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Interview with Paul Zasky (Dubble standard)

Your name: Paul Zasky
You live in: Vienna and Los Angeles
Title of your last album: Dubblestandart meets The Firehouse Crew Reggae Classics

Tell me a little about yourself.

I would basically consider myself the driving force behind all of the issues Dubble standard and soon The New Blade Runners Of Dub describe. BUT, I am nothing without the crew, I use to say. Ali, our man on the trumpet, who is with House Of Riddim, and Robbie Ost are my backbone without them, nothing works. In spite of the difficult existential conditions for a band like ours, they have been keeping my pace for decades. You have to bring that up and I respect and appreciate that very much. That is something that you cannot hold together with money, that is a spirit that is there or not.

At the beginning of the 90s I was part of the original community of musicians here in Vienna, who are interested in sound, post new wave, psychedelic, early electronic music and then soon Dub & Reggae. We had and still have the rehearsal room (it was also our first studio) opposite Flex, the most important club in the Viennese universe for us at the time, where Suga B, Gümix & Sweet Susi Dub and played all of its varieties - from 1990 onwards.

Many people and musicians came and went with us. Most of them had good ideas, but there also had to be someone who would put them into practice and make sure that music was created that could be pressed onto a record. That's why I'm going at some point ...

Robbie was always the man behind the machine and after I had mixed the first couple of albums in the 90s myself (on 4 and 8 tracks), he took over and switched to hi-tech.

I was also always responsible for the contacts to labels, booking, promo, etc. and traveled around the world between Vienna, New York, LA and Kingston. I got to know a lot of people, from which many friendships and collaborations have developed over the years.

In Jamaica in particular, my good friend Devon Denton opened a lot of doors for me, too Sly & Robbie, Ken Boothe, Dillinger, of Firehouse crew etc. Nicolai from Echo Beach met us with Ariup, Adrian and the OnU Sound Posse brought together. David Lynch I just mentioned it after our show at the Elysee Montmartre in Paris at the opening of the exhibition. There are still many examples. I am very grateful to many people.

What is your personal definition of Dub?

Landscape painting with sounds.

What makes a good one Dub out?

To create an atmosphere that inspires, where acoustic fantasy worlds emerge and at the same time special attention was paid to the "distinct" rhythm, its mix and the detailed sound processing.

What aspects of Dub-Music do you find most fascinating?

That it is an open style spectrum and enables a lot.

How do you have your passion for Dub and how did you discover yourself and your music?

When I was around 16 or 17 years old - in the mid 80s - I got myself Taxi gear: “The Sting” and “A Dub Experience ”from Sly & Robbie Bought in the then “Hand In Hand” reggae shop in Vienna. The crew there were Rastas from Kingston and Addis Ababa and a bit cooler and more relaxed than the rest of the city. They also had a lot of specialist knowledge of the productions at the time, sales and the international scene. That fascinated and attracted me. Shortly afterwards "Megaton 1" from Lee Perry. I was fascinated by the pushed bass and drum lines as well as the psychedelic flanger and phaser loops on the sounds of Lee's 8-track productions. Shortly afterwards I have the Singers & Players and Creation rockers discovered on OnU-Sound and that's it. Dub For me it was the logical further development of everything that had interested me musically until then.

How does the creation process of a typical Dub-Tracks from you guys?

Usually some groove or bass line is buzzing around in my head long before we do a session with the band. At some point we go into the studio and build instrumental live sessions on that. Then there are new ideas from the rest of the crew. Then we select the jams and play the best-offs precisely with a click.

The time after that I spend with Robbie in the studio where the actual tracks are created. Often it takes a completely different direction than the session. Every now and then we bring the guys back for single oversdubs or do collaborations with artists. All keyboard parts, analog synth sounds, samples etc. are done exclusively by Robbie and I, as this defines our sound. To that extent is Dubblestandart is a two-step project: Robbie and me and the band are producers who then implement this sound live, but who are also responsible for the original soup in the creation process.

Before there is a mixdown, we work on the sound and arrangement for a long time. Before a final version, we work on the sounds, effects, the actual sound of drums and bass, as well as real and electronic instruments. For me is a Dub not the freestyled live mix of one version. For me is a Dub a complete independent song with voices, sound samples and real world noises, which follows its own structure and dramaturgy. Robbie then often draws from these very concrete soundscapes Dubs for vinyl decoupling, etc.

When are you with one of your produced Dub-Track satisfied?

I produce them Dubs never alone. If we both say it is, then it is. In words not 2 be defined.

What about producing Dub most importantly?

Authenticity. There are no laws in making music. There is just pigeonhole thinking. But music is free and that also applies to ideas. People should trust themselves a lot more. I would like future generations to be more willing to experiment.

What is your particular strength?

I'll stick with it, especially when it gets uncomfortable.

Which album do you think is your best?

"Immigration Dub"," Marijuana Dreams "and"Dub Realistic ".

Can you make a living with music?

No, it never has and probably never will. I keep my feed on the ground. What I earn with music, I reinvest exclusively in productions.

What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?

Making music is neither a hobby nor a job. At some point you start with it and it becomes the most important thing in your life, around which you build everything: relationship life, family, money business.

What do you dread in the studio?

Time pressure and when there are too many people. It's distracting.

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

I am involved in one or the other cultural project, in autumn I will also start as an actor in a theater production, a little deejaying, and also deal with AI and psychotherapeutic topics. Also started a new band project in LA.

What do you hear besides Dub?

Alternative music, reggae, electronic music, drum 'n' bass, industrial, downtempo, hip-hop, avant-garde, jazz, singer song writer.

If money and time weren't important: Which project would you like to realize?

"Sade in Dub"And" Nine Inch Nails in Dub".

Are there any sound system events that you particularly enjoy attending? Why?

Currently corona-related nada. Otherwise everything that goes with bass music is usually very cool here at Fluc in Vienna! Otherwise: Subaudio, Basstrace, RAW, Donnerdub, Treasure Isle, the legendary Dub Club in Flex back in the day. Truly missed!

Which do you prefer: studio work or sound system performance?

Studio work, then live performance with the band, then Selector at a Sound System. So is the order.

Who is the greatest for you Dub-Artist of all time?

Adrian Sherwood

And who is currently the most interesting Dub-Artist?

Year 9

Which sound system do you like the most?

Jah Shaka and OnU sound system.

What are your personal top 5 Dub-Albums?

Dub Syndicate: "Stoned Immaculate"
Sly & Robbie: "A Dub Experience "
Burning Spear: "Living Dub Vol 1 "
I-Roy: "Dread Baldhead"
Lincoln Sugar Minott: "Ghetto-ology Dubwise "

One reply to "Interview with Paul Zasky (Dubblestandart) "

Sometimes you feel like DubFan really pretty alone in the world.
But interviews like this can refresh my heart and mind just as much
and my joie de vivre in the FYAAAH FEELING, which is well known for reggae friends
kindle again and again.
“Shortly afterwards I discovered Singers & Players and Creation Rockers on OnU-Sound and that was it. Dub was for me the logical further development of everything that had interested me musically until then. "
This sentence could come exactly 1: 1 from me. I don't know why but when I read this sentence I immediately got goosebumps. It's not cold here at all. I just don't know who the Creation Rockers were or are, but I may also know them as Creation Rebel.

Who is the greatest for you Dub-Artist of all time?

Adrian Sherwood

I couldn't have given another answer to that either !!

And even with the top 5, I've already thought about whether I would be the first to name the “Stoned Immaculate” if someone would call me
would have asked for it. But basically I couldn't do a top five Dub Calling albums as my favoriteDubs on all
DubAlbums in the world, are scattered. In addition, I would already be half a second after "Submit comment"
annoy that I didn't add my other top five Dub Called albums.

There is one thing I have subtle contradictions or I didn't understand it correctly. "Think in boxes"!

I could possibly be put in the pigeonhole of the pigeonhole thinker because some Dubtry
going too far or deviating too much from the reggae groove. But then I wouldn't accept that
because taste and feeling have nothing to do with pigeonhole thinking, let alone pigeonhole.

First make middach (someone just got fresh kebab) ………………… .. lemmi

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