Music is a conversation - The Jamaican Parliament Audio database (JPAD) by dj Afifa

The Jamaican Parliament Audio database (JPAD)

About the author
Dj Afifa is a selecta and researcher. She makes sound projects and spaces inspired by music. Her work is released on the Sounds of Life label. Visit www.djafifa.com and www.disoundsoflife.org for more dub stories. 

The Jamaican Parliament Audio database (JPAD) is a project about national memory and the history of Jamaica. The database is a collection of audio recordings of sittings from the Jamaican Parliament from 2016 to present.

Jamaica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea originally called Xaymaca, by the Arawak indigenous population. In 1494 the Italian sailor Christopher Columbus captured and claimed the island for the Spanish Empire. In 1655 the island was recaptured by Admiral Penn and General Venables for the Queen of England and it became a British colony.

The British ruled Jamaica directly for 307 years, agreeing to grant self rule in 1962. Jamaica is a democratic nation with its government organized on the West minster system. George William Gordon House is the home of the Jamaican Parliament. The Parliament is the center of the political and legislative life of the nation. The Parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Elected members of government sit in the House of Representatives and members of the Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition.

Excerpts of the database are currently being aired as a one hour radio programme on Zanj Radio in Jamaica and Decolonizing the Archive Radio in England. The programme is accompanied by a dub music soundtrack featuring releases from Dubwegians and The Dubbstyle, on the Dubophonic label.

The first four selections on the programme’s soundtrack are from the “King of Dub” album (2020) by the Dubwegians, a Scottish band. “King of Dub” is a tribute to Jamaican producer King Tubby. The album name is the same as a 1979 classic by another dub pioneer Bunny Striker Lee recorded at Channel One Recording Studios in Jamaica for Clocktower Records. The opening track called “Cut through Dub” is the most familiar, it is the Ali Baba/Arabian Dub riddim originally done as a Ska/Rocksteady track by John Holt, Tommy McCook and the Supersonics at Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle studios in 1969. This track has a lot of history, the King Tubby version is called “Hijajck the Barber” performed by the Aggravators in 1974. In 1975 Sonia Pottinger, Jamaica’s first female producer released “I Shave the Barber” and “Barbering” Dub by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics on the High Note label. Ali Baba is definitely a Jamaican Classic.

The second set of selections on the programme’s soundtrack is from the “Sun is Dub” album (2019) by The Dubbstyle, an Argentinian duo. They describe the album as “a journey into the dub sounds and the cultures of the world. Sometimes melodic and organic, other times rhythmical and heavyweight, the dub is to be heard in all eight tunes of the album”. They maintain a heavy bass feel with some new dimensions, particularly on the Bob Marley sampled “Sun is shining” track and the “Simona rework”.

You cannot tell a history of Jamaica without music. Following the music closely will help you to understand the soul of the island and how that conflicts with the identity of the nation. Dub music emerges in Jamaica as a genre and a practice in the late 1960s. It is the creative use of studio technology by Jamaican people with a strong memory of Africa. Dub music is African music. Dub music is Bass music. Africa gave birth to the Drums, the Drums gave birth to Bass and the Bass gave birth to Dub music in Jamaica. Dub is the reminder that the story of Jamaica is the story of Africa, the story of the violent collision between the old world and new world.

Dub has given birth to many other genres of music and Dub music producers worldwide continue to draw inspiration from the music discovering and reinventing dub. This is how music becomes a conversation. The music starts in one place and extends itself, so there can be different versions and nterpretations. The JPAD soundtrack is a reminder that Jamaica is an important nation. It is an island nation with a history that we can learn many lessons from.

Listen live to excerpts of the database on Zanj Radio every Sunday 6-7pm (-5UTC) and Decolonizing the Archive Radio every Wednesdays 3pm (BST). For more information about the memory project and the Jamaican Parliament Audio database email disoundsoflife@gmail.com.

 

A soundtrack for the Jamaican Parliament Audio Database by dj Afifa
 

Please also see links to archived episodes

https://archive.org/details/jpad-zanj-radio-ep-5

https://archive.org/details/jpad-zanj-radio-ep-3

https://archive.org/details/jpad-ep4

Red Star Martyrs vs Dubophonic All-Stars - Time for Tea

The Red Star Martyrs return with the 2nd EP on Dubophonic. This time the UK musician and producer Stanley Wood unleashes the herbal energy of tea, brewing some special blends, mixing the finest musical flavours of Europe, Jamaica, Orient and Occident in a tasty and relaxing chill out drink. Alongside with him, many artists from the Dubophonic netlabel family. Ibel, The Dubbstyle, Mr Mefistou and Koncrete Roots prepared their own special recipes and are ready to serve their exclusive versions of Stanley’s riddim. So, sip your cup and let the journey begin.

The EP starts with the taste of mint in our mouth, as the oriental vibes flow inna mystical way in the atmosphere. The river of tranquility passes right in front of us, as we embark in a journey, that sets our mind and soul in a perfect balance. The magical voice of Ibel guides us ina Rub-a-dub journey of irieness, as he prepares his special Jamaican blend of tea, served in two different mixes.

The sounds of the far east travel to Argentina where mint receives a special treatment by the Dubbstyle, being mixed with the yerba mate leaves, only to be transformed into a antioxidant and cholesterol-lowering beverage, cleansing the body from all Babylon diseases. The logical outcome is the cleansing also of the mind and Mr Mefistou uses his double ethnic background and adds for the next recipe a touch of flamenco style guitar mixed with a New York influenced sound.

Finally our herbal beverage returns back to the country it started its journey, only to be chilled in the fridge and to be served with ice by the Koncrete Roots inna special dubplate style. Once we are cleansed, in body and in spirit, we can enjoy the last cup of tea served exactly at five o’clock by Stanley Wood himself. Give thanks for that wonderful journey!

TRACKS: 01 Mint Tea (Original Dub) // 02 Spanish Town Tea (Mad Hatter Mix) ft. Ibel // 03 Mint Tea (The Dubbstyle version) // 04 Spanish Town Tea (Shame Mix) ft. Ibel // 05 Té Español (Mr. Mefistou ft. Dieguez on the Acoustic Guitar-version) // 06 Mint Tea (Koncrete Roots Dubplate) // 07 Spanish Tea (Original Dub)

The Dubbstyle - Simona

The brothers Mauro Waro Salina and Federico Bindub Salina started making their first appearances to the public five years ago, as djs in the local scene of the city of Mendoza, Argentina. Soon they started incorporating in their sets their own compositions. This happened in the middle of year 2012, when the two djs started demonstrating and promoting their own music through various events in different venues. Their sound is a mixture of trip hop, reggae and dubstep, presented to the audience in a live dubwise style.

In the late 2012 Waro decided to commit himself totally to the bass and Bindub took the role of the Dub Master.  That is how THE DUBBSTYLE was born, a live dub project from Argentina, in the spirit of the new breed of dub acts combining live sounds with the traditional on-stage dubbing. They perform as a duo in Mendoza, Valparaiso (Chile) and Cordoba.

During their live shows there is a very distinct stage presence with them dressed up as monkeys, staying anonymous to the public. Nevertheless, it is the originality of their sound their big asset. Especially during their lives, their sound enters into new dimensions with the addition of many guest musicians on drums, guitar, percussion and horns.

Although quite new in the dub scene, they have already released halfway of 2013 their first EP titled "Blood Fire", a self-release that can be downloaded for free from their own webpage. It is through that release that they were discovered by Dubophonic and were included in the compilation Explorations in Dub with the track Alive, while they also appeared on the Red Star Martyrs’ EP Time for tea serving their own recipe of Mint tea.

SIMONA is their second EP, their first on Dubophonic. It includes six brand new tracks by the Argentinian duo, juggling between trip hop beats, dubstep, traditional South America melodies and reggae, all presented in their own original dubwise style. We have included also an unreleased cut of their first track “Bloodfire”, specially reconstructed for this release, featuring Enzo Furiasse on the live trombone, properly dubbed and spaced out. With these words said, please welcome the new heavyweight dub sound from Mendoza!

     ► DOWNLOAD

01 I Shot // 02 Simona // 03 The Others // 04 Tiempo // 05 Trendub // 06 Evolution // BONUS TRACK -  Bloodfire (Trombone version) ft Enzo Furiasse

Various Artists - Explorations in Dub

The first compilation of dub-o-phonic is a musical journey to some unknown areas of dub music. Compiled by Dub Thomas, “Explorations in Dub” tries to find the hidden elements of dub music in musical genres, where under normal circumstances no dub is existent. This release might not comply with the “conventional” dub reggae as we know it. Being the tenth release of the label, Dub Thomas selects tracks with a strong experimental musical vibe, staying truthful to the future sound of the label.

The compilation includes seventeen tracks from artists scattered in the various corners of the globe, from Cyprus to the French West Indies: Daidalos One (CY), SXtheMadArtist (CY), Ras Robin Dennis (CY), Dub-I (RUS), Dub Riots (GR), Green Glow (MEX), Hernibernie (BEL), Knoto (JP), Mr Mefistou (PR), Negro Pirana (MEX), Rakoon (FR), Red Barrio (ES), Roots Dubbing Project (BRA), The Dubbstyle (ARG), Twixymillia (FWI) and Dub Across Borders (DEN).

Included in this compilation is Dub-I’s “Rididub Master” in a new extended version, serving not only as a musical flashback to our first release, but also as a starting point for the dubs to follow, while the jazz/ambient tracks of Hernibernie and SXtheMadArtist (the cover art designer of the release) are perhaps at the highest innovation point. Knoto manages to strip a famous reggae song down to its basic beat elements keeping the melody as a sweet buzz in your head. Daidalos One offers an atmospheric intermission, Ras Robbin Denis fuses an ethnic/ambient feel, Dub Across Borders blips and clicks, Negro Pirana dubs the blues, Mr Mefistou builds up slowly a dubbed step, Green Glow steps it up, Twixymillia rewinds it, while Dub Riots, Roots Dubbing Project, The Dubbstyle, Rakoon and Red Barrio transform irie melodies into experimental dubscapes.

“Dub means experimentation with sound. From the first innovations of King Tubby to the unorthodox techniques of Lee "scratch" Perry, dub has always been evolving, influencing many of the musical genres of our century, whether these are called Hip-Hop, Electronica, Fusion or even World/Ethnic music. This is a journey into the world of dub!” - Dub Thomas

[DPH010] Various - Explorations in Dub

DOWNLOAD FROM BANDCAMP

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TRACKS: 01 Red Barrio - Feeling irie dub // 02 Dub Riots - Zinc Head // 03 Roots Dubbing Project - The lost dub // 04 Rakoon - Trippin' Dub // 05 Knoto - Natural Mystic Dub // 06 Rakoon - Tubby's Dub Lesson // 07 The Dubbstyle - Alive // 08 Mr. Mefistou - Style E. aka Latinamerican Rudeboyz // 09 Daidalos One - Aenigmata // 10 Negro Pirana Ft. Nayzab - Same Blue Sky // 11 Green Glow - Spliff (new harvest) // 12 Twixymillia - Deep Forest Dub // 13 Dub Across Borders - Antchi Dub // 14 Ras Robin Dennis - The Garden Of Eden // 15 Hernibernie - Riboulette // 16 Dub-I - Rididub master (rework) // 17 SXtheMadArtist - We R Not

The Dubbstyle - Sun Is Dub

The Argentinean dub monkeys are back! After being included in the compilation Explorations In Dub (2013), their guest appearance on the Red Star Martyrs' album Time for Tea (2014) and the release of their own album Simona (2015), the brothers Mauro and Federico Salina from Mentoza (ARG) are back with more vibrations.

Their new album is entitled Sun Is Dub and includes eight musical dub-works. Compared to their previous works, their 2019 sound is much more mature, which is normal for every artist who respect his work and strives to evolve.

Starting with Navidub and following with Combination (with a vocal sample of the classic Indian singer Shruti Katkar) the album is a journey into the dub sounds and the cultures of the world. Sometimes melodic and organic, other times rhythmical and heavyweight, the dub is to be heard in all eight tunes of the album. The last track Simona, is a reference to their previous album, newly re-done ft. the Mexican dub pioneers Unidub Estereo.

01 Navidub / 02 Combinación (vocal sample Shruti Katkar) / 03 Dub It (vocal sample Gabo Revuelta) / 04 Rain / 05 Zumbido / 06 Roco / 07 Sun Is Dub (vocal sample Bob Marley) / 08 Simona (ft. Unidub Estereo)
 

The Dubbstyle - Slow

Having already two releases in Dubophonic Records, Simona in 2015 and Sun Is Dub in 2019, and a few participations in various compilations, the brothers Mauro and Federico Salina aka The Dubbstyle from Mentoza, Argentina, continue their dub journey in 2020 with a new album entitled Slow! It includes seven new tunes exploring different aspects of dub music

With their very distinct stage presence, staying anonymous to the public and the originality of their sound, their new album is a proof of their musical evolution through each and every dub work. Let yourself be carried away in their musical dub adventure!

01 King / 02 Coatlaxopeuh / 03 Slow / 04 Miths 11 / 05 Magic / 06 Dub Picante / 07 Raices

"Mint Tea" performed by The Dubbstyle

This is a special live version of Red Star Martyrs' "Mint Tea" remixed and performed live by The Dubbstyle. The original track can be found on the Red Star Martyrs Vs The Dubophonic All-Stars "Time for Tea" (EP)  released on the 28th March 2014, alongside Ibel Campbell on the vocals and ncluding some outstanding versions and dubplates by Koncrete Roots, Mr Mefistou and of course The Dubbstyle. Watch out for the first album of The Dubbstyle coming out later this summer!

Two years Dubophonic - Forwards with The Dubbstyle

Two years Dubophonic. Unbelievable what we have accomplished in these two years. We would not believe in our wildest dreams that the label would receive such a positive feedback from all around the world. From the first release back in June 2013 by Dub-I to the latest one by Downbeat Dub, every release was created from the heart and accepted by you with lots of love. We thank you all!

Two years of vibes, twenty one free releases and one VIP release ... and we continue into the third year with our 23rd release and with another project from Argentina. The Dubbstyle, a live dub project from Mendoza, is already known in the Dubophonic circles through their previous appearances on the label. They were featured for the first time in the 2013 compilation Explorations in Dub with the track Alive and  one year later, as part of the Dubophonic All Stars, they served their own recipe of Mint Tea on the Red Star Martyrs Time for Tea EP.

Now its time for their own release. Out for free download on the 15th June 2015, the 6 track EP will be a musical brew of Trip Hop, Reggae, Dubsteb and South American melodies, all mixed in an original dubwise style. As a special birthday present we will include also a reconstruction of Bloodfire (which was included in their first self-released EP of the same name), featuring Enzo Furiasse on the live trombone, dubbed and spaced out appropriately for this special occasion. Let the vibes flow!

One year Dubophonic: The shape of Dub to come

It is a blessing that we have managed to complete the first year of our life circle. One year of free vibrations that made us very very happy. We enjoyed every moment from day one and keep enjoying it. In this first year we have tried our best to promote many new artists, which we think are worth listening to. We hope that we have achieved our goal, which was to give out to all of you only the best vibrations possible. We would like to thank all the artists who trusted us and provided their works completely free, but also all those who supported us either by reviewing our releases, playing them in their radio shows, including them in their podcasts or just downloading them and enjoying the vibrations ... and these are too many to name in this short text, but you can all find them on the diverse links in our page. Dubophonic has become a big family and we would like to send our love and blessings to all of you.

After one year, we think it's time to move to the next step. This next step will consist of an upgrade of the netlabel and its releases, stepping up on quality (better mixing and mastering, better promotion, more collaborations). Aside from the free releases, which will continue as usual, we will introduce a new VIP service, which will deal only with releases on digital downloads and on CD. You understand that this service will not be free, due to the costs that have to be covered, but we will do our best to keep the prices as low as possible. Many projects are being prepared and soon we will have some new tunes out for you. More on this soon!

Regarding new tunes, please save your appetite for some heavy vibrations by Koncrete Roots (new double release coming soon), Dub Revolution alongside Stamina Lee, The Dubbstyle, Red Star Martyrs, Black Star Dub Syndicate alongside Zion Irie and the first collaboration with the other Mediterranean netlabel Dubkey Records from Malta. So watch this space ... you will not regret it :)

Birthday celebration ina Dubophonic radio party style

It's a Dubophonic party!

Give thanks each and every time to Ironfist Topov and Studio 53 for the nice birthday surprise they had in store for us. More love and blessings to all the Dubophonic family who were tuned into the show, contributing with their music and the comments (in the facebook chatline) to the positive vibrations of the evening. Red Star, Ibel, Tom "Koncrete Roots", Pete Cogle, Jennifer Paulos, Ada "Black Star", Zion Irie, Dubbstyle, "Reggaediscography" Marco, Minano Dub, Puppa Deck, Marvin "Karma Dub", Bigred Warriah, Briscoe Sunlion, Kleber "Roots Dubbing Project", Emilia and all the listeners with no name ... bigup each and every time. "It was a party, it was a party, it was a Dubophonic party" and Ironfist selected tunes from the back-catalog of the label, alongside with exclusive dubplates and unreleased tracks, aired for the first time. Nuff respect all the Dubophonic artists. For those who could not be there, we have uploaded on mixcloud the podcast.  Going strong into the  second year with more Dubophonic vibrations. Blessings and love to all!

Topov studio 53 onna dubophonic party 24/07/14 by Topov Cliffe on Mixcloud

The Dubbstyle 2019 ... The Dub Monkeys are back!

The Argentinean dub monkeys are back! The new album of the brothers Mauro and Federico Salina from the high regions of Mendoza will be entitled Sun Is Dub and will include eight dubwise tracks, in the spirit of the new breed of dub acts combining live organic sounds with the on-stage dubbing.

> Release Date: 12th of April 2018 <

LOCKDOWNDUB WEEKENDER II / LIVE STREAMING

All ready to Time for the 2nd Lockdown Dub Weekender 🙏  Check out the schedule and join us in the chat // We will try to be on time but since this is an outernational streaming event, sometimes there may be delays with the connection 💛💚❤️

🙏🔥👊 
▶️  WATCH ALL THE VIDEOS

SAT 2ND MAY 2020 (UK TIME) 
MORNING GREETINGS FROM STEFANOSIS (USA)
14:00 ROOTS FAR-I (JP)
16:00 DUB THOMAS (CY)
17:00 SIS ORI KING LION (SP)
18:00 IGL & ALECHO (GR)
18:30 MURJAH WARRIORS (ITA)
(Special multistream broadcast from three different places)
20:00 THE DUBBSTYLE (ARG)
21:00 SUB CONSCIOUS DUB (CY)

SUN 3RD MAY 2020 (UK TIME)
14:00 SISTER MAKI (JP)
15:00 3000 WORLDS (JP) / DUB MIXING
16:00 GOOD OVER EVIL PR. (SP)
17:00 DUB CMD (UK) / YOUTUBE STREAMING
18:00 HERMIT DUBZ (UK) / DUB MIXING
19:00 KIKI SLAWTER (UK)
20:00 REBEL-I (PE)
21:30 MUNAY KI DUB (ARG)

Dubophonic special @ Versionist Radio

Here is the podcast of the special Dubophonic Showcase on Versionist Village Radio from last Monday. Dub Thomas plays in his show "Blessed Vibrations" tunes from the coming release of DubRaJah "Enkang", new unreleased tunes from Black Star Sound ft Zion Irie, tracks by the coming releases of The Dubbstyle and Downbeat from Argentina, unreleased mixes of a brand new Mexican Stepper tune, as well as exclusive dubplates by Sosnowka Sound and Tena Stalin on tunes of Jennifer Paulos and Twixymillia. If you are wondering about our feature releases, just press play!

Dubophonic special @ Versionist radio by Dub Thomas on Mixcloud

Gibsy Rhodes spins some Dubophonic sounds

Great session yesterday by Gibsy Rhodes on Artikal Vibes radio. Nuff Respect! Check out the podcast of the last hour featuring Negritage, Red Star Martyrs, Med Dred, Ibel Campbell, The DubbStyle, Peter Attah, Zion Dirty Sound and Sunjaman.

Gibsy Rhodes Spins A Dubophonic Set @ Artikal Vibes by Dub Thomas on Mixcloud