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Christafari: Prophetic Dub

Christafari, the musical family business of Pastor Mark Mohr, is well known here in dubblog.de at least since the review of their “Dub Supreme“-albums. In short, the act is primarily about deeply religious lyrics, mostly carried by (sometimes classic) roots riddims, all recorded and performed in opulent 1A quality. The whole thing is obviously going very well, as evidenced by extensive tours and streaming numbers (which sometimes run into the millions - even if you only use Spotify as a benchmark). However, one cannot speak of great popularity in the hardcore reggae communities, since Christafari - nomen est omen - appeal to a predominantly Christian audience and it presumably makes a big difference whether and which god you promote in reggae circles. 

Now, whether you appreciate the band’s regular releases or not, the associated Dub-Albums are definitely recommendable, as they scrape the essence out of the overproduction and lose much of Mark Mohr's all too present voice. The latter also dominates the 2024 album "The Prophet“, which oscillates between roots and dancehall and also makes an occasional EDM excursion. 

In 2025 Christafari will start with the “prophetic Dub“ (Lion of Zion Entertainment), the diet-treated brother of last year’s prophet, and a first look into the album confirms the above assumptions: Christafari’s albums can cope with the slimming down very well – away with the vocal overkill, out with many brass sections that sometimes sound suspiciously like synths and in with lots of light, but by no means lightweight Dub-effects. To ensure that the whole thing doesn't float away, there is plenty of grounding with bass - not always and everywhere, but where it fits.

Whether an EDM version was really needed is debatable; crossover attempts are nothing new - we've known about them since Marley, Wailer, Tosh & Co. So anyone who wants to rock out will be catered for.

Ultimately, the “Prophetic Dub“ a hodgepodge of different styles, the high points of which can be found where one indulges in either bass-rich roots or ethereal, floating sounds (“Jerusalem DubThe rest is 4-on-the-floor mediocrity that leaves the critic relatively unimpressed.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

3 Responses to “Christafari: Prophetic Dub"

I would say, “I am A Dub Minded Man".
The very big difference I noticed when listening to the Dubs in contrast to the vocal versions makes me realize once again that I am already above the normal spirituality of an ordinary Christian. (Please do not over-interpret this sentence ;-) )
I don't need any lyrics to experience or feel the message of reggae. Style Scott has already used the Dub Syndicate always stresses that the message is also transmitted through the musical vibes. I'm exaggerating again, especially when it comes to my own spirituality. But I make up some sentences as I write them. That can sometimes go a little too far. In any case, the spirituality of reggae and Rastafari and everything around it wouldn't interest me in the slightest if it didn't have such a divine groove as a foundation. Nothing against the "Redemption Song" but without the Wailers I wouldn't know Bob Marley. Music without bass and drums leaves me cold, or doesn't interest me in the slightest (exceptions prove it...).
So I don't know anything about Christafari's VocalTunes. Only spot checks always lead me to the conclusion that I don't need the singing. But I particularly like the Empress, who seems to sing there quite often. I'm rarely in the mood for "sappy" music, but I do think it's nice how the lady lets a feeling of peace flow into my (our) body and brain cells. We could really use something like that here, especially at the moment. But well, those who need it most continue to listen to classical music and go to the opera and have their screwed-up heads scratched with pompous noise. (Oh man, I'm really going crazy again). Yes, there is certainly classical music that I like, but most of it sounds like the end of the world to me. It's not for nothing that in the film "Apocalypse Now" they listen to Wagner (!) while they bomb the Vietnamese with napalm bombs. OK, sure, it's just a film, but it's based on true events. I don't know if they really listened to Wagner, but it certainly wasn't Bob Marley. The bad thing is, I found this "Wagner tune" not only very fitting in the film, I actually like it. I'm full of dark sides.
In any case, I find this DubChristafari's album is really great.
So far I have not had a single DubAlbum by Christafari, which I don't like. But even though I think this album is great,
That does not mean that I DubTune really needs. For me, it only really starts with “Way To Go Dub“ really starts. Riddim and effects have the right (spiritual) power to rekindle or maintain my belief in the good in the world. And yes, “hodgepodge of different styles” really hits the nail on the head and so I would be inclined to DubTune individually but I don't really feel like it. "For me, the album could have been an EP that was released by "Way To Go Dub" until finally "Dub Minded Man”. These 5 DubVersions have everything my Dubheart needs, or rather needs. Above all, rich riddims and an unbridled joy of playing with DubEffects that delight my heart and soul.
After that it becomes a bit arbitrary for me and I can’t find a real “DubBlogBuster". I also find it strange that I liked the EDM tune at the first sound check and now I'm sick of it. So EDM is not particularly sustainable for me. It goes bad quickly. And the occasional brass players in keyboard style have always been a necessary, economic necessity for me, as it is much cheaper to replace three or four brass players with a keyboard. And even that is being worked on, because now all instruments, be it with strings, drums or keyboards, are being replaced by very simple ones and zeros that are supposed to come from the "brain" of a so-called artificial intelligence. The music producers are happy about that, because then they finally no longer have to pay these annoying musicians. The instrumental version "Open The Door" has a lot of oomph for my taste. However, I've now got to the point where I trust an AI to do that. But it's not monotonous enough for that. Until now, AI always seemed like an endless loop to me.

So long for now …………………… lemmi

Well, lemmi… I like classical music and especially contemporary classical music á la Max Richter (although the term “contemporary classic” sounds a bit strange in my opinion :-). But nobody is allowed to sing for me here either… a parallel to Dub.

As far as AI is concerned, the Dubworld currently feels filled with AI-generated Dubs flooded. They sound very much like the originals because their sounds, arrangements and stylistic peculiarities are used. But that doesn't mean that they are original or even have a soul... see Rudebwai Stailee & Co.

Reply

Of course gtk!
I don't really know why I always have to complain about it. There is some great classical music. I've even heard it here and there. Now and then I even got goosebumps from Pavarotti or the ladies from The Marriage of Figaro. But it's really a day's work. I've just checked out a few "tunes" by Max Richter. They're not really bad either, but I really miss the drums and bass. And DubThere are no effects either ;-)
But when classical hits, I don't feel any pain either. Still, I ask myself what you have to take to be able to endure an entire opera. With reggae, I know what I have to take, but with this singing by tenors with innate autotune in their voices, probably only Spice from the planet Dune will help...
Maybe a phase shift in the perception of frequencies is enough. Or it is simply a pathological aberration of taste. Oops, I just can't stop complaining about things that I have no understanding of. It's a weakness of mine but I stand by it.
I think AI in music or in art in general is completely superfluous. Music, painting, photography and, yes, art, are forms of human expression in which people often reveal parts of their soul. Sometimes this happens in comments, but it's about people expressing themselves. People reveal something about themselves. Who wants to know what goes on between the ones and zeros in an AI?
An AI may certainly be a good tool here and there, but it cannot and should not try to take over or even replace people's ability to express themselves artistically. That can only miss the point.
Just yesterday I saw a documentary on TV where the whole thing is being abused in a completely sick way. There are actually people who want to continue to exist as AI after they die. Yes, they even talked about continuing to live.
I also ask myself where they get such good stuff from to cloud themselves so much. I don't know what happens after death. You're probably just gone and no longer exist. It's actually not so bad if you've had a fulfilling life. You don't have to freeze in the winter, you don't feel any pain and nobody bothers you anymore. And you certainly won't be able to think about your state in death or even struggle with it. You're just gone. If our mind and our thoughts only have a biological cause, we're completely gone. There's no getting around that.
If (!) Yes, if it weren't for the word "if". But if it does somehow continue, then I definitely don't want to continue to exist as an artificial intelligence. I might wake up in some matrix and have a bunch of tubes in my rectum or anus, which is actually quite normal in everyday language as an ass. Why all this stiff label?!
Mmmmmmmh yes. I'm (just a little) sorry. But I don't have and I'm not an AI. My thoughts aren't as rational as they could perhaps be better conveyed by an AI. And as I "said" it can happen that parts of a soul are revealed in a comment. It happened to me again here but I personally didn't think it was bad.
I would love to wake up on a planet where everything is almost exactly the same as here. Only without hunger, without thirst, without disease, without loneliness, without fear, without frost and without heat waves, without war, without homelessness and without suffering.
AND WITHOUT AI!

Greetings…………………… lemmi

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