“I’m making an album,” my husband, James, announced one afternoon.

Just days later, he had recorded an album and was sending it out to be mastered by the famous Dubmatix. James was always creating in one way or another, and he’d toyed with the idea of creating a solo album for quite a while. And then one day, inspiration and motivation collided and he got to work. James worked miraculously fast, with music flowing out of him as if it were put there when he was born for this exact moment. My office is right across the hall, and it seemed every time I turned around to take a peek, some huge hurdle had been conquered.

“I finished a song!” he’d declare with a smile that seemed to emanate from his very soul.

It’s a remarkable thing to watch someone dive so deeply into what they love, and create something with such unbridled enthusiasm and dedication. This was a passion project, in the truest sense of the word.

Through The Arcadia Sessions: A Dub Experience, James has written an instrumental love letter to his favorite genre. Dub has shaped James’ entire perspective on music, informing the way he listens, works, and thinks. Classic dub artists like King Tubby and Scientist are always on rotation, along with more modern artists like Dubfader and Pachyman.

The first song on The Arcadia Sessions is called “Sunrise,” and like the album title, it’s an ode to the street on which the album was recorded, Arcadia Sunrise Drive in Henderson, NV. It is at once confident and bold, and also light and disarming. Like a classic rootsy dub with a splash of freshly squeezed orange juice, “Sunrise” starts us off on the right foot.

Almost all of the songs on the album have meaningful titles, capturing an essence or a feeling that the song is trying to portray. Track two, “Fillmore,” is no exception. Fillmore is Sly Dunbar’s middle name, and the drums in this track are heavily inspired by him. The steppers beat is constantly moving, a poetic tribute to the famous drummer. The driving, Western-style guitar and spring reverb bring a fresh perspective to this dub album.

After a trip to the desert to view the Orionids meteor shower, James named track four “Orion.” The song is spacey and beautiful, like stargazing with your ears. In the background, the reverb and delay of an unheard drum hit make you feel like you’re up in space hearing black holes and stars dying. The effects on this tune are heavily inspired by Scientist and Alborosie, and Alborosie’s Dub Station plugin is a common thread throughout the album, giving it that classic King Tubby sound.

“Ocean Avenue,” track six, is a happy, upbeat rocksteady tune inspired by bands like The Slackers and The Aggrolites. I mentioned to James that it sounded to me like a walk along the Jersey Shore where I spent time as a child, and he decided to call it “Ocean Avenue” after the street where the house we’d rented was on. The song really does feel like a stroll along the shore, with the summer sun beating down and a refreshing ocean breeze reflected in the airy reverb.

This debut album by dub-fanatic James Pasqua is an engaging, unique collection of instrumental songs that is sure to captivate people of all audiences, introducing dub to an entirely new subset of people who might not otherwise partake in its wonder. James’ talents are quite evident in these eight exceptional tracks, highlighting his knowledge of dub and reggae as well as his distinctive sound. For fans of dub, reggae, and good music in general, The Arcadia Sessions: A Dub Experience is not to be missed.