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For a tiny island in the Caribbean, Jamaica casts a long and imposing shadow over modern music. It’s staggering to think how many ideas and techniques still used across the globe in making music were pioneered in electrician’s shops and makeshift studios in Kingston, on equipment held together by rubber bands, gaffa tape and blind faith. Amongst the innovations that Jamaica’s producers introduced to the world was dub, wherein a new track was built from the raw material of another, usually by cutting out the vocal, turning up the riddim and adding massive amounts of echo and reverb. This effectively invented the concept of the remix 20 years before Primal Scream and Andy Weatherall ever got talking, and the personality cult surrounding geniuses like Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and King Tubby paved the way for today’s celebrity producers.
One man who has unwaveringly kept 70's dub alive whilst fashions in reggae have come and gone around him is London’s Neil Fraser aka The Mad Professor. Though perhaps most famous in Britain for giving the dub treatment to an entire Massive Attack album (vastly improving it in the process), his Ariwa sound system and label has been active since the early 80's and tonight he's brought his exemplary skills to Humberside. Gigwise felt that a 150-mile round trip from Leeds was well worth it for a chance to experience the Professor in action, and we were not disappointed.
The formula is absurdly simple and devastatingly effective. Fraser has a mixing desk on stage through which he creates live remixes of his most popular tunes and productions. Naturally, it’s heavy on the bass and the clattering drums are subjected to so much echo that often it feels as though the track will sink under the weight. Yet the Prof always brings it back from the edge, never losing sight of the rhythm holding it all together. Riding the beats are several young MCs who add a toast here and there, which Fraser sometimes catches with his echo box and loops over and over. He even hands over control of the board to a privileged young apprentice for a few minutes, passing along his skills to keep the sacred flame of dub burning.
A genius at work.
