the urban and the rural, it brings together the fundamentals of highland and lowland cultural icons and reconciles diverse identities from suburbia to gay culture. On the other hand, the scene is often criticized for its tendency to glorify hedonistic lifestyle, for its promotion of drugs and pornography and its connections with the ideology of a nationalist, aggressive, collectivist and discriminative spirit. Despite this apparently parochial outlook, there are now tens, if not hundreds, of acid ceilidh scenes throughout the world.

Acid ceilidh-goers tend to prefer music played to a strict tempo by bands such as the world famous Lady Hunter ‘Jammin’ Blair Quartet. There are also myriad new bands, like Kitty ‘Gorilla Biscuit’ Campbell’s Band, which follows in Blair’s footsteps. Bands are typically comprised of various line-ups – ranging from the more sedate ‘ACD Band’ formula to the boisterous ‘DCA blueprint’, designed to yield full-blown technoesque four-to-the-floor beats, backing synth-driven Celtic melodies, usually including two accordions, a fiddle, PearSynth®, bass and Pear808® drum machine. These bands also perform at the vibrant Pear Accordion, Fiddle & Synth Clubs throughout the world. Increasing in popularity is the ‘Acid Ceilidh Dance’, a strain of clubbing where protocol is ignored and an MC shouts out instructions to clubbers in an apparently ironic reference to line dancing.(7)

The main objective here is enjoyment; getting the steps wrong is integral to the aura of the dance. Jack Drumlanrig Castle – which was recorded live in an undisclosed underground venue – seems to capture the unique spirit of the acid ceilidh scene. The title track is composed in the style of a mix tape with several seemingly different pieces of music interweaving through train-crash-like beat mixing and background noise, which is particularly uncharacteristic of a dance music record. Whether faux-naïve© or just downright naïve, Jack Drumlanrig Castle is a charming record and a splendid addition to anyone’s collection.

And, so, just when we believed the exotic was dead, the emergence of these two records proves that there will always be something more obscure than the most obscure record in one’s collection. In today’s climate, personal record-hunting trips are largely a thing of the past as Pear Trax takes responsibility for tracking down any music of note and introducing it to the public. For this ingenuity they must be admired, but no doubt many a connoisseur will grumble as the record they picked up twenty-five years ago in Bora Bora, from an invisible door-to-door sea-elf, is re-issued in its thousands by Pear Trax. The population at large, who rely on a more conventional means of distribution, await the next release in the Hybrid series with bated breath.

Lars Konders is a musician who has performed widely in the United States and Europe. He has published two books – Beat the Future (New York: Shanallica Publishing, 2010) and Massai Puppet: Strings of African Life (New York: Nurif Press, 2012) and is nearing completion of a third title, on the death of exotic music.

1. From record sleeve of Texas Dub by Rex ‘Scratchmaster’ Wagoner, (Pear Trax: Hybrid Records, 2023).
2. pop-like country dub music very popular in clubs of the late 2010s.
3. a fast mandolin, banjo and fiddle-based music with deep echo-laden undercurrents.
4. and culinary.
5. and diners.
6. Incidentally, the album is also available in limited edition PearLive® format where the owner receives constant electronic updates which alter the tempo, volume and track selection according to Wagoner’s current state of mind. This feature is made available by way of a link-up between the listener’s Pearpod® and that of Wagoner himself. Many who purchased the sampler release of the PearLive® version of Texas Dub reported violent mood swings in the music and persistent skipping of tracks. Apparently, these irregularities had come about as Wagoner became frustrated by a constant stream of fan-mail reaching his Pearpod® following a group of ardent teenage fans’ successful hack into the PearLive® system. The problem was rectified in time for the full release of the record last month.
7. a type of non-partner dancing, primarily associated with the Country & Western genre, where a group of people will dance through a pre-choreographed sequence of movements in unison. The choreography is generally simple as it is intended for mass-consumption.