RhoDeo 1302 Roots

Hello, Since the mid eighties, UK was established as the new center of dub production, with originators Mad Professor and Jah Shaka, paving the way for a all new open minded generation of producers, DJs, soundsystems and studios, followers of steppers approach, and willing to preserve and pass on dis tradition. Embodying in the sound a whole new kind of digital and electronic musical variations, like drum n bass, jungle, techno, dubstep…they keep on to perpetuate and recreate the diversity and originality within the style till present days.The UK dub scene keeps on going, regardless of the little media exposure that it has. Following in the footsteps of the sound systems that inspired him, Stevie Vibronics's dubs have been built for the Sound System, and the Scooped bass bin is by far the best way to achieve the kind of foundation-shaking bass. Time to try some at home  .... N'joy

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

It was the joint discovery of the Aba-Shanti-I Sound System and digitally sequenced music which first inspired Steve Vibronics to try his hand at building dub tunes. A minimal studio was put together at home during 1995 using the most basic of equipment - a dilapidated 16 track mixer, reverb and echo units, a couple of synths and a an Atari computer - all mixed - all mixed down onto cassette tape.

From Leicester, England, the mysterious Stevie Vibronics initially appeared on the Egg Experience '97 shows, where his enigmatic stage presence inspired Zion Train to sign the arranger. He initially experimented with music programming at home, producing dub sounds that surfaced on dub plates for sound systems. His major influences came from attending Jah Shaka and Abashanti sessions. With the advent of sequenced music in the 90s, Vibronics created a digital dub sound that resulted in "Universal Love", a particular favourite with the Abashanti crew. His sessions with Zion Train led to the release of "Jah Light, Jah Love", which proved popular within the UK roots scene. Following on from numerous dub-clashes on the Universal Egg Experience tour, 1998 saw Vibronics team up with dub activist Jah Free for the ‘Outernational Dub Convention’ album. Jah Free introduced the conference with a set of uplifting vocal tunes and Vibronics answered with six raucous lo-fi bass-heavy dubplates.

Jah Free was notorious for his penchant for booming out the basslines, and Vibronics was an ideal partner. The duo performed on a series of dub conferences across Europe, and, inspired by the original "Dub Conference" organizer Winston Edwards, they recorded Outernational Dub Conference Volume One. Acclaimed as "the Roni Size of reggae', Vibronics played his original dubs through his Atari, which he mixed live on stage utilizing his Soundcraft desk.

The album set the scene for a year of live dub conventions with Jah Free and MC Richi Rootz, taking in venues all over the UK and Europe from Southend to Summerjam and London to Lowlands. The Vibronics studio had by now evolved into the Bathysphere - a joint venture with like-minded associates in Leicester where collaborations with Alpha and Omega, Wayne McArthur, The Disciples, The Dub Factory, Jah Free and Zion Train have now taken place.

By 2000 it was about time that Vibronics released an album in their own right - enter ‘Dub Italizer’. Working in the Bathysphere studio with a G4 Mac, a Soundcraft Ghost mixer and a host of equipment previously unimaginable, ‘Dub Italizer’ was recorded in February 2000, taking the cream of the crop of dubs tried and tested during the last two years live sessions. The album was greeted with unanimous praise, with Boney’s sublime ‘Jah Music’ rightfully taking the crown as the most talked about track.

Steve + Richi was beginning to turn toward ideas they had been forming together, ideas centred on starting their own record label. The SCOOPS label was created whilst on tour, on long, long journeys between venues in France in late 2000. Vibronics music has always been built for the Sound System, and the Scooped bass bin is by far the best way to achieve the kind of foundation-shaking bass. The SCOOPS label has always been about contributing too, and maintaining a presence in the UK Roots scene. The success of the first 12” has led Steve + Rich to turn SCOOPS into one of the Uks most reputable nu-roots labels. Every limited edition vinyl release has sold out.

Vibronics put together a  new slice of roots thunder called ‘Dubliftment’ early in 2004. This long player displays a more matured approach to the dub sound, featuring a range of lush musical contributions from the long-time crew of Madu, Boney, Vitamin ‘M’ and Stevie Splitz. It was mixed and produced in the all-new-Vibronics-Vibrations studio, a humble but vibrant base, equipped with an array of the latest computer hardware and vintage dub effects alike.

Today Vibronics is one of the top names in the field of UK/Euro Dub and Roots.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Working in the Bathysphere studio with a G4 Mac, a Soundcraft Ghost mixer and a host of equipment previously unimaginable, ‘Dub Italizer’ was recorded in February 2000, taking the cream of the crop of dubs tried and tested during the last two years live sessions. The album was greeted with unanimous praise, with Boney’s sublime ‘Jah Music’ rightfully taking the crown as the most talked about track. The success of the Italizer long player led to live bookings as far a field as Helsinki, Warsaw and Lisbon.
Vibronics had, at that time, released four singles on the Deep Root label to great critical acclaim and two of those singles are featured here in the shape of 'On Jah Side' (Root003) and 'Positive Direction' (Root004). On this LP project the voice of Boney L and the melodica talents of Vitamin M add a natural flavour to the distinctive electro dubs of Stevie Vibronics, special thanks to Zion Train, Richi Rootz & Jah Free, vocals by Boney L, melodica by Vitamin M.

Vibronics - Dub Italizer (flac  395mb)

01 Rastaman's Story 5:20
02 Dub Advance 4:01
03 Jah Music 3:40
04 Jah Dub 3:39
05 Samsara 4:12
06 Vintage Dub 4:16
07 Positive Direction 3:27
08 Positive Dub 3:28
09 Beat Down Babylon 4:50
10 Dub Crisis 4:07
11 Kali Mountain 4:58
12 Rosetta Stone 5:08
13 Congo Natty 4:18
14 On Jah Side 3:20
15 On Jah Dub 2:57
16 Mother Earth 4:49

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Over the past couple of years Leicester's Stevie Vibronics has forced himself through to UK's major dub league through a succession of leading edge nu roots sides built for maximum sound system damage, many inna that speedy steppers' style that leads one to wonder if new substances are being abused on the dancefloor or is it a super strain of weed. On this new one, the follow-up to their debut 'Dub Italizer', Vibronics (Steve, Richi Rootz and vocalist Madu) are supplemented by Mark Iration, Wayne McArthur, on militant horns Stevie Splitz and melodica Vitamin M. The mix is tough as might be expected but there are constant flourishes, the opening acapella horns on 'Only One Dub', the dubbed Spanish guitar on 'Dub Forever' and the harmonised vocal intro on 'Mount Zion I'.

Vibronics - Dubliftment (flac  291mb)

01 Only One Dub 4:08
02 Mount Zion-I 3:58
03 Dub Forever 3:49
04 Deep Root Dub 3:57
05 Red, Gold & Green 4:02
06 Highland Dub 3:56
07 Dub Herbs 4:43
08 Volcano 3:13
09 East End Dub 4:02
10 Dub Struggle 4:01
11 Sound Minded 4:22
12 Dinosaur 3:43

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Throughout the 12 tracks that make this new, UK Dub Story, we can find it all! UK Dub trademark is, as always, the everlasting presence of the heaviest basslines, so be sure to switch ON the humble BASS option in your player! The spatial echoes, vintage dub sound effects and a warfare like drum display resonate all over the set, creating one of the most clear dub atmospheres from the latest times.  The “opener” Fistfull of Dub, brings an experimental tribal approach to Vibronics sounds, and the “closer” Digital Revolution rounds up the full diverse approach that UK Dub Story has to offer.

Guests on this set include the Mad Professor's old spar Macka B, UK's answer to Brigadier Jerry or Charlie Chaplin but confining himself to conscious lyrics and its great to hear his distinctively smokey voice on "Tired of the War", Vibronics in-house DJs Echo Ranks and Jah Marnyah appear on "Long Time Dub" and "King's Highway Dub" respectively – so expect the full vocal to appear on 7" format later in the year. The pace is slowed down with atmospherics rather than explosions on "Night Storm" and "Dub Lalibela" with the set being rounded off with "Digital Revolution" a tribute to the technology that gave dub its extended life span.

Vibronics - UK Dub Story (flac 274mb)

01 Fistful Of Dub 3:30
02 Dawn Chorus 3:51
03 Tired Of The War Feat.Macka B 3:46
04 Silver & Gold 3:49
05 Night Storm 3:42
06 Long Time Dub Feat.Echo Ranks 3:39
07 Flying Dub 4:09
08 King's Highway Dub Feat.Jah Marnyah 3:55
09 Dub Lalibela 3:37
10 World Of Dub 4:18
11 Safe In The Dub 4:03
12 Digital Revolution 4:03

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx