MARIJUANA SESSIONS IN DUB: LINVAL THOMPSON MEETS ROBERTO SÁNCHEZ IN A HEAVYWEIGHT ENCOUNTER
Picture Kingston in the early 1980s, Channel One Studio alive with smoke, sweat and the steady pulse of the Roots Radics. Linval Thompson’s Thompson Sound label captured that energy, with King Tubby shaping the tracks into dub anthems. Now, Spanish producer Roberto Sánchez revisits these classics. Released by Lone Ark and Evidence Music, Marijuana Sessions in Dub carries their fire forward.
Sánchez approaches the Thompson Sound archives with meticulous craft and deep respect. It’s a vibrant re-entry into a body of work that already defined generations.
Across the album, he applies wide, echo-laced effects that stretch and bend the original recordings into meditative spaces. Yet the integrity of the Channel One sessions stays intact, anchored by bone-shaking bass and rolling drum patterns. The result is immersive and physical, best experienced through a sound system’s full weight.
ITS INTEGRITY OF THE CHANNEL ONE SESSIONS STAYS INTACT
Transitions between tracks feel like movements in one extended journey. Sánchez creates space for every detail, from ghostly guitar chops to flickering hi-hats. Listeners are pulled deeper with each layer, moving from vintage foundation to forward-looking reinterpretation.
Marijuana Sessions in Dub is both a tribute and a transformation. It honours Linval Thompson’s roots while opening a path for dub’s future, ensuring these timeless rhythms echo long into the present moment.
TRACKLIST
01. Marijuana Dub
02. Big Big Girl Dub
03. Not Follow Fashion Dub
04. Just Another Girl Dub
05. Dread At The Ark Dub
06. Roots Lady Dub
07. Starlight Dub
08. Cheater Dub
09. I’m Running Dub
10. Channel One Meets The Ark
ABOUT LINVAL THOMPSON
Linval Thompson helped define reggae’s shift from roots into early dancehall, balancing his roles as singer, producer, and label head. His career began in Brooklyn with No Other Woman, deepening in Jamaica through sessions with Phil Pratt, Lee “Scratch” Perry and Bunny Lee.
Albums like Don’t Cut Off Your Dreadlocks and I Love Marijuana set his sound, while his productions powered Scientist’s classic dub LPs. Today, Thompson’s music continues to echo across generations.
MORE FROM LINVAL THOMPSON
LINK WITH LINVAL THOMPSON
ABOUT LONE ARK
Roberto Sánchez has built a reputation as one of reggae’s most dedicated producers. Since the 1990s, his work has blended precision with deep respect for the genre’s roots.
At his A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio, he channels the weight of Channel One and the spirit of Black Ark. Collaborating with artists from Clive Matthews to Roman Stewart, Sánchez creates music that is intimate, timeless and unmistakably his.
