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This week my guest is Adrian Sherwood, the legendary dub producer from the south of England behind the On-U label and so many groundbreaking music projects. We talk a lot about those early days when Adrian was first immersing himself in music and about what it's like to release, distribute & hustle music as well as his work with unforgettable artists like Prince Far-I & Bim Sherman .. Adrian is a great guy with a unique perspective on music so sit back and enjoy his musical journey !
This week my guest is Dub Creator, or DC as I have always known him. He is based in the Netherlands and many will know him for his excellent vocal and dub tracks he has produced for the King Shiloh label with artists like Lyrical Benjie, Peter Broggs & Earl 16 .. we talk about when we met 20 years ago, the MP3 digital music revolution and his studio work with many top class vocalists .. enjoy !
This week my guest is Earl 16 - Yabby You, Dennis Brown, Michael Rose, Lee Perry, King Tubby, Studio One .. if you want to find out about the hey day of Jamaican music production, you need to talk to someone who was right in the thick go tit and that’s Earl 16 singer, songwriter, entertainer and all round musical ambassador .We also talk about Leftfield, Dreadzone and Earl’s work beyond Reggae as well as his own Merge record label .. enjoy !
Dan I is well known as a sound system operator from Northern Italy. Now known for his Imperial Sound Army Sound System, he started out as a singer and musician back in Italy, we have a really interesting chat about how things have developed in Italy, and what it takes to run a big Sound Sound System as well as his work with Alpha & Omega and much much more .. enjoy !!
This week may guest is Mad Professor. We have been planning this interview since the start of the podcast, so it was great to finally get to talk about his life in dub. We get some amazing insight into how he started out, the barriers he encountered, and the struggles he overcame at the start of an incredible career, as well as talk about his new book he is writing as well as tales of Jah Shaka, Sandra Cross and more .. Enjoy !!
This week my guest is Liam from Partial Records. Partial is known for its well established track record in re-issuing great music that’s usually hard to get hold of, as well as some killer new productions. For this episode of the podcast, we decided to try something different, and look more deeply at some of these classic tracks that Partial have re-issued and learn more about what it's like to run a small independent reggae label specialising in vinyl. .. enjoy !!
This week my guest is Dixie Peach, well known as vocalist and live performer, but in the interview we learn about his early days which were spent running & playing Sound Systems. We also get to hear about how his big tunes in the 1980’s like 'Pure Worries' & 'Tonight Is The Night' blew up and put him in the spotlight for the first time as well as his time with the Jah Tubbys Sound System & Label .. enjoy !!
This week my guest is Martin Campbell, a vocalist and producer with an unmistakable voice and musical style. Martin Campbell is a veteran singer with a direct link to the Channel One Recording Studio in Jamaica. It was a real treat to get to know more about his hits like 'Wicked Rule' & Ignorance & Poverty' as well as growing up in Jamaica and so much more in this conversation ... enjoy !!
This week my guest is Dennis Bovell, the Barbados born legend of reggae. From his early outings in Sound Systems in London way back in the 1970’s, through Matumbi, Linton Kwesi Johnson and beyond , few people have made such an impact on the world dub & reggae world as Dennis Bovell. As well as all these things mentioned, we talk about him writing the soundtrack for the film Babylon, and we get stuck into the ‘Small Axe’ TV series,
This week my guest is Brinsley Forde. Brinsley has played such a key role in the reggae & dub world, he starred in the film Babylon, he was front man & voice of Aswad and was hanging out with Bob Marley & The Wailers when they were living in London in the late 1970s. We hear about all this stuff and much more during this really interesting interview .. enjoy !! New Podcast website : http://www.lifeindub.com/ SCOOPS Gold Disc Classics back in stock : https://vibronics.co.uk/shop/ https://www.instagram.com/vibronicsdub https://vibronics.co.uk/
This week my guest is Earl Gateshead, many of you will have caught Earl’s infectious reggae selections over the years, wether with Trojan Sound System, Reggae Roast or any of the other many many sessions he has played at during a career that has lasted over 40 years. Earl tells us about time spent with Big Youth and Sugar Minott as well as how he helped get Reggae into music festivals .. enjoy !!
This week my guest is Scientist. Welcome to one of the ultimate dub mixing legends ever ... in this interview I loved hearing about King Tubby and those magical early days in Jamaica when dub music was born. Its fair to say that Scientist has suffered at the hands of an unfair music industry that doesn’t respect dub mixing in the way it should, and we talk about this as well as Scientists own theories as to why Dub Music has grown to be such a powerful force in music. .. hope you enjoy it !
This week my guest is Neil from, King Shiloh Sound System, Amsterdam’s Healing of The Nations sound. Me & Neil have known each other a long time and we dig deep into his personal journey, that include talks about Yorkshire, Amsterdam and even Ethiopia. We had some technical issues with the recording, so about 20 minutes in we have to move over to the back-up recording, but please stay with it, you’ll soon get adjusted and carry on enjoying the Shiloh story. .. hope you enjoy it !
This week my guest is Solo Banton. Solo is a talented & charismatic performer, lyricist, producer, host & a great interviewer too (check old his Old Ragamuffin show to see what I mean). We get chance to find out how his life in dub started back in London, as a young child obsessed with Reggae Music & Sound Systems, we also talk about how Covid has messed the music industry up and about his future plans, we had a great chat .. hope you enjoy it !
In this, the first ever episode of the "LIFE IN DUB" podcast my guest is Keety Roots. We talk about his life in music, growing up in London and his Black Legacy record label. I would love to hear your comments, thoughts & suggestions for the podcast, so please get in touch ... Enjoy !
My guest for this second episode of the Life In Dub Podcast is Nick Manasseh, truly a legendary figure in the UK Reggae music since the 1980s. We sat down in his London studio and talked about his Sound system days, the enduring influence of his KISS FM radio show and of course, about his music productions over the years . I would love to hear your comments, thoughts & suggestions for the podcast, so please get in touch ... Enjoy !
My guest this week is Macka B, someone who has recorded in 2 different Vibronics Dub Cupboard studio locations. I travelled over to Wolverhampton in the West Midlands to sit down with Macka and talk about his life in Dub & Reggae. Macka is a great talker and our conversation covered many topics including his early begins in music, his TV appearances and even Beyonce’s mum ... enjoy !
Welcome to the fourth Life In Dub Podcast, a new series of in depth interviews with people who have lived their lives in dub & reggae. My guest this week is Tom Tatersall , one of the founder members of Mungos HiFi. This is the first remote hook-up of this Podcast series, with me sat in the Dub Cupboard studio in Leicester and Tom in his studio up in Glasgow. I first met Tom & Doug in Glasgow maybe 20 years ago just as they were starting out with Mungos HiFi and I was releasing my first records. Since then their team has grown and Mungos has become a really successful sound system , label and music studio and in this interview you can hear Tom talk about how they started and learn more about the whole Mungos journey.
My guest this week is Mark Iration. I drove up to the High Rise Studio in Leeds where we sat down to talk about how he started out in music, the birth of Iration Steppas and how Mark and the crew evolved into one of the most successful & highly influential sound systems out there. I’ve known Mark a long time so, it was great to sit down and talk through his life in dub and hear about buying records in long since closed record shops and being king of the ghetto blaster in Leeds.
This week my guest is Russ Disciple, one of the founders of the UK Dub & Roots sound from the late 1980s right up to now. I interviewed Russ over the phone, so please excuse the odd audio glitch - i'm sure it won’t stop you from enjoying this fascinating insight into Russ and his musical journey.
This week my guest is King Earthquake aka Errol Arawak. The King Earthquake Sound System has got to be one of the truly legendary & notorious roots sound systems of the last 20 years and I traveled over to Birmingham to meet with Errol to talk about his sound system, his personal story and to gain some insight into lesser known legends like Lynx the pre-amp builder and the Birmingham Sound System days of old.
My guest this week is Ben Alpha Steppa. We recorded this interview in Mexico City last December when we were doing some shows together. Ben not only makes amazing music and political actions himself, but he is also the son of John from Alpha & Omega - who are one of the THE foundation influences on Vibronics.
This week my guest is Danny Red, one of the key voices in modern roots reggae. We recorded this interview with Danny in Kingston Jamaica, and me in the Dub Cupboard Studio in Leicester. Danny is for sure a true original thinker and a great orator, and we touched on topics as diverse as noise abatement politics in Jamaica, Danny’s discovery of Rastafari and even Elvis Presley ... enjoy ! It is always great to hear from listeners, so please get in touch.
This week my guest is Imo from Moa Anbessa in Italy, one of the most important Roots-Reggae music projects to come out of Italy. We talk about the history of Reggae & Sound Systems in Italy, as well as the rise of the Moa Anbessa project and the Zion Station Festival that Imo helps to organise. ... enjoy !
This week my guest is Aba Shanti, a true cornerstone of the world-wide roots reggae sound system scene, and someone who has 100% lived their life in dub. The interview is full of amazing insights into his very early days, talks about the time he spent working with Jah Tubbys back in the 1980s, as well as his love for, and connection with, the city Of Leicester, where I have lived for 30 years . It was an interview with real personal meaning for me, because Aba Santi was my own introduction to the world of Sound System back in those early days.
This week my guest is Rico from OBF in France. OBF have hit some amazing highs over the last few years, firmly established as one of the leading sound systems and music producers. We talk about early days in squats in Geneva and starting the Dubquake night as well as more recent trips to Jamaica. Their new album 'Signz' came out last week, so my catch up with Rico was great timing, there is some wind noise in the first part of the interview, but that doesn’t last long and hopefully won’t get in the way of enjoying what Rico has to say about his own Life In Dub.
This week we have Dougie Wardrop from Conscious Sounds, Bush Chemists and Centry on the Life In Dub Podcast show, so many music projects that are part of the foundation of UK Dub & Reggae. Dougie is a highly talented and prolific music producer who’s passion for making music remains as strong as it did way back in the 1980s when he started out. Dougie is a life-long rebel with a fascinating history and the first person on the Podcast to say ‘bollocks to the government’. We talk about his connections with Manasseh, Dubhead and lots of 1990's history as well as news about what to expect in 2020 .. enjoy!
This week my guest is Joseph from King Alpha Sound System, King Alpha have become an essential name in the Sound System scene over the last few years, with their own heavyweight sound system and record label. We talked about growing up in Ghana, King Alpha’s rise up the ranks via the Word Sound & Power stable in London and about the intensity of sound system music .. enjoy!
This week my guest is Stryda from Dubkasm in Bristol. Stryda is a prominent figure in the reggae & sound system arena, he started out on Pirate Radio back in the 90s and is now maybe best known as being one-half of the mighty Dubkasm. He is also promoter of the legendary ’Teachings In Dub’ nights in Bristol and is about to launch a new Radio show. As well as all things Dubkasm and Teachings in Dub We talked a lot about the city of Bristol, a city that has given Vibronics so much support over the years.
This week my guest is Steve Jah Warrior. Jah Warrior will be known to many for his classic releases in the 1990s, working with legends like Prince Allah and Horace Andy , but Jah Warrior was active long before these records came out, and in this interview he talks about attending sound system dances in the 1970s and 80s, about building his sound system as well as tales of being at the forefront of things we now take for granted, like internet record shopping.
This week my guest is Murray Man from Birmingham, a great vocalist and producer and founder of the Mellow Vibes record label. Certainly one of the nicest guys in the business, Murray Man talks about his childhood times in Jamaica as well as some great stories about the old sound system days in Birmingham and his involvement in the Virgo sound system back in the 1980s … enjoy !
This week my guest is Sukh from Indica Dubs. It was the first face to face interview recorded in the Dub Cupboard studio here in Leicester. In the interview we find our about how Indica Dubs started, but also about Southall, a part of West London that has supported Reggae and Sound Systems for years and years. Sukh also tells us about what he has learned about releasing records and about his commitment for and love of the vinyl format.
This week my guest is Paul from Nucleus Roots in Manchester. Nucleus are of the great collectives and production houses that started out in the 1990s. Paul talks about his love of live music and how punk has been a big influence on him, as well as the whole story of my personal favourite Nucleus Roots release - the infamous ‘Brown Album’ .
This week my guest is Sandra Cross. Shame on me that it took me 20 shows to finally get a female guest! Sandra is THE voice of Lovers Rock, but she’s also a lover of roots reggae, hence the tracks we released together last year. In the interview we learn about her early days growing up in Brixton and how she rebelled and immersed herself in the vibrant London sound system scene of the 70s and 80s. Sandra offers some real insight into what it was like to be a no.1 hit-making artist back in the day and about how she continues to write and record today.
This week my guest is Jamie Kibir La Amlak, we talk about his experience from a very early age of reggae music, speaker boxes and music making, We learn a lot about the Kibir La Amlak journey that started out in Southend, one of the great places for reggae sound systems in the UK, and amongst many subjects we talk about the Brazilian singing trio the Dawtas If Aya, with whom we have both worked.