Categories
Interview

Interview with Jah Schulz

Your name: Michael Fiedler

You live in: near Stuttgart

Title of your last album:
"Dub Showcase”, from 2022. The new single “Stories” was released on March 1st, 3

What is your personal definition of Dub?
future music

What makes a good one Dub out?
He puts a spell on you, hypnotizes you. In fact, if I get a little sleepy at home, that's a good sign.

How do you have your passion for Dub discovered and how have you and your music developed since then?
I am via detours (jungle, breakbeats, techno) to Dub came. Reggae didn't interest me much at the time. But the music I loved as a child and teenager has always had a lot to offer Dub to do: bass lines, delay, Dub-Samples. As a young adult in the late 90s, I discovered Tubby & Contemporaries.

How does the creation process of a typical Dub-Tracks from you?
Very different. An interesting sample or loop, a theme. The rest will come by itself.

When are you with one of your produced Dub-Track satisfied?
At some point it just “clicks”. I'm not a perfectionist, that's an advantage. Some tunes take a little longer, others work within hours. But sometimes I bite my teeth out. But at some point a good feeling in my stomach tells me: it's done now.

What about producing Dub most importantly?
Imagination, willingness to experiment, not afraid of mistakes.

What is your particular strength?
I can work very quickly when I have a concrete idea.

Which album do you consider your best?
"Dub over science” from 2020 on Basscomesaveme.

Can you make a living with music?
Yes. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. I'm musically very versatile. alone from Dub but living wouldn't work.

What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
Playing live and the creative exchange with other artists. I improvise z. B. very happy with others at my performances.

What do you dread in the studio?
Too many people look over my back while I'm producing. I can only endure that for a very short time. That doesn't apply to musicians who are currently working with me in the studio, that's fine then.

When you're not at Dubs screwing, what is your favorite thing to do then?
About Dub think.

What do you hear besides Dub?
Everything imaginable. Really!

If money and time weren't important: Which project would you like to realize?
Time and money don't matter at the moment, I just feel like I can do the things that I enjoy. I am currently working on a SpokenWord/Dub Plate. There is time, but things are moving slowly, mainly because it is difficult to find artists to take part. However, if money really weren't an issue, I'd have a sound system in my living room.

Which do you prefer: studio work or sound system performance?
Both is important. I love sound system events. you inspire me Often afterwards or during it I have the feeling that I have to go to the studio and start my machines immediately.

Who is the greatest for you Dub-Artist of all time?
Jimi Hendrix meets King Tubby

And who is currently the most interesting Dub-Artist?
There are many producers that I think are great. Too many to name all. But there are currently notable releases from Babe Roots, Om Unit, Bukkha, Tjah, Kaptan, Another Channel, …

Which sound system do you like the most?
Respect goes to everyone who takes on such a project. I always find that really impressive.

What are your personal top Dub-Albums?
Massive Attack Meets Mad Professor: No Protection
Rhythm & Sound: W/ the Artists
Dub Syndicate: Classic Selection Volume 2
Alec Empire: Low on Ice
Disciples: Infinite Density of Dub

Categories
Review

Benjah and EK: Dust Off the Dubs

Dub is known to be a subgenre of reggae. But also Dub breaks down again into various sub-subgenres. Insanely, even a sub-subgenre, like Steppers, is made up of different ways of playing. There would be z. B. the old-school steppers we know from classic UK sound systems. Iration Steppers, Disciples or Jah Warrior are typical representatives. Then there is a younger school that is a bit more experimental. Alpha Steppa, Kanka or Jah Schulz come to mind here. And then there's the school that produces pure fodder for Sound Systems. A very special sound that is not so easy to describe. Instead of putting it into words, I recommend listening to this album: Benjah and EK: "Dust off the Dubs' (Lions Den). Benjah and EK are two young producers from France. They also operate under the name "Bedrin Records" and offer exactly the sound that forces the selector to rewind on sound system events. With a little imagination, the whole thing could be described as “technowise Dub" describe. The rhythm is XNUMX% reggae, but the productions have completely abandoned the mimicry of handmade music, the rhythm is maximally repetitive and all references are closed Dub and reggae in the form of samples, MC vocals and "jah" calls or sirens are absent.

The Berlin label Lions Den, which specializes in sound system music, has long been into the sound of the two Frenchmen and therefore decided to dedicate an album to them, on which they present the best Dubs of the last few years into a thick package of 20 tracks. I feel like Lions Den, I also like this uncompromisingly concrete sound, especially the polyrhythms forced by the drums did it to me. However, there are also some pretty bad ones among the 22 tracks (11 instrumentals plus Dubversions), in which sluggish synth orgies spoil my fun, or I'm overwhelmed by boredom because of the unimaginative beats. Maybe not everyone would Dub it deserves to be dusted off.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Categories
Review

Captain: Dubs from the Vault

Dub is now produced all over the world, of course also in Germany (but ironically hardly in Jamaica). Not only do we have one of the most prominent in Hamburg Dub-Labels worldwide, but also a well-hung generation of established ones Dub-Producer. With people like Jah Schulz and Kaptan, there are also young talents in the starting blocks. Both, Schulz and Kaptan, are committed to pure, uncompromising sound systemDubs, which derive their immersive power from pure bass presence and stoic, repetitive beats. The focus here is no longer on the virtuoso mix, or even a pale memory of a vocal version that doesn't exist anyway, but on the pure, abstract-concrete sound driven by the bass. Kaptan has just presented his debut album: Dubs From the Vault (Basscomesaveme) which I am currently listening to with great fascination. With the traditional Dub-Schema doesn't have much in common with this album either. But all the more with Jah Schulz - and on the last track also a lot with Rhythm & Sound. So it's expressly not about heavy steppers, but about slower productions in which the bass spreads out like a swollen yeast dough. All pores and cavities of Dubs are pervaded by the bass batter. Drums and offbeat swirl around like raisins. Just delicious! Although the title suggests otherwise, the "Dubs From the Vault" current productions and by no means material that was once lost in the archive. The album only has seven tracks - which is due to the release format, because if you want to physically own the album you actually have to buy an audio cassette. Luckily there is also a digital edition with perfect sound.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Categories
Review

Kino Doscun & Youthie: Sahar

I love it when yourself Dub mixed with atypical musical cultures. Dub and classical music has always fascinated me, the combination of Dub and jazz I love very much and also the mixture of Dub with Nordic melodies I have fond memories of some productions. That reminds me: I had one of the first encounters of this kind on an album by the Twinkle Brothers, which they had recorded together with some Polish violinists. What was it called? Doesn't matter. What has always worked great is the combination of Dub with oriental harmonies. I'm thinking of the Spy from Cairo and others. How nice that we finally have this exciting sound again in the form of a successful album: "Sahar(Merkaba Music) by Kino Doscun & Youthie. Trombonist, flautist and accordionist Youthie might Dub-Be well known to fans. Just think of their fantastic Macca Dread productions. Youthie is now a guarantee for good music. But who is Kino Doscun? My research leads me to a certain Dino Coskun who is a sound engineer at the Opéra National de Paris. His specialty is remixing and Dubpracticing oriental music by playing oud, saz, guitar and percussion, looping and then in dubBig sound textures transferred. On "Sahar" he is responsible for almost all instruments. Youthie is limited to trombone, flute and accordion. The result is a fascinating one Dub-Melange of complex oriental melodies, sensitive instrumental solos, of course lots of bass and restrained reggae beats. Everything is interwoven in complex arrangements and mixed with virtuosity. Were it not for the echoes and reverb, "Sahar" could be mistaken for an elaborately arranged instrumental album. The music is unmistakably based on reggae basslines and regularly sounding offbeats, but the strong oriental character of the instruments and the melodies lead us to the limits of the genre - and at the same time prove to us how universal reggae and Dub could be.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Categories
Review

Pama I'ntl Meets Wrongtom in Dub

The eight-piece band Pama International was founded in 2001, and they call their music “Dub Fueled Ska Rocksteady & Reggae”. There is already a certain contradiction in this description, because Dub and ska and rocksteady don't actually go well together (if you disregard the work of Victor Rice). In 2006 the band signed a record deal with Trojan Records - as the first band in 30 years. But two years later, the fun was over. The pamas then founded their own label "Rockers Revolt" and recorded the album "Love Filled Dub Band", which is considered one of their best. Although the album (according to its title) already from strong Dub-Elements, the London sound inventor Wrongtom was commissioned to create a Dub-make version. But his recordings disappeared into Nirvana and (allegedly) remained missing until 2022. Now they have miraculously reappeared and are now on the album "Pama I'ntl Meets Wrongtom in Dub' (Happy People). A big story about a reasonably simple album. Yes, Wrongtom did a good jobdubbt, but the result remains kind of colorless. But maybe that's also due to the pronounced retro style of the recordings. One looks in vain for the magic, depth, intensity and spirituality of good current productions. The sound remains comparatively noncommittal and irrelevant. Yes, the whole thing looks a bit uninspired - just like the cover. Who, however, Jamaican Dub 1970s might have a different opinion here.

Rating: 3 out of 5.
Categories
Review

Le Faune Stepper: Paradoxes

If you fancy cracking steppers, Le Faune Stepper is the place for you. On his new album "Paradox’ (ODG) the bass drum hits the floor in staccato. In addition, there are sometimes very bad synth sounds. So bad it's fun again. And of course lots and lots of bass. Since the experienced trumpeter Robin Pavie is behind Le Faune Stepper, we also hear many beautiful wind solos, which are sometimes reminiscent of Balkan sounds. In general, you have to use some imagination when composing his Pavie Dubs concede. So many fine melodies adorn the often brute stepper beats. It's almost a shame that the Faun obscures the artistic aspects of his work with his distorted basses and brutal beats. On the other hand, the contrast between finely crafted elements and brutal anarchy is particularly attractive. Like all ODG albums, "Paradoxe" is also available free download available. It's also available on stream - and if you want to do a good deed, you can do so too Bandcamp also buy.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Categories
Charts

Dubblog annual charts 2022

It's that time again: We serve you ours Dub-Top 5 of the year ending. As you can see, diversity counts for us. How could it be otherwise with such a diverse genre? We look forward to your comments.

Top 5 from René

Horace Andy: Midnight Scorchers

A Dub-Treatment by Adrian Sherwood that goes well beyond the borders of Dub goes out.

Mysticwood: The Mystic Way of Dub

Full arrangements, nice bass lines, classic ones Dub-Techniques and analogue equipment - a Swiss quality production.

Death by Dub: Abundance

An album with beautiful brass melodies, composed with inspiration and produced to perfection. Everything is right here.

JonQuan & Associates

Double pack consisting of vocal versions and Dubs. Produced and mixed by Victor Rice. The authentic sound of real instruments is refreshing and the musicianship is impressive.

Errol Brown & The Revolutionaries: Conference Dub

Here is one of the great old masters of Dub on the controls, who was always overshadowed by Tubby & Co. But it's not just the mixes that are great, the productions are too.

Top 5 of Ras Vorbei

Ambient Warrior: Dub Journey's

It's nice that there are still labels that make it their business to make such extremely rare, unique ones Dub-To save sounds from oblivion.

Sabab presents: Dubplate Pirate

Riddims for Eternity! Classics congenially reworked by Sabab.

Horace Andy: Midnight Scorchers

Over 40 years of legendary and unique On .U sound. This is how the slightly different one works Dub.

Eeyun & The Co-Operators - Vibrations from the Bionic Tabernacle

Then it was about time. Finally some fantastic ones Dubs on the wonderful vocal templates from Bristol.

Black Uhuru: Taxi Trax

Ultra rare A-Sides, Dubs and Dubplates from the strongest phase of the best Black Uhuru ever.

Top 5 from Helmut

The Soul Revivers: Grove Dub

Shaped by London's nu-jazz and the golden years of the roots era, Nick Manasseh has delivered the most beautiful reggae album of the year with "On The Grove". "Grove Dub' is the equivalent counterpart.

Boris Gardiner Happening: Super Ultra Dub Flight. 1

Two untraceable, enigmatic and priceless LPs come to light. Nobody knows who mixed them where. Most of the vocal tunes can't be figured out either.

Boris Gardiner Happening: Ultra Roots Dub Flight. 2

Both ultra LPs are from the mid seventies. The enigmatic and the unsolved questions ensure fascination. The restored sound is fantastic. The mysteries remain.

Rockers All Stars: Chanting Dub With The Help Of The Father

A 1978 reissue. Not the best pressing, but it was in the full broadside mixes by Prince Jammy at King Tubby Dubs goes down.

Paul Baldini Dubfiles: LAB in DUB

Paolo Baldini currently masters the keyboard of effects and on & offs like no other. The artwork, reminiscent of Linton Kwesi Johnson's "LKJ in DUB“ from 1980 ensures the place in the top 5.

Top 5 from gtk

Dub Vallila: Katakom Beat

The ultimate surprise in 2022: The Finns can also do reggae! In this case it's instrumentals, by an excellent horn section, but also wonderful ones Dub- Effects, brand King Tubby, benefit.

Joe Yorke: Noise and Emptiness

A surprising debut album that relies on catchy riddims, Yorke's sure-toned falsetto and fine brass sections. The whole thing is reservedly distinguished in the best sense of the word – as the supposed reputation of the British demands.

Gaudi + Savona: Havana Meets Kingston in Dub

Gaudi defoliates tracks from the overly lush "Havana Meets Kingston" albums. What remains are wonderfully slimmed down Dubs that focus on drums, bass and successful hooks.

Horace Andy: Midnight Scorchers

Adrian Sherwood, after a few excursions into genre-unrelated realms, is finally turning back to it Dub re: Brilliantly polished remixes characterize this companion album to the vocal release "Midnight Rocker".

LAAm Dub

An album that stands out solely and only because of the fine Dubmixes by Paolo Baldini crept into the top 5. This is all the more remarkable as the originals deserve the title of slick pop-reggae.

Categories
Review

Palmer in Dub

Hey, what does eighties pop icon Robert Palmer have to do with reggae? you don't know? Here's the whole story:

Robert Palmer is well known (but perhaps forgotten now) for his performances in smart suits, with a band of wireless models in their instruments. But the singer, who died in 2003, was more than the dandy of the MTV generation. When Palmer conquered the charts in Germany with "Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible", the cosmopolitan Brit was already looking back on a highly respectable discography that went far beyond Steam Hammer Pop.

Raised in the north of England as a teenager, Robert Palmer discovered his passion for American black music and played in a number of soul and R&B inspired bands before being signed by Chris Blackwell to his new label Island. After the debut "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley" recorded in New Orleans with the Meters as backing band, Palmer moved to New York and discovered reggae for himself: He named his album "Pressure Drop" (1975) after the Toots & The song Maytals, which he covered. After another move to the Bahamas, the album Double Fun was produced at Blackwell's Compass Studio in Nassau, including the classic Every Kinda People, later appropriately covered by Chaka Demus & Pliers. In those days, Palmer also frequented Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark studio in Jamaica, hoping to tap into the spirit of the resident reggae genius. However, the session didn't go as hoped: the local Rastas enjoyed teasing the white singer, the Perry-produced mix "Best of Both Worlds" remained unreleased (including Dub), and in the end only the single B-side "Love Can Run Faster" was released. After this episode, Palmer set the course for the eighties and the chart highlights of his career with the albums "Secrets" and "Clues" as well as the disco-funk "Looking For Clues": rock guitars, Prince-inspired funk and finally The Power Station Chic musicians Tony Thompson and Bernard Edwards, and Duran Duran's John and Andy Taylor.

“But what would have happened if everything had gone smoothly at Black Ark Studio that day? If Palmer had stuck to Jamaica and its vibes and produced all his past and future hits in this legendary studio?" asks the Echo Beach press release and the label also gives an answer in the form of the album "Palmer in Dub« (Echo Beach).

Interesting musicians contributed to it: drummer Achim Färber (Automat, Ben Lucas Boysen), sound artist Max Loderbauer (Ambiq, Moritz von Oswald Trio), bassist Zeitblom (Automat, Pole) and Ingo Krauss (sound engineer, partial mix, formerly Connie Plank Studio), and DEADBEAT (Scott Monteith) and Doug Wimbish.

The result is – shall we say: interesting. Perry would certainly not have agreed with that. Apart from the fact that Robert Palmer's voice, which is overwhelmed with echoes, is only annoying, the rhythms didn't turn out really well either. They just sound monotonous and uninspired. The sound is dull and even the bass doesn't develop any dynamics. To make matters worse, some songs are repeated up to three times (in slightly different mixes) on the album. There is even a separate song from the song »Jonny & Mary« Remix album with 8 versions of the track. The crazy thing about it: It's more varied than »Palmer in Dub«. We here in dubblog love Echo Beach's work, but with »Palmer in Dub« our favorite label cannot convince us.

Rating: 2 out of 5.
Categories
Review

Soothsayers Meets Victor Rice and Friends in Dub

vocal first, dub second (if at all), that's the motto for most Dub-Factories. This order is also logical. Of the Dub is known to be mixed from a vocal original, so it must inevitably come second. Most bands and producers take their time with the second step. Much time. Commercially it makes little difference since that Dubalbum is only appreciated by a very, very small audience anyway. But they still exist, the bands and producers who disregard this practice and the Dub be given the same status as the original. Like: the Soothsayers and Victor Rice. The band's new instrumental album "Soothsayers Meets Victor Rice and Friends in Dub" (Red Earth Music) was released to coincide with Soothsayers Meets Victor Rice and Friends. Two grandiose albums that actually fit equally into this column, because the "Original" is a purely instrumental album.
The Soothsayers are a British band based in London. Formed in 1998 by two brass musicians (Idris Rahman and Robin Hopcraft), it embraced ska, reggae and afrobeat. Sounds to which she has remained true to this day. Accordingly, their music is dominated by powerful brass sections, mostly fast shuffle beats, many jazz influences and a very analogue studio sound in general. Not surprising, then, but of absolute perfection and irrepressible joy of playing. Above all, the jazz borrowings ensure a beautifully complex structure that contrasts congenially with the repetitive rhythm. It is also beneficial that both the speed of the beats and the arrangements vary greatly from piece to piece. This is how the instrumental album becomes the right listening experience.
The Dub-Pendant adds the remix layer. But of course, better stands out Dub through a clever reduction to the essentials. Producer and remixer Victor Rice knows this, of course, and consequently eliminates more than he adds. Without a doubt, Rice is exactly the right man for the job. He was socialized as a bassist, sound engineer and producer in the New York ska scene of the 1990s and 2000s. In 2002 he emigrated to São Paulo in Brazil, founded his own band, produced and remixed countless albums (among others he became one of the most important producers at Easy Star Records) and dealt intensively with in particular Dub. The latter is a rather unusual decision for a ska musician, since ska is a type of music that, due to its speed, has little room for Dub leaves. Well, Victor Rice made his USP out of this dilemma and has stood for fascinating ones for a number of years Dub-Versions of ska or ska-influenced music. That's why his name appears in the Dubblog regularly.
On "Soothsayers Meets Victor Rice and Friends in Dub' he once again delivers a prime example of his art. His Dub-Mixes fit organically into the complex structure of the instrumentals and create a completely new, original interpretation of the originals. That Dub-Album has a completely different tonality than the instrumental album. While the latter is like fireworks, the Dub-Version more like a campfire to warm yourself around. Concentration and introversion instead of exuberant temperament and unrestrained extroversion. Both have their appeal, but we friends of the Dub naturally tend to do less than more (only with the bass it's the other way around ;-). By the way, Victor wouldn't be Rice if he didn't already have some of the instrumentals with soft ones Dub-Effects equipped. So there is only one recommendation: just stream both albums!

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Categories
Review

Gaudi + Savona: Havana Meets Kingston in Dub

"Havana Meets Kingston" was a big deal in 2017. Following the example of Buena Vista Social Club, Jake Savona aka Mista Savona - reputedly Australia's "leading reggae producer" - invited veteran Cuban musicians to veteran Cuban and Jamaican studios, where they met veteran reggae musicians such as Sly & Robbie , Ernest Ranglin, Bongo Herman and others met to record music together – and of course to make a documentary (which apparently never came to fruition). A huge effort that paid off with the (relative) success of the album. But it would be a shame not to use the recordings further - and that's a good idea Dub-Album on! Anyone who thinks so big cannot hire just any remixer, which is why Savona turned to Gaudi, who also enjoys fame and respect outside the reggae cosmos. Gaudi took five years, around nine Dubs to mix that up now "Havana Meets Kingston in Dub" (Mista Savona) find. Maybe he has thought through every turn of the knob intensively and weighed it up against alternatives, in order to actually make one after months of planning Dub record. But maybe he was just in a severe corona lethargy. Anyway, it's finally here, that Dub-The album is out and it turned out really well. Gaudi's meticulousness pays off, because the sound and mix are simply superb. However, a lot would have had to go wrong in order not to turn the brilliant templates into brilliant ones as well Dubs to peen. The arrangements are simply great and the perfect craftsmanship of the musicians leaves nothing to be desired. So: Gaudi gives us a wonderful Dub-Album that would have been worth waiting for had you known it was planned to exist. I'm even of the opinion (no wonder) that the Dub-Version of the album is better than the original. The sound is tighter and the overstuffed arrangements have been reduced to a level that really allows each individual instrument to come into its own. Gaudi is pretty reluctant to use reverb and echo, because enough is already happening without them. Perfectly dosed, I would say. It is also noticeable that the organic live sound produced by Savona is a very appealing contrast to Gaudi's more electronic tracks Dub-Mixing stands. Altogether certainly one of the notable ones Dub-Highlights 2022.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.