JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of reggae legend Sly Dunbar.
Tag: Sly & Robbie
Formed almost 20 years ago, the Brooklyn-based act Dub Trio — Grammy Award nominated-Stu Brooks (bass), DP Holmes (guitar) and Joe Tomino (drums) — have firmly established a critically applauded boundary pushing approach to dub that incorporates metal, punk rock, alt rock and shoegaze through the release of four albums, 2004’s full-length debut Exploring the Dangers Of, 2006’s New Heavy, 2008’s Another Sound Is Dying and 2011’s IV.
During that same exact period, the members of Dub Trio have been rather busy: they’ve done studio work with Mike Patton and Lady Gaga; they’ve toured alongside the likes of Clutch, Gogol Bordello, and The Dillinger Escape Plan — and they’ve toured as the backing band for Peeping Tom. After extensive touring to support IV, the Brooklyn-based trio went on hiatus.
Reconvening for a two week reunion at a tiny Brooklyn rehearsal room in 2018, the trio began working on the material for their fifth album, The Shape of Dub To Come. Featuring collaborations with Melvins‘ King Buzzo, Mastodon‘s Troy Sanders, Meshell Ndgeocello and an impressive array of others, The Shape of Dub To Come finds the act actively pushing dub into as many new sonic territories as possible — while serving as their first release through New Damage Records.
“Them Thing Deh,” The Shape of Dub To Come‘s latest single finds Dub Trio collaborating with Skindred’s Benji Webbe on a strutting single featuring sinuous and propulsive bass line, twinkling keys paired with Webbe’s soulful vocals, shuffling reggae riddims and reverb-drenched effects. And while seemingly centered around the prerequisite irie vibes,
“Them Thing Deh” is fueled by the sociopolitical concerns of our current moment.
“We’re putting this song out for the love of it. We knew we wanted to do a track that paid homage to our fore-fathers of reggae and dub, rhythm section greatness, Sly & Robbie,” Dub Trio’s Stu Brooks says in press notes. “They have been an endless source of inspiration to us as a band from the beginning. So, as helicopters swarmed over Hollywood during BLM protests, my wife and I felt compelled to finally break quarantine. As we approached Hollywood and Vine to join in solidarity with the protesters, ‘Them Thing Deh’ happened to be the soundtrack in my headphones. Feeling the anger we share with the BLM movement, the lyric ‘got to keep your cool; really spoke to me as I could feel the tension in the air. That week, we quickly put the rhythm tracks together, recording from 3 different states, with the help of Roger Rivas on organ and keys and hit up our old friend, legend Benji Webbe from the UK band, Skindred. Benji is the ultimate genre-masher, soulfully clashing metal, reggae, punk, dub, dancehall…all the sh*t we love!”
New Video: Mista Savona Teams Up with Cuban Star Cimafunk on an Infectious Banger
Melbourne, Australia-based producer and musician Jake Savona has had a long love affair with the music and culture of Jamaica, releasing a string of critically and commercially successful reggae and dub albums with his recording project Mista Savona.
Eventually Savona discovered Cuban music — and he began dreaming of a collaborative project that would bring top musicians from Cuba and Jamaica together to collaborate on material. In 2015, Savona received a great from the Australian Council that funded his ambitious project. Both countries are connected by common African roots and colonial histories and yet the music of Cuba and Jamaica have largely traveled in separate lanes. And while both countries individually have had an immeasurable influence on music globally, their influence on one another have generally been less evident.
The acclaimed Aussie musician and producer along with Sly & Robbie (drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare) traveled to Cuba and began recording in EGREM Studio, where Buena Vista Social Club and a number of equally legendary artists have recorded material. More sessions followed, many other artists invited to take part and after years of painstaking effort, Mista Savona Presents Havana Meets Kingston was released in 2017 to worldwide acclaim.
Slated for release next year through Cumbancha Records, Mista Savona Presents Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 continues the bold and ambitious mission of its predecessor — bridging the incredibly diverse and important music cultures of Cuba and Jamaica. The album features a deep lineup of artists collaborating together including Jamaican stars Clinton Fearon, Randy Valentine, Prince Alla, and Micah Shemaiah, Cuban stars Barbarito Torres, Changuito, Brenda Navarette, Solis and Beatriz Marquez, as well as a lengthy list of others from both countries.
Mista Savona Presents Havana Meets Kingston Part 2’s latest single “Beat Con Flow” can trace some of its origins back to 2015 when Savona first saw Cimafunk performing with Interactivo, years before Cimafunk became a household name in his native Cuba. The backing band, which featured Sly Dunbar (drums), the late Winston “Bopee” Bowen (guitar), Gaston Joya (bass), Julito Padrón (trumpet), Savona (piano, Hammond organ) and DJ Wasabi (turntables) recorded an infectious and hook-driven, strutting party anthem that’s indebted to old school reggae, hip-hop and pop.
Later Cimafunk recorded his vocal parts at a small, rundown Havana recording studio, bragging in Cuban slang that he’s dope and spits fire on the mic — and that along with the backing band, that’s providing the infectious funk that will make you get up, dance and forget your problems for a little bit. 2020 has been difficult for all of us, and the song offers the much-needed fun and upbeat vibes our exhausted hearts and souls need right now.
Directed by Rick Mereki, the recently released video for “Beat con Flow” features beautiful brown and Black people dancing to the song in a variety of colorful and interesting spaces from graffiti covered streetscapes, living rooms, clubs and an abandoned pool.