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Adrian Sherwood ponders 'The Collapse of Everything'

Nana S.R. Tinley
/
courtesy of the artist

In the '80s, the U.K. became the hotbed for an electrifying dub scene. Adrian Sherwood was in the thick of it.

The record producer and founder of On-U Sound Records helped the scene flourish in his home country, cultivating a scene of reggae and dub enthusiasts who were passionate for the dancehall rhythms of Jamaica.

Today, Sherwood talks about what it took to nurture that scene and what it's like releasing a new album, called The Collapse of Everything, in a drastically different cultural landscape.

We'll get into how he ended up becoming a ubiquitous credit on remixes, from Nine Inch Nails to Spoon, plus why there needs to be someone in the room to say no.

Featured Songs

  • "Body Roll"
  • "The Well is Poisoned"
  • "Spaghetti Best Western"
  • "Dub Inspector"

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.

Miguel Perez is an assistant producer at KERA. He produces local content for Morning Edition and KERA News. He also produces The Friday Conversation, a weekly interview series with North Texas newsmakers.