Interview with Dub Gabriel (Part 2 of 2) [Listen 31:40] Gathering the voices of the Revoultion with Dub Gabriel S04 Ep04
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Revolutions, remixes, and peace with Dub Gabriel 2
Special Guest: Dub Gabriel (Part 2 of 2): is a producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and is one of the biggest names in dancehall, dubstep, and global bass to come out of the U.S. and is one of the most in-demand and respected dub producers in the world. He has worked with a diverse set of musicians including Michael Stipe (of REM), Reggae Toasting legend U-Roy, the Scientist, punk icon Keith Levene, David J, Balkan Beat Box, and many more. His new album “Raggabass Resistance” is an ambitious project taking three years to make, spanning continents and brings together an array of artists and musicians all collaborating on the album.
Dub Gabriel is set to release his 4th album, Raggabass Resistance, on limited vinyl on the 20th of April. The fantastic list of collaborators include: U-Roy, Warrior Queen, The Spaceape, Brother Culture, Jahdan Blakkamoore, Dr. Israel, MC Zulu, Juakali, PJ Higgins, David J, Pedro Erazo, and Mark Pistel
What's Going On?
David Bowie and Bon Jovi, battling it out on the charts. Dylan and ZZ Top putting out an album that made top ten on many lists. It's a world that seems more familiar in the early 70's than 2013. I'm not knocking the music, the music's pretty good. It's just that these events are a little unfamiliar in such a great quantity. I've always gone back, looking for gems throughout the ages and discovered some truly remarkable gems that shine timelessly. You might want to take a look at the Little Jimmy Scott interview that we did in the first season to get a grasp on what's out there when you do a little scratching. Click Here
But for these artists to be making such an impression on today's charts really seems unprecedented. To put this in perspective, it's more like Bing Crosby busting through the charts in the 70's amongst Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin. Ya, those days saw great change in music, but for purposes of illumination, you see what I mean.
it's more like Bing Crosby busting through the charts in the 70's amongst Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin.
Combative types might say that Tony Bennett had a hit record 1n 1970 with "Tony Sings the Hits of Today!", but that's not quite the same. And he's only one man, (yes Tony, you are) and there's more than just the occasional old rocker making it into today's charts and making an impact. The music's amazingly good from these stalwarts, and it's so much better to see than burnouts being pressured by record labels to turn out whatever crap gets made. But Besides the music being good, the question remains why these gentlemen still gather so much popularity. What might contribute to the success of these figureheads of the 70's is that classic rock stations seem to play the same songs, and while I won't criticise their success, I still can't stand to listen to a classic rock station. The songs never change. They really haven't changed for 20 years, and ya, most of the tunes they play are solid, but there's so much more that's good that doesn't get played, (I guess they don't stack up to advertisers ratings, etc.) But their popularity with the mainstream might depend, in part, to these classic rock stations that never change their rotation. Fancy that.
"Tony Sings the Hits of Today!"
Another reason why these greats of the classic rock era are continuing to produce is simply because people happen to be living longer. In the usual course of events a few decades earlier, statistics would have had these guys knocked off a decade ago. Heart attack, and stroke being the best candidates. Besides people generally living longer, it's the advancements in medical science that keeps the living going strong. Bowie already had a heart attack, and Dylan almost succumbed to a fungal infection in his lungs some 15 years ago. I suspect this trend will continue, and when it does, imagine what the music scene will be a few decades from now when we get some of the great pop divas still writing songs after they've got something like 90 years of experience of writing pop hits since their sexualized pre-teen breakout days! I can't wait.
Season 1 Episode 4 (1 of 2): I’m livin’ on a Chinese Rock
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If Marijuana means you’re mellow and chilled, and Cocaine means you’re jumpy and corporate, then heroin means you’re in for the long haul. Drugs have been a big part of the music scene right from the beginning, and no other drug represents “Suffering for the arts” more than Heroin. Heroin has been both demonized and glorified in the music media and it’s easy to see why. With artists like Iggy Pop, Martin Gore and Lou Reed walking around somehow being able to travel through the abyss and come out the other end. It’s not hard to see why someone might attribute the drugs that their favourite artist takes being at least a factor in what made them stronger, more creative or having lived a more interesting life than the rest of us. The draw for drugs like heroin seems to be a romantic one; one that has the unwritten promise of becoming a ‘troubled artistic genius’ if you just do it the right way. An idea that a zillion of the greatest artists in rock ’n’ roll have signed up for, just to be paid