Captain Planet - Dig [2LP]

Dig is Captain Planet doing what he's built a career on, tracking down actual musicians across continents rather than sampling them from a laptop, spread across 2LP.

Charlie B. Wilder has spent years as a DJ and producer bridging global roots music with hip hop, dancehall, and house, and this record leans hardest into the collaborative side of that approach, guest after guest drawn from wildly different traditions: Haitian vodou singer Erol Josue, Brazilian percussion legends Trio Mocotó, Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen. That last credit carries real weight given Allen passed away in 2020, making Tony's House one of the last things he ever put his hands on. Bastard Jazz, the label Captain Planet has called home for years, releases it here as one of his most ambitious efforts yet.

O Xangô rides Trio Mocotó's percussion into something genuinely festive, decades of Brazilian groove distilled into four minutes. Tony's House carries obvious weight given the circumstances, Allen's drumming instantly recognisable even filtered through Captain Planet's production. Kamsi, with Azuka Moweta, leans into highlife's bright, rolling guitar tradition, and Mi Calor closes the record with Chico Mann for a warm, Latin-inflected finish.

Eleven tracks, a dozen traditions, and a producer far more interested in collaboration than sampling. The results sound like it.

Tracklist

LP 1

1. Queen Of Thunder (ft. Erol Josue)
2. O Xangô (ft. Trio Mocoto)
3. Canta el Agua (ft. De Mar y Rio)
4. Tony's House (ft. Tony Allen)
5. Need To Move

LP 2

1. Kamsi (ft. Azuka Moweta)
2. Barco Velho
3. Master Plan (ft. DRM)
4. Cocoase (ft. Santrofi)
5. Thirst No More
6. Mi Calor (ft. Chico Mann)