Blanc du Blanc, who is that? I have to admit, I've never heard of this band name before, even though they've released two highly recommended albums ("The Blanc Album"; "Regatta du Blanc du Blanc") and an EP ("Wind of Change") in recent years. The band even collaborated with the legendary Lee "Scratch" Perry on "Wind of Change" - the Scorpions ballad - and yet they still sailed under my radar. Blanc du Blanc is a heteronym. On the one hand, it's an imaginary character who currently performs wearing a cape and mask. On the other, it's also the face of a group of ever-changing musicians from New Jersey who defy easy characterization and describe themselves as "created by an undercover artist, working as an agent for Monrovia."
It's a group of musicians, led by mastermind and bandleader Chris Harford. They perform undercover live and have connections to bands like Morphine, Bad Brains, and JRAD. Chris Harford is definitely no stranger to the American music and art scene and is truly a jack-of-all-trades. He's a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and painter and has released several albums with his band "Band of Changes" since 1992.
In the world of Dub / Reggae, musicians and producers typically rely heavily on old, analogue equipment and techniques. Not so with Blanc du Blanc. Unlike other bands' recent releases, which use almost historic equipment, the album "Before the Beginning" was clearly created in the digital age and is reminiscent of more modern producers like Bill Laswell.
Now let us come to the actual object of desire: The project “Scientist meets Blanc du Blanc: Before the Beginning“ (Soul Selects Records) is not just the meeting of two brilliant artists – it is the clash of worlds, frequencies and timelines. Scientist, the DubThe pioneer who has shaped the sound of generations takes the spectral transfers of Blanc du Blanc and transforms them into something earthly yet cosmic. He lets otherworldly sounds collide with deep-rooted Jamaican tradition. Scientist is in his element and delivers what the Dub-Heart desires: Hypnotic delays, interstellar reverbs and fat basslines that resonate through the galaxies. They form a portal to a new Dub-Dimension where the echoes of the past meet the future of sound. Scientist blends analog warmth with experimental drift, taking us on a sonic journey through space and time. It explores frequencies where the bass vibrates like cosmic waves.
Scientists' trademarks remain: live mixing and a focus on sound. These are consistently present, overlaid by more abstract contributions from Blanc du Blanc. Traditional DubMotifs are replaced by filtered synths, ambient textures, and subtle dissonances. This is definitely not about the rhythm, but about the mood. The structure definitely gives way to a tonal drift. For me, one thing is clear: this is music for hanging out and letting go.
10 Responses to “Scientist Meets Blanc du Blanc: Before the Beginning”
Yeah man
“Hanging out and going with the flow”... I don’t think there’s anything I can do better.
And if such a mystical and very relaxed DubAlbum that touches the soul in such a healing way as “Before The Beginning”
you wish for an “Easter Tuesday” as well.
I am completely thrilled with these Dubs. What magic!
Wonderful!!! Bass and drums also unfold for me a comforting and deeply rooted warmth and security, which simultaneously fills me with a strong power that cannot be trained in any weight room (or gym). These vibes come through to me so confidently and beyond all doubt and let me get a little taste of that which is perhaps only reserved for shamans with a very good connection to the in-between world. Here I "learn" more about quantum physics, relativity, and space and time than in Albert Einstein's entire theory of relativity. Which is of course partly due to the fact that I will probably never comprehend the theory of relativity, let alone understand it. Yes, with such sounds and such a magical groove, I have to at least try to verbally escalate it beyond the usual level. Here, I only seem to be partially successful, as I lack the words to express my fascination for this DubAlbum. It's not just the rhythm carpet that makes me float and fly, but also the use of the instruments – especially the wind instruments – and of course the use and type of "sampled" effects, right up to the use of the voice of the greatest magician of all time, Lee "Scratch" Perry, in "Infinity's Edge". The sampled percussion in the intro naturally awakened great memories in me, which were then confirmed by the voice, even if it was just a cough with a small comment from "Mr. Magic Magnificent Perry". Exactly the same, I've heard it before in the intro to "Jungle" on the legendary album "Time Boom" by DUB SYNDICATE!
What also strikes me as extremely positive are the wind instruments—especially the saxophone—which aren't allowed to present any "provocative" melodies. As soon as the saxophone starts singing an annoying (for the lemmi) aria, the scientist skillfully intervenes and, with reverb and echo, sends it through a wormhole into some parallel universe, or perhaps even completely out of space.
I don't care, as long as it's gone. Scientist uses the saxophone, like all his other wind instruments, more as a means to an end for spherical effects, and doesn't allow it to sound like a squawking toddler at the supermarket checkout because it can't get a lollipop again. No offense. I have nothing against small children, but this constant whining because they don't always get their way is sometimes a bit too reminiscent of a Dean Fraser saxophone solo. And even if I used to be the same, it doesn't really make things any better.
It is not easy for me to find a Dub to find one that stands out from the rest Dubs on the album stands out particularly. They are all EXTRA CLASS! However, I would like to use the example of "Difficulty at the beginning : ….. " to describe how gigantic such a Dub The drums play One Drop, which in my mind creates a connection to the maximum leverage of a connecting rod in the engine room of an ocean liner. The saxophone plays along with it.
(maybe it's just a synthesizer in this case) not a Rosamunde Pilcher melody, but functions more like a signal horn for a very large ship that is just entering the harbor. Added to this are effects that remind me of a concert of frogs in a large mangrove forest in the middle of the Amazon region, which I could have heard there about 3000 years ago. For connoisseurs, the whole thing then transitions into a very fine piano playing, which is then transferred back into the mangrove forest by the scientist and, with the Magic Reggae rhythm, also adds the whole magic of DubMusic unfolds. Scientist in top form! (No mistake!)
Shortly before the end of this Dubs, it's shown again that the step rhythm won't necessarily solve humanity's problems. Therefore, it then transitions nicely back into the One Drop.
I think the album is far too good to look for a fly in the ointment, but unfortunately, there's one tiny hair floating right at the top of my head. It's not nearly as bad as I've experienced with other albums – including Mad Professor's – but I think the percussion instruments, especially those with some brass, have a bit too much treble going on, so that in the long run, my enthusiasm for these great Dubs might decrease a little. Especially where you can best hear the album, namely while "hanging out and letting go" at home on the reggae couch, the excellent bass sound will not be quite as supportive as it is here at work. But these are only the fears of a DubConnoisseurs, who in their lifetime was never able to afford an independent venue within their own four walls. Well, maybe it's better for the durability of my own ears.
A truly excellent DubAlbum!!! ………………….. lemmi
A truly melodious album and another scholarly highlight. If there's a flaw, for me it's the length of the tracks. I just listened to it and got the vibe (or it got me). Bam, the next one comes along. Especially when attempting to delve into the transcendent, as the album title and cover suggest (or want to?), time shouldn't play a role...
There might be a trick ;-) I don't know exactly how it works, but if you move as fast as light, time stands still (if I'm not mistaken). It's then virtually infinite, or even nonexistent, or you can't even feel it anymore. As I said, "theory of relativity"! Who understands that?
Anyway, if that doesn't help, I have another suggestion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMFFvMtMC8M
One can argue about whether it really Dub is but I count it DubMusic. It certainly worked for me. I still wasn't as fast as light, but essentially, not even a second passed and I stopped moving around the room. I felt like I was just made of vibrations.
Well, a little bit of quant is necessary …………………. lemmi
I just found a nice document that fits this:
This is absolutely insane! I'm going crazy here!!!
How awesome is that?!!! The sound is more than acceptable. But the music is absolutely fantastic. Even the selector in the warm-up is a blast.
If anyone can tell me which tune starts around 2:10, I'd be very grateful! It almost sounds a bit like Richie Spice to me. But I don't know the tune, or I simply haven't consciously heard it yet.
The concert itself is just an absolute blast! And those costumes... just totally my thing. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time again. If I were ever to experience a concert like that again, I would never complain in any way. This is the stuff my dreams are made of.
Thank You Ras Vorbei ! You've really hit the nail on the head again.
Well... and a selector who also has in his set "DubBing Is A Must” is, for me, the crème de la crème.
Great show here! No! Not here, but there!!! ……………. lemmi
hi lemmi,
Yesterday, I remembered that while researching for the review, I'd read somewhere that a record release party had taken place on April 26th at the Antique Barn in Hillsborough, New Jersey. A quick search, and hey presto, I promptly found it on YouTube.
The event feels like a small, family-friendly gathering among friends. Everything is very relaxed and pleasantly manageable. This would 100% have been my concert, too.
I'm glad you like the video. I also think it visually rounds out the review of Blanc du Blanc and Scientist nicely.
Record – release – party?!
So there's a proper disc for the album!? Or do people celebrate these days when they sell data? Of course, that makes sense. Considering what Babylon will do these days for a few data points.
Sorry, but the video is giving me some unpleasant side thoughts. It really was just a small family celebration, and when I look at the audience, I can't imagine that anyone was so excited. I wasn't there, otherwise you would have seen what it's like when someone Dub goes through the roof.
But "never judge a crowd by its face." That's dubious, I admit.
Who is really in charge in this world? Is it the few DubHeads, or is it the 7,9 billion others who would rather get a fourth cell phone so that their "goody bag" on the passenger seat of their SUV isn't so empty? Well, that doesn't really add up when you consider that around 733 million people are starving and around 120 million have been driven to flight by some orcs and won't be able to get their feet back on the ground.
They are starving in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In Europe and the USA, only a few children of single mothers are starving, and in Germany, an increasing number of pensioners are. Therefore, I would say that we DubHeads aren't the only ones who are completely out of sorts here on Earth. Babylon works best when it's really, really broken.
Ah! How did I end up back at this stupid Babylon?
“babylon makes the rules” …………………… lemmi
Hi lemmi, Scientist actually signs an LP at the beginning of the video – it seems to have existed – whether it's still available, I don't know. (I don't know.)
Nothing specific, I don't know. Let's take a look ;-)
Exactly rischdish: I'll give it two thumbs up, lemmi!
(In short: two thumbs up, …)