RhoDeo 1316 Roots

Hello, France like the UK has some colonial connection to the Caribean, as a consequence they did develop a reggae / dubscene as well. The coming weeks i'll be presenting some of it.

After a sixteen years old career, including: eighteen albums, maxi EP's and hundreds of live concerts throughout the world, you would think you knew all about High Tone. However, those who have following this band since their beginnings in Lyon, France, know well that: No one knows what will resemble a new album of High Tone before it gets out. Instead of cloning their music year after year, the quintet has always chosen to focus on their trade mark sound which is rich and various, thanks to a dazzling bassan synths and whooping guitars. Remaining open to many collaborations, they have built their own universe. .....N'joy

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The group came together in 1997 on the slopes of the Croix Rousse district in Lyon, fueled by the concept of a rave-like, punk and independent spirit that still motivates the band to this day. This was soon followed by the Jarring Effects label, which was created around the band, and which they have never left, as they refuse to compromise their artistic integrity.

High Tone formed in Lyon in 1997. Co-founded by Lionel "DJ Twelve" Dumas, guitarist Julien "Aku Fen" Oresta, bassist Fabrice Oresta, keyboardist Antonin "Antok" Chaplin, and drummer Dominique "Selekta Dino" Peter, the quintet emerged from the same burgeoning dub community as Le Peuple de l'Herbe, Brain Damage Sound System, and Meï Teï Shô. Drawing upon influences ranging from Lee "Scratch" Perry to ambient music to drum'n'bass, High Tone developed a rabid live fan base prior they released their first EP in 1998 under the label Jarring Effects (bad bud season) and 1999 (Low tone)  before its 2000 full-length debut, Opus Incertum. The 2001 follow-up, Bass Temperature, proved the group's commercial breakthrough, although Live, issued two years later, remains the definitive representation of their music.

Initially labeled « ethno-dub », High Tone’s influences and sound evolved, in diverse ways and they quickly became one of the main players in the Bass Music scene, a movement reuniting various schools of sound such as drum&bass, dub, glitch hop and other adventurous soundscapes The Dubtones Sessions, initiated in 2002, showcased many of the values of the band : a musical communion with the audience, a melting pot of solidarity and creativity, allowing the band to forge alliances with other dub or electronic combos, resulting in new touring or recording projects. After Kaly Live Dub kicked off the sessions, it continued with Improvisators Dub, Zenzile, Wang Lei from China, and at last Brain Damage, for an extraordinary groundbreaking album that proves the continuing musical relevance of High Tone through the years. They issued a series of acclaimed collaborations with dub brethren including Kaly Live Dub (2003's Kaltone), Improvisator Dub (2004's Higvistators), and Wang Lei (2005's Wangtone).

High Tone has progressively created its own unique musical identity by staying close to their roots and to their core audience. Remaining open to many collaborations, they have built their own universe

Line-up
Aku Fen : guitar, samples
Flaba Stone : bass guitar, synths
Selecta Dino : drums
DJ Twelve : scratches, samples
Natural High : Keyboards

Discography

Opus Incertum (00)
Bass Temperature (01)
Acid Dub Nucleik (ADN) (02)
Live (03)
Kaltone : High Tone meets Kaly Live Dub (03)
Higvisators : High Tone meets Improvisator Dub (04)
Wave Digger (05)
Wangtone : High Tone meets Wang Lei (05)
Re-processed number 1 (05) (Remixes Album)
Zentone : High Tone meets Zenzile (06)
Underground Wobble (07)
Dub Invaders (09)
Out Back (10)
High Damage : High Tone meets Brain Damage (12)



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Nourished by the musical legacy of King Tubby and Lee Perry, High Tone develops a Dub scalable, able to ingest all kinds of influences. Their music is the substance resulting from an Alchemy consists of three key elements: 70's dub, electronic music and ethnic music.Their Dub immerses in the jungle, on the borders of the India and Tibet, a few kilometers from the rhythms of the Jamaica. High Tone is primarily a group which has built its reputation on stage. Their stage performances, by a real interaction between sound, mix videos and lights, tend to provide an overall effect that breathes into the compositions a dimension and a new energy. Among the best dubs European bands, these Lyon are the Apostles of modernity dubesque... Each concert is an opportunity to spread the vibe!

High Tone - Wave Digger (flac  324mb)

01 9 Bass Channels 4:23
02 Sushit 4:46
03 Headline 5:12
04 Larsen 3:36
05 Hangar 94/05 5:56
06 Musical Bonzeye 4:58
07 Overtone 5:03
08 On The Roof 4:49
09 Spacedunk 4:08
10 Afraid Of Nothing 12:11

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Underground Wobble is a return to the sources of their art, their music which is worth seeing, listening and more. Listen to those voices out of nowhere, their universe, almost Ethereal before it came from Dune, deLittle Big man, they come from elsewhere and the whole forms a beautiful album in which you push gently but surely to the intoxicating beat of their tempo, you start to submit to the measure, that's it, you are in the place...

High Tone - Underground Wobble (flac  454mb)

01 Understellar 5:50
02 Freakency 4:14
03 X-Ray 6:09
04 Ask The Dust 7:43
05 Speed 110 3:55
06 Escape A 0:44
07 Day Break Leaving 4:44
08 Glowing Fire 6:04
09 Driving Fast 6:17
10 Round Trip 5:46
11 Escape B 0:37
12 Do Not Panic 4:07
13 Depth In The Middle 4:56
14 Northern Lights 4:08
15 Soundscape 7:26

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Three years on from 2007′s ‘Underground Wobble’, this fifth album from High Tone arrives as an expansive 2CD set, the first disc titled ‘Dub Axiome’ focusing on more dancefloor-oriented sounds, while the second ‘No Border’ disc concentrates on more cinematic atmospheres with space for acoustic instrumentation. Whatever the case, for a large part the 15 tracks gathered here see High Tone fashioning a particularly hard and brutal spin on the dub genre, and one that’s certainly not geared towards the faint of heart. Opener (and first single) ‘Spank’ sees the controls straight for white-knuckled fear from the very outset with its menacing fusion of eerie Middle Eastern instrumentation, ghostly dubbed-out female shrieks and thudding, venomous slo-motion dancehall rhythms, and gives the likes of Kevin Martin a serious run for their money whilst also representing perhaps the one overt nod to dubstep here.

With this album you absolutely have your wobbles, you absolutely have your grating noises, but you have one thing here that's missing from a lot of new dubstep: groove! Each song is different in its own way, most are very heavy, sci fi action movie type stuff, with layers upon layers of samples and riffs. You have your rib shaking bass, you have your big drums, your breaks and drops, your weird space sounds, and of course the true reggae vibes. Some have rap over them (which is surprisingly good by the way), and some have awesome guitar riffs. But every song has DRIVE: the combination of rhythm and groove which gives each track its individuality, and sets this album apart from a lot of stuff coming out recently. It's almost impossible to keep your head from bobbing while listening to this album. A must buy for any disgruntled dubstep head looking for an album full of high quality, high intensity, well produced, groovy tracks.

High Tone - OutBack (flac 540mb)

Dub Axiom (38:17)
01 Spank 5:35
02 Dirty Urban Beat 4:35
03 Dub Wha 3:20
04 Liqor 4:32
05 Liqordub 2:22
06 Rub-A-Dub Anthem 4:59
07 Fly To The Moon 7:50
08 Boogie Dub Production 5:04
No Border (45:27)
09 Space Rodeo 4:59
10 Bastard 5:44
11 Home Way 6:02
12 Propal 3:30
13 Uncontrolable Flesh 6:21
14 Ollie Bible 5:19
15 7th Assault 7:33
16 Altered States 5:59

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