Don Hartley & Mikey Dub - Causeless Shall Not Come

Portland musician and producer Mikey Dub returns in 2024 with a new single. After his EP Triumphant Riddim released in 2023 and his collaboration with Debbie Defire on Thank You, he enters 2024 with a new single and a new collaboration featuring this time Jamaican born vocalist Don Hartley. The new tune is entitled Causeless Shall Not Come and it is presented in two versions: the vocal and the dub version. Featured on the tune is also Texas born Joby Tijerna’s (aka. Joby T.) on the Horns and Andrew Deetz on the keyboards and then percussion.

Proverbs 26:2 "As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come." 

 

Jamaican born and raised Roots Reggae artist Don Hartley has over three decades of experience sharing his deeply spiritual music. He shot to notoriety on the UK and European Dub scene in 2001 via his association with Manchester UK’s Nucleus Roots label. Don has since then gone on to work with notable producers and labels like Thierry Negro (Faya Dub), Lewis Bennett (Lewis Bennet Dub), Roll & Record, Fat Bird Recordings, Rod Chaplin (MessenJah Music) and now Dubophonic Records.

His traditional Christianity which reflects in his brand of reggae is from his youthful years in Jamaica during which time he also embraced Rastafarian spirituality as a teenager, for many years a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel Organization in Kingston, hailing from the tribe of Naphtali. In 2006 he was received as a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Manchester UK where he now functions as a Catechist and as a reader, chanting the Saturday evening service respectively.

Don’s roots reggae mission continues unabated, entwined as always with traditional biblical themes advancing theocentric truths and rights across boundaries of empires and racial conceptions.

Tokiboun In Dub ft. Kimmy Gold & Lance Hume - World In Peace

French-Swiss producer Tokiboun in Dub returns with a new single. After having a few releases on Dubophonic (Mountain Vibrations EP with William Jacquement on the Trombone and Full Vibes on the flute and Dub Valley EP with Nish Wadada, Oryo, Mehdiman and Jah93), he returns with his new release entitled World In Peace, which includes two tracks:  King Of Kings featuring Jamaican artist Kimmy Gold on the vocals and King Of Sitar featuring Lance Hume on the Sitar.

King Of Kings features the Jamaican singer and musician Kimmy Gold on the vocals.  Kimberlyn Goldson was born in St. Ann, a rural parish in north-east Jamaica that has produced a number of outstanding Jamaican artistes, most notably Bob Marley. At four years-old when most of her peers were into toys and ring games, Kimberlyn was drawn to music. She began learning to play the piano at that age, and it remains her instrument of choice as musician. While studying to be a teacher, she maintained her ties to music by practicing and listening to her biggest influences: Judy Mowatt, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers and The Gladiators. Largely self-taught, Kimmy has steadfastly etched out a career as a musician and singer in Jamaican roots-reggae.

King of Sitar features the UK musician Lance Hume on the Sitar. As a multi-instrumentalist is specializing in fusing the mesmerizing sound of the Sitar with heavyweight dub. He has collaborated and released records with many artists such as Vibronics, Mr Zebre, Don Fe, Adam Prescot, Roots Ista Posse and more. He is also member of the Higher Meditation soundsystem, spicing up the sessions with his Sitar. Expect some mystical meditation vibes!

 

 

Mikey Dub meets Debbie Defire - Thank You

Portland musician and producer Mikey Dub returns with a new single. After his EP Triumphant Riddim released earlier this year, featuring Clotilde and Tharara on the vocals, he returns with a new single and a new collaboration featuring this time Debbie Defire, also known in the 70s as Debra Keese. The new tune is entitled Thank You and it is presented in two versions: the vocal and the dub version. Featured on the tune is also Texas born Joby Tijerna (aka. Joby T.) on the Horns and Andrew Deetz on the keyboards.

Debbie Defire is a British born artist, who moved to Jamaica with her parents as a toddler in the 60s. In 1978, the legendary Lee Scratch Perry produced for her the tune “Travelling” under the name of Debra Keese and the Black Five. which was released on Black Art label. She was around 18 years old at that time, when she recorded the tune! Today she resides in the UK.

Over the past few years Debbie Defire released several singles and a LP album. Debbie Defire has come a long way from her debut as a young reggae singer with the hit song ‘Traveling’ produced by the legendary Lee Scratch Perry, to the latest release of her new tune produced by Mikey Dub entitled Thank You and we are honored to be a part of her musical journey.

Culture Horn & Sammy Gold - Jah Creator

Culture Horn Sound System return with a brand-new EP entitled Jah Creator. 

For this release, the heavyweight sound system from the town of Kremenki in the Kaluga region in Russia, teams up with the mighty Sammy Gold to deliver a fresh vibe!  

Sammy Gold has been in the scene since the late 70s, when he started as a toaster and later in the 80s as a singer. Getting his influence from artists like Dennis Brown, Jacob Miller and Rod Taylor, he worked with many producers like Rus Muffet, Ras Kuntus and High Elements releasing music on Roots Injection, Cubiculo Records and many other labels.

Jah Creator is offered for free download from Bandcamp. As it usual in most of the releases of Culture Horn, the first composition is in a dubplate style and the second composition is the main track. Each track includes the obligatory dub version. The compositions were recorded back in 2016 and since then they have been played on various dances and streamed in radio broadcasts.

The EP is dedicated to Jah and his deeds. Peace and love to all. 

No General / Bun Dem Out - Prince Jamo / Cheshire Cat / Hermit Dubz [DUBR-1202]

A1. No General - Prince Jamo / A2. Dub General - Hermit Dubz
   B1. Bun Dem Out - Cheshire Cat / B2. Dub Dem Out - Hermit Dubz

After his 2019 vinyl release Seek Jah First (featuring Robert Dallas, Ranking Joe, Med Dred & Bongo Damo), the UK/Cyprus producer Hermit Dubz returns with a new 12inch.

Our new vinyl release is based on the classic General riddim and features two great vocals by Prince Jamo and Cheshire Cat, plus two heavyweight dub versions for the soundsystems, all produced by Hermit Dubz. ❤️💛💚

Percussion: Damon Wilding
Guitar: Robin Giorno
Produced by Hermit Dubz
Vinyl Mastering and Pressing by Jah Tubbys

< AVAILABLE AT A SPECIAL EARLY BIRD PRICE FROM OUR ONLINE SHOP >

< AVAILABLE ALSO FROM OUR BANDCAMP SHOP >

Dutchie Gold meets Kaleya - Been There And Seen

Kaleya was born in Athens, Greece and started his music journey as a guitarist. He has been involved in various bands and projects, such as Bongo Tchaka, Musinair, Kilimanjaro and as a bass player in Remi & The Road and Los Dos O Mas. He is aslo DJ playing at various reggae/dub events and is a member of Reggaewise Selectors, Origins Soundsystem and Bliondy’s Mini Sound. In 2018, he started hosting his own podcast Kosmos Dub Factory on Kosmos FM, one of the most popular radio stations in Greece.

Dutchie Gold was born in Mandeville/Jamaica and started working with the sound systems of his neighborhood as a teenager. He worked with Junior Reid, Shaggy Dread, General Trees, Professor Nuts & more. His recording career started in 1991 with Gold Gun and followed by works with Junior Reid label, The Washington DC based label 2 Tuff, and the legendary New York sound system/ label Massive B. In 1994, he recorded his first album entitled Dutchie Gold in Germany, which led him to work with artists like Error Dunkley, Michael Prophet, Nado Ranks & others. Further tracks were released on German Reggae Compilations and in 2006 he released the album Mission To Righteousness.

Wosui is the Deep Dub solo project of Gabriel Mentis (Reggaewise, Urban Danja), born in 1987 and based in Athens, Greece. Having a classical music studies background, playing the violin and participating in school bands, he discovered cubase and started making his own beats. From 2008 to 2018 he was the member Dub Riots alongside iGL, a Reggae-Dub producing and live duo. In 2012 he started the project Wosui, a journey to the world of deep echoes, dub and soundsystem aesthetics, along with low frequencies basslines. He has released music for labels such as Dub Communication, Iron Shirt, Dubophonic, Indigo Movement and others. He has organized many events and headlined all over Greece, including international guests such as Radikal Guru, Leon Switch, Mexican Stepper, Skarra Mucci and many others.

Dutchie and Kaleya met in 2020 when Dutchie visited Greece for an event with El Paso Soundsystem. The night before the event, they recorded the track at Bliondy’s Sound Station. The following months, 2 dub versions were created, following the original version. Wosui then joined the family to produce a remix and a dub version of the original track.  

Produced by Dimitris Lappas / Vocals & Lyrics : Allen Devon Anthony / Mastered by Gabriel Mentis / Cover art by: Lila Frenopoulou / Cover photo by: Mayo Darling / Special thanks goes to: Donnie Dub & the El Paso Family, Bliondy, George Spiris, Mayo Darling, Sophia Bouchama. 

 

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

Aza Lineage & Culture Horn - I Give Thanks

Culture Horn Sound System, the heavyweight Russian dub sound system from the town of Kremenki in the Kaluga region in Russia, returns with a new EP. After the first release in year 2018 and the great feedback it received from listeners all around the world (I am a Rootsman was awarded Best Album of 2018 in Russia and “Best Indie Artist” for Madi Simmons), the sound system crew returns with a new collaboration, this time featuring the Jamaican uprising artist Aza Lineage.

Aza Lineage was born to teenage parents in the harsh inner cities of Kingston, Jamaica in late 1980s. She grew up with her extended family with hergrandmother being the head of the household. Growing up Aza realized she could sing and would often do so for friends, schoolmates and family members. On searching she found Rastafari, the Energy she thanks for changing her thinking, brought African Spirituality to her awareness and connected her to her roots, hoping to impact people in a positive way through her music.

The new EP of Culture Horn includes six tracks: 2 vocals tracks and 4 instrumentals/dubs. The first one is a special dubplate on the Roots Radics Riddim, recorded exclusive for Culture Horn Sound System., followed by a flute version ft. Aktuch and the necessary dub. The second one is the title track. With lyrics to spark your mind, I Give Thanks is followed by a special melodica dub by Med Dred and a heavyweight cut by Culture Horn Sound System.We give thanks! 

01 Dubplate Style / 02 Flute Dub (ft. Aktuch) / 03 Dub 2 / 04 I Give Thanks /

05 Melodica Dub (ft. Med Dred) / 06 I Give Dub

Hermit Dubz ft. Knati P - Fyah Fi Babylon

Hermit Dubz: The elusive dub hermit, often unseen, toiling away in his hermit cave, meditating on low frequency vibrations. This secretive character grew up travelling the world. From an early age, the love of reggae and dub was instilled in him, and would remain his deepest love. Moving to England in the 90s as a teenager, he discovered the newly awakening electronic dance music scene and was soon DJing and creating his own sonic experiments. Over the years, the reclusive Hermit Dubz has been accumulating a horde of dub influenced sonic artefacts, and more recently building the Hermit Cave studios in Birmingham, Uk. After a long period of experimentation, isolation, meditation and contemplation, Hermit Dubz has re-emerged, ready to unleash his sonic relics.

Knati P:  Musician, painter (the artwork for this release is a painting by Knati), and entertaining performer with a unique vocal style. He studied at the Jamaica School of Art, moved to Brixton, London, in the late 1980s and regularly took part in the Notting Hill festival. In the year 2000 he was voted MC of the year. He has an impressive recording/performing record (Pineapple Tribe, Jah Observer, R.D.K, Manasseh, Equalizer, Skanga International Muzik etc.) and is a much respected lyricist, vocalist and MC.

The two artists met in Surrey, UK, at a dance where Knati was performing with his local sound system, Da Vinci. They have been friends and musical collaborators ever since, and the result is some great riddims, which remained hidden in the Hermit’s cave for quite some time. We managed to get hold of some those tracks and we present them to you today in the form of an EP. "Fyah fi Babylon” consists of 3 vocal tracks and 3 blazing dubs. We hope that the bass heavy sound of Hermit Dubz and the original Jamaican voice of Knati P will be the perfect combination for your upliftment.

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

(download in different formats/quality)

Bandcamp / iTunes / Juno Downloads / Google Play / Amazon
 

01 Knati P - Fyah fi Babylon / 02 Hermit Dubz - Fyah fi Babylon dub / 03 Knati P - Boom Draw / 04 Hermit Dubz - Boom  Draw dub / 05 Knati P - Last Chance / 06 Hermit Dubz - Last Chance dub

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)

Ibel meets Med Dred - Love Fi Life

For the release of this mini album we are happy to introduce the first collaboration between Cyprus and Jamaica on our label. The conscious lyrics of the Spanish Town singer and poet Ibel Campbell blend with the musical compositions of Med Dred, accompanied by some exclusive dubs by Med Dred and Dub Caravan ina Dubophonic style.

Born the eighth day of December 1967, at the Kingston Jubilee hospital, the Jamaican artist Ibel Campbell was registered ‘Scafford Campbell’ and is the first of miss Antoinette three children. His father died when he was just a toddler and grandma had to lend a hand with his growth and development. She resided in St. Thomas thus most of his earlier years were spent in the country. He began doing his own business of ‘heart’ –portraits, murals, t-shirts, backdrops, performing on the first and second staging of ‘East Fest’, recorded ‘Babylon a duppy’ at ‘Pent house’ studio for the Morgan’s heritage, is the first dub poet featured by ‘Jammin’s label with a tune called ‘travel the world’ done with ‘Bushman’ and is also the artist responsible for the art on the jacket of Taurus Riley’s first album. As a writer and poet he has written a book ‘Deep within Blackness’ soon to be in stores. He hopes his works will keep Blacks from slipping below their standard while making way over and around obstacles presented by a system without a face or a fixed address.

The internet highway made possible to meet at the other side of the globe our own Med Dred, who wrote for him the music for this mini album. The two bredrens used the internet to exchange their material. The music was composed and recorded in Cyprus, the vocals were recorded in Jamaica Spanish Town at Rippas Production and the whole project was finalised in Med Dred studio in Nicosia, Cyprus. Musical data travelled again from Cyprus to Dub Caravan’s studio in London, where a special version of “Protect me” was live dubbed and then forwarded back to Cyprus for the final mastering.

One last word about the credits on this release: all music written, produced, mixed & mastered by Med Dred while all vocals written and performed by Ibel. Med Dred played melodica on the dubs and percussion on “Protect me”, Kyp Paraskeva played electric guitars on “Rise” and Felix Dub Caravan played guitars & bass on “Protect me”. Deepest respect to our bredrin Felix Dub Caravan for providing us “Protection dub”, a live analogue dub cut of “Protect me”, which is included as a special bonus track.