African Head Charge - Super Mystic Brakes

Three previously unreleased African Head Charge cuts from the early days, unearthed from the depths of the On-U Sound tape archives.

The A-side features a spacey, beautiful alternate version of “Beri Beri” from 1982’s Environmental Studies. Stripping back the dense percussion layers of the original album mix, this version brings Deadly Headley Bennett’s lush saxophone work to the forefront, highlighting the irresistible slow-motion funk of the rhythm track. Think disco as heard in a Blade Runner nightclub—or a lost Balearic anthem from an alternate reality where JA sound systems take over 1980s Ibiza.

On the flip, the never-before-heard “Realigned Dub” is a masterclass in overlapping rhythms, with rolling drum patterns and dub-filtered percussion weaving around a nonchalant bassline that somehow holds everything together. Olatunji meets Cymande.

Closing out the release is a follow-up to a track from 1981’s My Life in a Hole in the Ground. This sequel dials back the distinctive boing of the African kuwenge heard in Part 1, instead adding Doctor Pablo’s melodica drops and eerie, tape-mangled voices drifting in from the ether.

Cut from the original tapes by CGB at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin, this is an essential piece of African Head Charge history—just as powerful on headphones as it is blasting from a wall of speakers.