Creation Rebel

British ensemble Creation Rebel weaves dub reggae textures that fuse cosmic speculation with Rastafarian heritage. The musicians first assembled as the touring unit behind iconic Prince Far I, an early production project for Adrian Sherwood. Their initial recordings, beginning with the 1978 album Dub from Creation on Sherwood’s Hitrun label, later supplied the core players for numerous On-U Sound sessions. In 1980 the collective unveiled its experimental landmark, the filmic suite Starship Africa; several further releases followed before the band dissolved after Prince Far I’s murder in 1983. Four decades later the group reconvened, delivering the 2023 album Hostile Environment.

Prince Far I’s early Crytuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1, issued under the Arabs moniker, showcased guitar by Crucial Tony, bass by Clinton Jack, keyboards by Bigga Morrison and drums by Fish Clark. Much of that same roster appears on Dub from Creation, the first Creation Rebel LP, which Dennis Bovell engineered and which surfaced in March 1980. John Peel endorsed the disc on his program, calling it the finest British dub album he had encountered, and the musicians accompanied Prince Far I for a Peel Session. Later that year Close Encounters of the Third World introduced drummer Style Scott, while Rebel Vibrations arrived in 1979. The visionary, ahead-of-its-time Starship Africa finally reached listeners in 1980, two years after tracking. The more roots-oriented Psychotic Junkanoo followed in 1981, featuring John Lydon’s guest turn on “Mother Don’t Cry.” Threat to Creation, a Cherry Red collaboration with Sherwood’s New Age Steppers collective, came next, and Lows & Highs appeared in 1982. Activity ceased after Prince Far I’s death, though a limited cassette titled Return from Space surfaced around 1984.

On-U Sound later anthologized early material on the 1994 Historic Moments volumes, and the digital compilation Vibrations: 1978-1982 emerged in 2017. In 2023, forty years after the original split, Creation Rebel returned with Crucial Tony, drummer Eskimo Fox and percussionist Magoo, again produced by Sherwood. Hostile Environment included archival vocals by Prince Far I alongside contributions from Daddy Freddy and Denise Sherwood. All On-U albums were gathered in the 2024 box set High Above Harlesden 1978-2023.