Daily Vibes awards Best Album of 2018 to Culture Horn

The year 2018 starts with some great news four our label. The Russian portal Daily Vibes has just completed the voting for the title of "Best Album of the Year". Daily Vibes is a portal on the VK platform, dedicated to reggae music in all its sub genres: from Rocksteady to Roots Reggae and dub, to jungle and modern dancehall. They publish news, releases and other materials, organize events, etc.

Nominated were six of the most interesting works related to the genre of reggae released by Russian artists, among them the Moscow Culture Horn sound system.

The voting was completed on the 6th January 2019. With 799 votes out of total 2109 voters (37.89% of the total votes), and with the reggae fans having a difficult choice between the very different reggae styles, the release of Culture Horn Sound System with the participation of USA reggae artist Madi Simmons, I'm A Rootsman was voted BEST ALBUM OF 2018!

We are deeply honored about the results of the voting. Give thanks to all who voted and supported our project and respect to all artists who promote the conscious reggae vibrations. Much love to Madi Simmons, Culture Horn, Med Dred, Jahpapu & all the people who contributed to this. Give thanks also to the Boss Magazine Artist Beat for the great article on the award!

"Best of 2014" award for Dubophonic

BEST OF 2014 awarded to Dubophonic

The year 2015 has started with the best recognition for the label. After last year's 3rd place award by the Netlabelism.com reviewer Noah Christopher for the release Explorations In Dub, the same site has awarded our United As One release with a 1st place! Albert E. Trapezoid has awarded the united Dubophonic/Dubkey release United As One as the Best of 2014. It is noted that the site reviews music from different genres and it is the first time that a Roots Reggae/Dub album receives a first place. Give thanks to all artists of the dubophonic family label, who through their musical passion made this possible. Always forward! 

"Dubkey meets Dubophonic. These top tier reggae Netlabels release a collection of songs created by collaborations between artists from each label. This cross-pollination features great musicians, creative producers, excellent riddims, and a uniformly excellent collection of songs. Whether you like straight ahead reggae tunes, versions, or dubbed out tracks, it’s all here. Much respect." - Albert E. Trapezoid

"United as one" awarded 4.5 outta 5 by Netlabelism

It seems that the airplay and the reviews on our latest release "United As One don't seem to end, which really fills our souls with joy :) Big up each and every time to Reservoir Dub from Belgium, Saetchmo's Echochamber from Germany and Pete Gogle from the UK, who have included in their shows many tracks from our latest release and of course been added to the long list of radio stations and radio shows, spreading the Dubophonic vibrations do the world. Massive respect also to Rob Le Dub for his special 2-hour Dubophonic radio podcast with tracks from our back catalog.

Perhaps the one of the best reviews ever is that one of the internationally acclaimed online magazine Netlabelism.com, specializing in quality netlabel releases from all genres, awarding United As One with a score of 4.5 outta 5. This is the second review of our label on the site, after including our compilation release Explorations in Dub in the top 3 of 2013 and including 2 tracks in their Cast 21.

"To me it’s always interesting in reggae music to hear what artists do with the same musical starting point, and this album has that in abundance. If you’re a reggae or dub fan, you will enjoy exploring the nuances of this collection. The process for building these tracks is described as “lots of internet exchanges between Argentina, Cyprus, England, and Malta” and this method obviously was a success based on the results. Much respect to label heads Dub Thomas (Dubophonic) and Manwel T (Dubkey) for the idea of collaborating and, more importantly, pulling this off with such quality results."

Read the whole review

Dubroom reviews Dubophonic

Yes I. What a pleasant surprise it was indeed, to receive this great review by one of the biggest reggae and dub portals on the web. Dubroom.org has expressed with the best words on our nelabel family. Massive respect to Messian Dread and his crew for the amazing work they do for so many years, always giving their best to the (conscious) reggae and dub community worldwide.

"With the Dubkey Netabel based on Malta, Dubophonic is the next step in a Mediterranean Roots Reggae and Dub take-over. Based in Cyprus and founded no earlier than June 2013, ... one thing is for certain: Dubophonic take their net label serious and so it should be. It's not just the amount of releases in a certain quality, it is the work on their website, liner notes and massive press feedback. Centered around Dub Thomas, but not limited to him. A look at the artist names reveal a variety of styles and genres, from heavyweight Dubwise to a more lighter variant, Dubophonic strives to cater to all lovers of (conscious) Reggae and Dub." Read more

 

But the review does not stop here, it continues by showcasing two of our releases. The first one is a release from last year, "Love fi Life" by Ibel Campbell, Med Dred and Dub Caravan.

"Three vocals, four dubs: Love Fi Life is a joyous collaboration between Jamaican vocalist Ibel and Med Dred based on another island, namely that of Cyprus. The Mediterranean vibes are there, undeniably. The Jamaican vibe, too. There's even a UK Dub vibe coming in the form of a Dub by Dub Caravan. Get this one for some Ireness!" Read More

And just today one more review was posted on their site. This time a more recent one from this year released by Dubsynaticx, "Studio Dubs Part I".

"Whenever you see "Part One" in the title of an album, it's always intriguing: when it turns out to contain niceness, you know there's more of that niceness coming your way. Right? Presenting Part One of Studio Dubs, presenting Dubsynaticx, presenting some Dub Niceness. Yes I! ... Yes, the Dubroom should apologize to this Dub producer for not having discovered him before. Is his music that crucial, you might ask, and the answer is YES. It's definitely an addition to the variety in Eurodub and Roots land. We can get it thanks to the Idren at the Cyprus-based Dubophonic Net Label, responsible for this excellent April 2014 release." Read more

A review from ReggaeMusic.org.uk

"From Cyprus comes news of Dubophonic, a web-based label that offers freely downloadable Creative Commons licensed music in different variations on dub. To date Dubophonic has released six dub EPs/albums beginning in June 2013 .... The label and its owner Dub Thomas are doing an interesting and valuable thing here in not only making this adventurous cross-cultural reggae music available, but in doing so for free. Here is the link to the Dubophonic site where you can learn more and also download all the music reviewed here."

 - ReggaeMusic.org.uk

(read the whole review from their site)

"Dred Reggae" by NetMusic Life & Culture Dub Zine

"Dubophonic was born just a few months ago and was able to quickly evident in the vast ocean of music available on the net by offering high quality audio releases related to the reggae scene. In "Dred Reggae EP", signed by Cypriot musician Med Dred, Jamaican classic sounds are reproduced with a modern guise, mixing dub, reggae, world music into one big sound coming out with energy and vitality from the speakers. Med Dred proves to be a technical expert behind the mixing desk offering six tracks that sound fresh and crisp, reminding us that reggae is still alive and waiting for further developments." - by NetMusic Life (free translation from Italian)

"Inspired by the old masters of dub and sound engineers of Jamaica, Med Dred is able to absorb their sound and turn it into something new, whether it is integrating its own homemade effects, improvising on the melodica or using anti-Babylon voice clips. The "Dred Reggae EP" includes six tracks, dubbed exclusively for the netlabel Dubophonic. Very heavy one drops, echoes and deep reverbs, a bassline wedged in heart rhythm and conscious lyrics are the ingredients of his musical recipe. Accompanied by many guests, Med Dred creates its own sound, while remaining faithful to the original roots of reggae music. If you like reggae as well as dub, this EP will fill you! Visit the label's website to download it." - by Culture Dub Dreadzine (free translation from French)

Zion Dirty Sound - A refreshing sound for this summer

It was  really a joy to "discover" the following review of Zion Dirty Sound's "Fils d' Abraham" by NetMusic Live, a zine informing its readers about selected free music published by netlabels and independent artists. Since the review is in Italian language, we tried to translate it in english:

"Another album with refreshing sound for this summer. All ingredients dear to the summer season: reggae, roots, dub, and the infinite variables of Jamaican music as well as wonderful forays into African and South American territories. "Fils d 'Abraham" has a crisp and conscious sound, well-balanced between tradition and modernity. Numerous ethnic instruments are treated and perfectly fitted in this album that sounds like a party, a meeting between different populations that share their joyful cultures. Intoxicating rhythms, Manu Chao hidden among the guests, beads of sweat that jump between groups of humans in the throes of the dissolution of body and mind. 18 tracks that summarize very well what has been written in decades of reggae-dub with freshness and authenticity." - NetMusic Life

A message from Dub Thomas

I would like to express my graditute to each and every one of you, supporting me from day one of the founding of Dubophonic netlabel. Although I have officially started releasing the first dubs only one and a half month ago, the positive feedback I receive is far more than expected. Every day more and more people hear and download the Dubophonic music. In Twitter I receive daily messages from people I never met congratulating me on the good selection of the artists. Just for the record the Negritage album "Guetto Roots of Dub" has already way over 5000 downloads in only one week from its release. The first two releases of Dub-I and Negritage have been credited as SOUNDTIPS by Jungle'n'Wobbles, while many tracks have been featured in numerous podcasts all around the net, the latest being Pete Cogle's The Dub Zone, as well as Radio Shows like Dr. StrangeDub's "Echo Chamber" and Andreas Megahz's show at Zenith FM. Last but definately not least are the numerous reviews from online magazines, the latest one being the one of the Cerebral Rift. My deepest respect to George De Bruin for the amazing review! All the above gives me more strength to continue digging deep into the internet to find new artists and offer you the best dubs for free download .... because good music must be heard!

Negritage's "Guetto Roots of Dub" by Alex Dub

Culture Dub Dreadzine

The French online magazine "Culture Dub Dreadzine" has recently featured the latest lp of Negritage, "Guetto Roots of Dub (Vol.1)" on their webpage. Although our knowledge of french language is not the best, with the help of an online translator we managed to read the article, which recommends to all the readers of the magazine to listen and download our release, proposing "Some people don't remember Jah (Veshon)" as an example to listen online. Negritage's album has been awarded from the magazine readers a score of 8 out of 10. Our deepest respect to Alex Dub for his good words!

"The Argentinian dubbers Negritage offer their first album "Guetto roots of Dub (Vol.1") for free download, through the new Cypriot netlabel Dubophonic. The  18 tracks of the album sail between Roots, Dub and Dub Steppa and contain all the ingredients of dub: delays and reverbs. Guest appearances by Sammy Gold or Jam York. The 18 tracks on this album were mixed in different stages with different equipment , sometimes old analog mixers, sometimes in digital fashion, with varied sound results. As they remind themselves: "Do not forget that we are children of the third world and it is sometimes difficult to access material or equipment that is expensive, but it is not a problem, because the positive vibration of our friends allows us to move forward! " reviewed by Alex Dub

The Groove Thief reviews Dub-I's "Creation"

"Interweaving old with new, Dub-I mixes thick funky baselines with a sea of sounds and effects on Creation. In opening, “Black and Beat” sums up the artist’s mission with a well-chosen vocal sample: “strictly roots and culture vibes … in a different style and pattern.” 

Balancing heavy and light, tracks like “First Dub” and “BC Dub” venture out into space before being reigned in by a heavy groove. “Satta Dub” allows synths and digital blips to dominate the soundscape, with drums and bass merely holding the rhythm together. “Revolution” bows to the dominating low-end, yet still allows echoing drums and a dub siren to enter the bass haze. 

These are not epic sprawling dubs, all clocking in at four minutes or less, yet neither are they simple beat experiments. Even the bonus tunes are full of teasing layers: “Weed War” journeys to a galaxy far, far away; “2409” is a blaxploitation sample away from being pimp-dub; while closer “Plantation” is a cleanly produced digital dub dirge from Dub-I + 25parsec = Fire Salad.

This is the first release from a new netlabel, Dubophonic, based in Cyprus and focusing on the whole of the dub spectrum - definitely a strong start." - reviewed by The Groove Thief