Lightning HeadStudio DonReview

Taking his name from a phrase that appeared in an interview with Lee Perry, Lightning Head refers to the idea of inspiration and not, for those of you that were wondering, some freakish meteorological accident. El Head as he is sometimes known, is ex Rockers Hi-Fi main man, Glyn Bush and Studio Don is the first offering under the new moniker. Fusing latin, samba, reggae, dub and house, this wonderfully international record is made all the more surprising by the fact that it has been made by one young man living and working in Dorset.

By his own admission, the self-congratulatory title is actually a play on words based on the legendary Studio One in Kingston. Like the familiar Jamaican sound of the seventies, Dorset's finest has its own set of sonic anchors: guitar, drums, bass, Hammond organ, clavinet and monosynth. That said, the El Head sound is embellished time and again with steel pan percussion, the odd echo-meter or reverberator and various bits of machinery that go boing.

The funky dancehall break "Me and Me Princess" was the track that started Mr Bush's new musical journey way back when. This is a beautiful in its simplicity and a perfect illustration of how few components in the right hands can become supremely catchy. The pure party vibe on "Superfunky Bird" sees Colliston White on mic detail and puts things on an Afro house tip.

In keeping with reggae tradition Studio Don has a couple of cover versions on it. Jean Jacques Perreys "E.V.A." is reworked in a dub steel orchestra style whist "Steelsation", a reworking of the Saturday Night Fever classic, also receives Caribbean treatment. The personal favourite has to be the drifting and gentle dub workout "Step On Out" with Monterria's emotive vocals giving the soul a good old stir.

Bush is gifted producer and it's no wonder that he has the likes of Gilles Peterson, Kruder and Dorfmeister, Ross Allen and Ashley Beedle singing his praises. Studio Don is a truly global affair and the mark of a musician who is engaged, informed and impassioned enough to go out on a limb for us all. We suspect that Mr Bush might be a very nice man too!