Woob

by Sean CooperWoob is U.K.-based ambient-dub musician Paul Frankland, whose albums for Em:t Recordings are among the most praised and encompassing documents of post-rave ambient of the last several years. Incorporating Middle Eastern instrumentation and vocalese with Jamaican dub-style production, tight, snappy breakbeats, blankets of synth drone and melody, and heaps of treated samples and field recordings, Woob is a sort of state-of-the-art snapshot of heavily hybridized post-rave experimental ambient. Frankland first came to attention through his participation in a Future Music talent competition held at Londons Wembley stadium, refereed by, among others, Mixmaster Morris (of Dreamfish and Irresistible Force fame). Franklands entry in the seminar/competition — a four-track demo tape — was praised highly by Morris and subsequently passed to a number of British music journalists, eventuating Franklands relationship with the Nottingham-based Em:t label. Frankland released his first album as Woob, 1194, through Em:t and has since contributed tracks to many of their compilations, as well as releasing a follow-up full-length, 4495. Stateside reissue of 1194 by the widely-distributed Instinct label has also given a boost to Woobs visibility, and Franklands popularity is at or near that of his comparatively more prodigious contemporaries. In addition to his Woob work, Frankland also records (together with DJ Colin Waterton) as Journeyman for the Ntone label. The pairs work is similar to Franklands own, although the Middle Eastern elements are largely replaced by less localizable, heavily treated and manipulated influences. [See Also: Journeyman]