by Don Snowden Sonic explorers who recall a Mediterranean version of Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound gang, Almamegretta occupies a strange zone of its own. In its native Italy, the quartet is a major underground-alternative success celebrated for singing in Italian (actually Neapolitan) dialect and introducing dub/mix culture there. All but unknown elsewhere, its command of creative sound science has led to collaborations with such dub underground stalwarts as Sherwood, Bill Laswell, Massive Attack, and Asian Dub Foundation. Almamegretta has restlessly experimented with melding its Mediterranean melodies with modern dancefloor grooves that extend beyond the Jamaican roots/ragga/dub foundation. Almamegretta (an imprecise term that roughly translates as "migrant soul") was formed in 1991 by Gennaro T (beats), Rais (vocals), and Gianni Mantice (drums/guitar/vocals). Paolo (keyboards) and Tanini (bass) joined the next year and the group started off p...