Invidious

Lincoln Valentine “Style” Scott, a beloved member of the On-U Sound family.

Style’s involvement with On-U Sound goes back to Adrian Sherwood’s earliest recordings in the late 1970s playing with Creation Rebel on 1978’s ‘Close Encounters of the Third World’, and 1979s ‘Rebel Vibrations’, as well as being a member of Prince Far I’s backing band The Arabs where he collaborated once again with Sherwood on 1980s ‘Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter III’.

Style went on to play with a host of On-U acts such as New Age Steppers, African Head Charge, Bim Sherman and the Singers And Players, but Dub Syndicate - initially one of the many studio-based projects masterminded by Sherwood - would become the main vehicle for Style’s output on the On-U Sound label.

Often Style would lay down backing tracks in Kingston, Jamaica, sending the tapes to the UK so Adrian could arrange overdubs and work his mixing board magic when the tapes arrived in London. Almost all of Dub Syndicate's output was released by On-U Sound until the late 1990s, when Adrian helped Style set up his own Lion & Roots imprint, continuing to help out with co-production and mixing assistance.

That legacy was continued in 2025 with Sherwood going back to some of the original Dub Syndicate tapes to produce ‘Obscured By Version’, an album of new material released on 28th February 2025.

In addition to many much-loved studio albums such as Stoned Immaculate, Dub Syndicate also became a barnstorming live act and a staple of the festival circuit. An irreplaceable and unique musical talent is gone, but his music will live on forever.

Photo by Coneyl Jay