[Column] New Age Steppers: The revolution of an action label that reconnected the strata of post-punk and dub

Column en 70s 80s Dub Post-Punk

19 Nov 2025

[Column] New Age Steppers: The revolution of an action label that reconnected the strata of post-punk and dub

Prologue: Destruction and Reconstruction of London in 1979–80

Text: mmr｜Theme: About the history of the “mixed team” that symbolized On-U Sound and the innovations it left behind

In London at the end of the 1970s, even though the punk explosion had subsided, society was still plagued by many rifts such as unemployment, division, strikes, and discrimination against immigrants. The scene seemed like a wasteland, but its crevices became a hotbed of music. Post-punk artists quickly moved beyond the rock format into dub, reggae, African percussion, noise, electronic sounds, and DIY recording techniques.

It was precisely during these complex times that a young producer named Adrian Sherwood rose up and began forming the vast network that would become known as On-U Sound. And the earliest ““symbols” and ““thoughts themselves” were none other than New Age Steppers.

Chapter 1 Who were the New Age Steppers?

New Age Steppers (hereinafter referred to as NAS) is not a normal “band”. The members changed with each album, and the style, which was a mix of post-punk and reggae musicians, was almost unheard of at the time.

The core person

Adrian Sherwood: Producer/Director of On-U Sound
Ari Up (The Slits): Vocals
Mark Stewart (The Pop Group): Vocals
George “Bingy Bunny” Valentine (Roots Radics): Guitar
Style Scott (Roots Radics): Drums
Bruce Smith (The Pop Group): Drums
Steve Beresford, Dan Shears, Eskimo Fox and many more

This structure was born from the confluence of ““reggae session culture” and ““post-punk experimentalism.” In other words, what are New Age Steppers?

“Musical body as an intersection of genres = hybrid project”

It was an existence that valued ““variability and contact’’ rather than a fixed identity.

Chapter 2 Adrian Sherwood and the formation of On-U Sound

Sherwood had been involved in reggae labels and distribution since the 1970s, and had deep connections with Jamaican musicians. At the same time, he interacted with post-punk acts such as The Slits, The Pop Group, The Fall, and Alternative TV, and intuitively understood the ““distrust of the existing music system’’ that they felt.

In 1979, he started On-U Sound to maximize his experiments. NAS was the earliest symbol of this, establishing the impression that “On-U Sound = a cross-border, DIY sound laboratory.”

Chapter 3 Innovation in Sound: Fusion of Post-Punk x Dub

● Post-punk aggression

Rough and minimalistic
Destroy the structure of the lock
Noise, improvisation, politics

● Jamaican Dub Method

Rhythm-centered
Spatial processing (echo/delay)
Track “deconstruction and re-editing”

The core of the NAS recordings was Sherwood’s desktop dub mix, and rather than using the played sounds as they were, they were rearranged and spatially processed after recording to give them new life. In particular, the tight grooves of the Roots Radics group and the rough and wild energy of the post-punk side create a ““shaking and tension’’.

This fusion was shocking even for Britain at the time. This is because there was a deep cultural gap between the Jamaican immigrant community and the white punk/avant-garde crowd in London, and there were very few musical projects that directly interacted with each other.

NAS is recorded as an early example of straddling that gap and creating a space for co-production.

Chapter 4 Ari Up and “weapon called voice”

The face of NAS is Ari Up, a member of The Slits. Her vocals were a unique blend of Jamaican toast, post-punk screams, and girlish abandon.

Ari has been deeply into reggae since his teens, so joining NAS was a natural progression. Her voice is often primal, shaking, breaking, tearing, and dancing. This flows throughout the work as an “energy of resistance against society.”

Their version of the cover song “Fade Away” is known as one of the strongest reinterpretations in post-punk history.

Chapter 5 Changes by album (1981–2012)

■ “New Age Steppers” (1981)

A debut work that most symbolizes the spirit of NAS. Ari Up”s presence, Roots Radics’ performance, and Sherwood”s tabletop dubs all came together to set the standard for hybrid music.

Representative song

Fade Away
My Love
Love Forever

■ “Action Battlefield” (1981)

It’s more aggressive and has a strong post-punk feel. Mark Stewart’s participation strengthened the agitation.

■ “Foundation Steppers” (1983)

It’s the most “reggae-like” song as NAS, and the sense of stable groove increases. This work also has strong socio-political themes.

■ “Love Forever” (2012)

After Ari Up’s death, Sherwood released a memorial work that included unreleased recordings. A very important document that contains Ari’s final energy.

Chapter 6 Place in music history: Why are New Age Steppers important?

1. Pioneering project that transcends genre boundaries

NAS led the way in creating a structure that put post-punk and dub on the same table and centered on “experiment.”

2. The core of On-U Sound

Without NAS, subsequent On-U projects such as African Head Charge, Dub Syndicate, and Tackhead would not have been born.

3. Popularization of the concept of “mixed membership system”

The ““collective philosophy,’’ which does not limit music to fixed band members or genres, was inherited by the later Bristol scene, Trip Hop, and the world’s underground.

4. Symbol of cross-border culture

It is also emblematic in British cultural history for its practical collaboration between immigrant communities and white post-punk figures.

Chapter 7 Recording technology and studio aesthetics

Sherwood’s studio method is “About half of the work is created after recording” It was so dub-like that the engineering itself was an act of composition.

Key technologies

*Roland Space Echo

Spring Reverb
4-track to 8-track analog processing
Emphasis on drum/bass separation
Cut and paste live recording material
Dub method that turns fader operations into performances

This aesthetic continues in current electronic music/ambient/bass music.

NAS was more than just a musical project; it became serious in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s.

Youth unemployment
Immigration discrimination
Skinhead violence
Brixton Riots
Cuts in public services

It has a background of social issues such as.

Ari Up had a long history with the Jamaican immigrant community, and Mark Stewart had an anti-capitalist stance. Even if NAS did not directly post political lyrics, ““making music as an experiment’’ in a multicultural society was itself a political practice.

Chapter 9 Dissipation and expansion of influence

After 1983’s “Foundation Steppers,” works under the NAS name ceased. But its influence spread far and wide.

● Area affected

Bristol’s Massive Attack, Tricky, Smith & Mighty
UK Dub, Digital Dub
Experimental / Post-Industrial *Alternative Dance
DIY label culture

NAS can be said to be an extremely modern model in that it has made “crossing genres” the norm.

Chapter 10 Re-evaluation and the death of Ari Up (2010)

Ari Up passed away in 2010. Deeply affected, Sherwood compiled unreleased takes and past recordings and released them as 2012’s ““Love Forever’‘.

This work not only concluded the history of NAS, but also reaffirmed the importance of Ari.

Chapter 11 “Thoughts” left behind by New Age Steppers

NAS is based on “Do not divide music along the lines of nationality or genre” This is the idea.

And this thought

Multicultural coexistence
Anti-authoritarianism
DIY spirit
Ethics of collaboration It is still deeply alive today in the form of

The prototype for the “genre-crossing creation” that 21st century musicians routinely engage in is surprisingly close to what NAS did.

Chronology

1979 Adrian Sherwood begins preparations to launch On-U Sound 1980 Recording of New Age Steppers begins (Ari Up, Mark Stewart, Roots Radics participate) 1981 “New Age Steppers” released 1981 “Action Battlefield” released 1983 “Foundation Steppers” released 1984-2000 NAS activities virtually ceased 2010　Ari Up passed away 2012 “Love Forever” released (Memorial work including unreleased material)

Structure map of New Age Steppers

graph TD A[Adrian Sherwood
Producer] --> B[Ari Up
The Slits] A --> C[Mark Stewart
The Pop Group] A --> D[Roots Radics
Session Musicians] D --> D1[Style Scott
Drums] D --> D2[Bingy Bunny
Guitar] B --> E[New Age Steppers
1981-2012] C --> E D1 --> E D2 --> E E --> F[On-U Sound
Experimental Dub] F --> G[African Head Charge] F --> H[Dub Syndicate] F --> I[Tackhead]

Conclusion: New Age Steppers is “current” music

Although the work was made over 40 years ago, the sound of New Age Steppers still sounds new today. This is the premise of music production after the Internet.

Collaboration across borders
Genre hybridization
Fusion of production and engineering *DIY studio culture

NAS, which pioneered these trends in the early 1980s, can be said to be the prototype of modern music.

The sound they left behind was intense, rough, swinging, bouncy, and sometimes destructive, but at its core, it was about being free. That freedom continues to be felt in On-U Sound’s work and underground scenes around the world.