【コラム】 New Age Steppers：ポストパンクとダブの地層を繋ぎ直したアクション・レーベルの革命

Column en 70s 80s Dub Post-Punk

19 Nov 2025

【コラム】 New Age Steppers：ポストパンクとダブの地層を繋ぎ直したアクション・レーベルの革命

Prologue: Destruction and Reconstruction of London in 1979–80

文：mmr｜テーマ：On-U Sound を象徴した“混成チーム”の全史と遺した革新について

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. パンク後のアーティストたちは、ロックの形式から飛び出し、ダブ、レゲエ、アフリカン・パーカッション、ノイズ、電子音、DIY録音技術へと急速に飛び込んでいった。

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.

核となった人物

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?

“ジャンルの交差点としての音楽体＝混成プロジェクト”

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. 同時に、The SlitsやThe Pop Group、The Fall、Alternative TVといったポストパンク勢とも交流を持ち、両者が抱える「既存の音楽体制への不信感」を直感的に理解していた。

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

● ポストパンクの攻撃性

Rough and minimalistic
Destroy the structure of the lock
ノイズ、即興性、政治性

● Jamaican Dub Method

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

NASの録音は、シャーウッドによる卓上ダブミックスが核心であり、演奏した音をそのまま使わず、録音後に再配置し空間処理することで新たな生命を与えていた。 In particular, the tight grooves of the Roots Radics group and the rough and wild energy of the post-punk side create a ““sway 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. 彼女の声はしばしば原初的で、揺れ、破れ、裂け、踊る。それは“社会に対する抵抗のエネルギー”として作品全体に流れ込む。

カバー曲 “Fade Away” のヴァージョンは、ポストパンク史の中でも強烈な再解釈として知られている。

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 vibe. Mark Stewart’s participation strengthened the agitation.

■ “Foundation Steppers” (1983)

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

■ 『Love Forever』（2012）

Ari Upの死後、シャーウッドが未発表録音などをまとめて発表した追悼作。 Ariの最後期のエネルギーを閉じ込めた非常に重要なドキュメント。

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

1. Pioneering project that transcends genre boundaries

ポストパンクとダブを同じテーブルに置き、「実験」を中心に据える構造はNASが先頭を切った。

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

移民コミュニティと白人ポストパンク勢の実際的なコラボレーションという点でも、英国文化史において象徴的である。

Chapter 7 Recording technology and studio aesthetics

Sherwood’s studio method is “録音後に作品の約半分が作られる” というほどダブ的で、エンジニアリングそのものが作曲行為だった。

Key technologies

*Roland Space Echo

Spring Reverb
4-track to 8-track analog processing
ドラム／ベースの分離強調
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
スキンヘッドの暴力
Brixton暴動
Cuts in public services

It has a background of social issues such as.

Ari Upはジャマイカ移民コミュニティと長く交流し、Mark Stewartは反資本主義的な姿勢を取っていた。 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.

● 影響を受けた領域

Bristol’s Massive Attack, Tricky, Smith & Mighty
UK Dub, Digital Dub
Experimental / Post-Industrial
Alternative Dance
DIYレーベル文化

“ジャンル横断”を当たり前にした点で、NASは極めて現代的なモデルと言える。

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

Ari Upは2010年に死去する。シャーウッドは深い衝撃を受け、未発表テイクや過去録音を整理し、2012年『Love Forever』として世に送り出した。

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が根底に置いたのは、 “音楽を国籍・ジャンルの線で分けない” This is the idea.

そしてこの思想は

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

The prototype of ““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』リリース
1981 “Action Battlefield” released 1983 『Foundation Steppers』リリース
1984-2000 NAS activities virtually ceased 2010　Ari Up passed away 2012 『Love Forever』リリース（未発表音源を含む追悼作）

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
ジャンルのハイブリッド化
制作とエンジニアリングの融合
DIYスタジオ文化

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, bouncing, and sometimes destructive, but at its core, it was about being free. その自由は今も、On-U Soundの作品や、世界中のアンダーグラウンドシーンに脈々と受け継がれている。