For over 20 years, The Expanders have captivated a wide audience with their interpretation of golden-era reggae. Guitarists John Butcher (guitar, vocals) and Devin Morrison (guitar, vocals) grew up together and, by their own admission, were influenced by the record collection of renowned reggae archivist Roger Steffens, which forms a large part of their passion and "reggae knowledge." The Los Angeles-based band plays classic roots reggae from the 70s and early 80s with a healthy dose of Californian flair. The Expanders formed in the summer of 2003 and worked on their self-titled debut album of original compositions between 2006 and 2010, which was finally released in 2011 on Man-Like Records. Another key member of the band is graphic designer, sound engineer, and bassist J Bonner, aka The Dub Adventurer, who perfectly captured the "Jamaican retro sound" the band was aiming for. It's fair to say that his contribution to the Expanders' debut album made him an indispensable part of the band. J Bonner met the band in the mid-2000s when he was the bassist for the Aggrolites. Together, they began working on their first official studio recordings. J also designed the epic album cover with his wife, Nick Idem. The recordings for the recently re-released debut took place at Killion Sound Studio in Los Angeles. The album was then mixed at J's studio, where complete [unclear - possibly "mixing" or "mixing"] was also created. Dub-versions and two disco remixes of most of the pieces in the classic Dub-Mixings from the 70s and early 80s that have remained unreleased until now. That's why the Dub-community all the more so that the recordings “The Expanders: Merciless Dub – The Expanders Dubwise at J's“(Easy Star Records) finally released. It would have been a real shame if it hadn't been. This beautiful, somewhat martial cover is also by J Bonner.”
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The Expanders: Merciless Dub – The Expanders Dubwise at J's
2 replies to “The Expanders: Merciless Dub – The Expanders Dubwise at J's“
I bought "Hustling Culture" by The Expanders in 2015. After that, I kind of forgot about them. Not because I didn't like the album, but because I simply missed their other albums or because they didn't pass my sound check. Now I'm reading, for example on Wikipedia, that they also produced two albums of Jamaican cover versions. I have to be honest, I'm not really interested in such cover versions because – from my perspective – that was the beginning of the end of my very good relationship with UB40. They played all of it well, and especially nailed it live, if I'm not mistaken. But I preferred UB40's style when they still had their own "definition" of "jazz". DUB REGGAE"
They contributed to reggae as a true innovation. But that's just to explain why I didn't research the Expanders' music further. It's quite possible that I missed out on some great cover versions as a result.
In my opinion, they succeeded very well with "Hustling Culture," particularly in creating bass lines with a Jamaican flair, or perhaps simply covering them. "Meciless" is also excellent. Dub“This has been very well done in this respect. Unfortunately, they even tried to reproduce the “bad style” of Channel 1 in some parts. There's a lot of static and crackling. “Snowbeast” sounds like something I don't want music to sound like. But I'm probably just too sensitive. Otherwise, everything from the bassline to the effects is exactly to my taste. They especially appealed to my taste with “Dub In The Valley” and “Race Is Dub" met.
I'm melting again! Overall, I've noticed that the DubThe effects are already quite crisp, but there's still room for improvement in their diversity. But that's nitpicking, if anything. It's a nice album, even if I'd need to get used to the overall somewhat harsh sound in the long run. It's funny how I am. I don't actually need such a polished sound, or so I always tell myself. Deep down, though, a perfect sound seems to be very important to me. However, I do think that the drums, and occasionally the guitar and other instruments as well, have been mixed a bit harshly. That was certainly intentional, but does the DubThe atmosphere also lost a bit of its magic. Mind you! That's just my feeling! I'm sure others can see or hear it completely differently.
Never mind! The bottom line is, it's still a great thing. DubAlbum!
“Stop The Violence” …………………. lemmi
The Expanders have an incredible sound. Their 2017 album "Old Time Something Come Back Again, Vol. 2," featuring cover versions, is absolutely fantastic. Live, it's a blast—check out the Sugarshack Sessions; on vinyl, it's a killer. Sure, you can hear the American influence in some of their original compositions, but hey… Cheers! DubI've been waiting for this album for a while now, but it hasn't "crossed my path" yet...