This little time machine will beam you straight back to a 1991 rave party. Streetwise and with a head full of Reggae influences, Ragga Twins roughly sound like Renegade Soundwave or early Chemical Brothers.
Tracks like ‘Spliffhead’, ‘Wipe The Needle’, ‘Rude Boy’ and ‘Good Times’ were certified rave anthems back in the days. Straight, upbeat dance tunes build for partying the night away.
The Ragga Twins arrived on the rave scene in 1990 after they had build a reputation on the London Sound System circuit, the city’s competitive mobile Reggae disco market. Looking for something new, the Twins hooked up with dance production crew Shut Up And Dance and soon ruled rave parties with tunes like ‘Spliffhead’ and ‘Wipe The Needle’.
Always true to their roots, the Twins sure enjoyed their newly won fame and called their 1991 debut album rather unsentimentally (but probably to the point) ‘Reggae Owes Me Money’.
‘Ragga Twins Step Out’ collects all the biggest tunes of the North London duo, ranging in styles from Dancehall reggae to rave anthems and proto-Dubstep darkness.
On darker material like ‘The Truth’, ‘Hooligan 69′ or ‘The Homeless Problem’, the Twins pre-empt much of the sound and feel of today’s Dubstep scene. Check out the mad snare on ‘Hard Drugs’ which could have snuck out on a contemporary Dubstep label like Skull Disco or Tectonic. These tracks sound totally fresh in 2008.
If there’s any signs of ageing, then it’s the beats that put a definite 1990s tag on the music collected here and the absence of sub-bass richness that comes with today’s production equipment.
Overall, these tunes have aged well and ‘Ragga Twins Step Out’ is still able to rock your next party.
Listen to ‘Ragga Twins Step Out’ here.
Check out the Ragga Twins debut ‘Reggae Owes Me Money’ and download the original album from iTunes.
We say: 
