Dub Gabriel
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Dub Gabriel

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"New York Magazine"

Dub Gabriel feat. Michael Stipe, "Cheree" (Suicide cover)" How is it that Stipe sounds fresher covering a band from the seventies than he does doing his own band's new material? Maybe Dub Gabriel should sit behind the drum machines for R.E.M.'s next record. - Dan Kois & Lane Brown


"Pitchfork"

Suicide's 1977 self-titled debut has been deservedly acclaimed for its bleak clash of synth-pop, tortured Elvis rockabilly, and the ugliness of that era's New York downtown. Electronic outfit Dub Gabriel-- based in (bear with me now) San Francisco, Brooklyn, and Berlin-- are joined by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe for a cover of Suicide stalker slow-dance "Cheree" that stays true to the original's creepy charm. Stipe's breathy vocal flutters with just a twinge of insanity, the way Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs might sing on a karaoke night if he were Michael Stipe. Orchestration dresses the song up for the occasion, while the rest of the backing focuses more on swirling dream-pop guitar noise than the music-box twinkling of the original. Where Suicide's deceptively pretty arrangement is a sharp contrast with Alan Vega's tremulous weirdness, Dub Gabriel's cover lets the madness of Stipe's character creep a bit more into the instrumentation. 4/10/08http://www.myspace.com/dubgabriel - 4/10/08


"Wire Magazine (U.K.)"

If 2003’s Ascend was bass heavy, then this time around Dub Gabriel drags every other element up in the mix to create a massively dense sound that hovers between the incomparable Mutamassik and the later work of the irreplaceable Muslimgauze. After “War In The Poppy Fields,” with Arad Nasarzadeh chopping out on saz over martial percussion and an obligatory Gnawa-style flute loop, it starts getting serious. “Zooklyn” is a big pan-Arabian street parade with elephantine percussion and clashing outsize cymbals – a slow, deliberate lurch towards the rest of the album’s feast.
Dub Gabriel’s concerns are more cultural than the consistently highly defined political focus of his sonic mentor Bryn Jones – hence the dedication to the major Sufi poet of divine love, Jalaluddin Rumi, on the major album’s most lyrical and meditative cut, “Rumi Go Through Me.” But the monstrous short organ drone that opens and threads through the densely textured “Garden In The Light In The Shade Of Grey” scores the greatest impact on the set, while triggering a surely impossible longing to hear Terry Riley in Dub. - issue 261, November 2005


"Global Rhythm Magazine"

As the album title implies, Brooklyn-based bassist/producer Dub Gabriel is on the warpath. On this followup to his debut Ascend, Gabriel proves to wield the world’s most dangerous weapon: the earth-trembling “chakra hits” (as he dubbed them) of the four-string. The opening “War In The Poppy Fields” sounds like a futuristic homage to Brian Jones’ Moroccan fantasia, creating a heady percussive ground for the blaring mizmar to canvas. Searching for solidarity between Arabia and Jamaica, Dub applies throbbing studio techniques to Middle Eastern percussion and horn playing. The hard hip-hop beat on “Zooklyn” sound like a sonic assault on concrete streets, with animal skin intonations bouncing from 24-inch chrome rims. Yet the center is the bass, and on the gorgeous, hypnotic “Musique de L’âme,” we are confronted with the true intentions of Moroccan trance. When the seven minutes are over you’ve returned from an inner journey that is completely out of this world. - Nov. 2005


"Voice of Culture (Germany)"



Berlin is a big city. People from all over the world are living in Berlin. Berlin gets mentioned next to Paris, New York, London and Barcelona. Creative elite and underground meet in Berlin to drink a beer. Berlin is a scene. Berlin unites. Berlin offers a new home to anyone who wants to join the crowd. Berlin creates bridges. Berlin unites the world. Berlin is the world. The world is Berlin.
Dub Gabriel is DJ, producer and music destroyer. An urban mytic, who moves from creative elite to the underground to drink a beer here and there. Dub Gabriel´s music creates borders to unite the world – Asia with Northafrica with Jamaica with Eastern Europe with tradition and the contemporary; beats with bongos, punk with gnawa, the earth with the sky. And: Dub Gabriel´s music doesn´t fit into any scene. Dub Gabriel is a nomade - a modern gipsy, moving from country to country, to get people dancing. Dub Gabriel is from New York and lives in Berlin.

Dub Gabriel @ home in this world and invited to an interview by VOC.

When did you start spinning music?
I´m a bass player and musician for over 20 years and a beatmaker/producer/musicdestroyer for 8 years.

Why music destroyer ?
Well...Music Destroyer, is because I want to destroy all concepts of genres, all association to what is and what isn't. It all ways bothered me that people feel like they have to identify them selves with one type of music and if you where into that type of music you dressed a certain way, like a uniform, you act a certain way and you only hung out with people that where that way to. I want to destroy that, fuck the borders that we put up with are selves. Weather it is world music, electronic music, punk, dub, hip hop, rock or what ever, i don't feel like i have to fit in any mold because I am all of that and all of that is in me.
I have always been a person that has been in many circles and this works for me and against me, because people are very limited in there own selves and don't understand how I can be hanging and doing music with classical musicians from India one minute and the next I am making music with the roughest gang banger hip hop guys from Bed Sty Brooklyn the next.
I see the connection with it all, it..s all music from the soul and what people experience in there life.

Which meaning has dub in terms of creating music for you? Or as to say - why dub?
Dub music is one of the deepest influences I have and is still the genre I can listen to at any time. I have been a musician for 20 years and a dj for 10 years. When I first started djin, to just get 2 turntables and play prerecorded music didn't seem challenging at all for me. I truly think djin is one of the most over hyped professions. Being a bass player I was used to following the drummer, so locking into to the beat and beat matching was always very simple to me and frankly I thought it was a little boring, so I would get guitar effect peddles and start manipulating the sources music, trying to recreate some thing and to make it new and more interactive then just spinning 2 pieces of wax. It was sort of a modern day live soundsystem style. So for me to be Dub Gabriel instead of DJ Gabriel seemed so much more appropriate. Also coming from a musician back ground I always had sort of an attitude in being considered a dj. I like DJing, but always prefer to do some thing with it to make it more interesting.

What an influence has your hometown NY and your neighborhood Brooklyn on your music?
A huge influence, i would not of been able to work with all the amazing people that I have with out New York.

How do you find new tunes?
I don..t realy find tunes, they find me....

Where are all the different worldly influences in your music from?
I first started to play electric bass when I was 13. For my 13th birthday, my parents bought me a bass guitar and a leather motorcycle jacket. At that time I was fully consumed with punk rock and wanted nothing in the world more then to be like Sid Vicious and Dee Dee Ramone. So with the jacket and the bass I was ready and armed. I owe so much to the punk scene for really developing my Passion for music. I spent allot of time playing my bass to my favorite punk records. then from those records I started to get into bands like Public Image Limited with Jah Wobble on bass, Bad Brains, Gang of four, Clash. These albums where still very much punk, but also had this dub bass influence and for the first time instead of hearing the normal punk bass sounds I was feeling this wall of bass that hit me in my chest. Which really inspired me.
Then when I was 15 or 16 2 major albums came out. I was listening to my local radio station and they where talking about this group called Material and Bill Laswell who produced Public Image at the time. They had a contest to win a free cassette of Material's Seven Souls album and it just so happen I was the one who one the contest and was the 20th caller. The other album that came out that year was a soundtrack for a new movie The Last Temptation of Christ. It was made by Peter Gabriel and called Passion. It wasnt like any thing Peter Gabriel ever did before and like nothing I ever heard before it truly blew me away and still blows me away to this day!!
From there, I got into albums like My Life in the bush of ghost by Brian Eno and David Byrne and African Headcharge.

Are you traveling a lot? Your musc has a lot of arabic and trancelike sounds.
Life style of an artist is always about traveling. I grew up with hippie parents, we moved around all the time. Getting evicted out of every flat and grew up very poor. So I have always had sort of a modern day gypsy lifestyle. I have been also playing music perfesionally since I was 17 years old. So as a artist we do what we have done traditionaly threw history. You go to a new town, do your song and dance and entertain the people then you go to the next town.
As far as arabic and trance music goes, that is all about growing as a musician, discovering new sounds that hit me deep inside.

What would you like to transmit by making, mixing, spinning music?
Intergalatic transmitions from the underground, a fine line between Sun Ra and Sid Vicious. a holly connection between every thing that is devine.

Compilations or albums?
All original music baby!!

What made you decide to go to Berlin?
A residency at a lame club called goya, was a good excuse to move to europe and have some one else pay for it.

How would you describe yourself?
Well, i am a modern day gypsy, a digital nomad, a urban mytic. left in this world to wonder. traveling from town to town to perform music for the people. where I have not been, i plan to go. would like to check out Barcelona, morrocco, asia

Your latest album "Bass Jihad" has a real organic, spiritual sound. How come, what was the intention when producing it?
First and foremost I create music for God in total celebration to him/her. I consider my music very spiritual and thank God every day for being here, being alive healthy and always provided for. I had a very difficult upbringing. I have been homeless on the streets, had parents who where drug attics my entire life and have seen every thing from people getting shot in the head right in front of me to watching the twin towers fall on September 11th out side my kitchen window. So some times we have to question are selves why and how we keep on going? what is the reason for all of this? at the end we are all going to die any ways. I was very sad for the first 25 years of my life, but then you have to realize there is always going to be the yin and the yang, for every ac there is a dc , for every night there is a day. There is always going to be the worst things happening around us, but there is also the most beautiful things around us and we choose what we want to see and take in. I had to come to a point where I surrendered and had see the beauty in life in stead of the negativity. Is the cup half full or half empty? I live every day as half full. It..s not even a choice any more.
Even now if I am going through a difficult time, which of course the artist life style always has its ups and downs, but I surrender to it because I know even in the roughest times I have always been provided for and will always be provided for. You have to give faith into the universe!!
Bass Jihad has a organic sound because it comes from a organic source, Musica Del Alma!!! Music of the soul!!

Any recomendations right now (music-song-wise)?
Check out Jason Forest ex pat living n Berlin, Al Haca Soundsystem and there other projects, Balkan Beatbox, Dr. Israel, Samsara Soundsystem, Heavyweight Dub Champions and Kush Aurora.

Thanx a lot, and that your path will bring you much further and to a lot of different places in this world!

http://voiceofculture.com/index.php?content=detail&id=53 - March, 2006


"XLR8R Magazine"

The droning seven minutes of "Musique de Lame" are so hypnotically tranquil one wouldn't dream the effervescent chaos of the mizmar-blaring "War in the Poppy Fields" came from the same record. Such is the maddened mind of Brooklyn-based bassist/producer Dub Gabriel. On Bass Jihad, his follow-up to the excellent Ascend, Gabriel revisits Arabic strings and horns while dubbing down the low-end with true Rasta artistry. "Zooklyn" showcases Middle Eastern percussion with heady electronica while proving his penchant for inventive song naming. The cross-cultural fusion is a philosophical masterpiece you don't have to think too hard about. Simply lay back and enjoy the ride. - July, 2005


"Glide Magazine"

Picture a post-apocalyptic Brooklyn rooftop, somewhere in the not-too-distant future. The scene is drenched in a smog-orange sunset haze as a large spaceship, bristling with speakers and pumping bass like a soundsystem truck from 1970s Kingston touches down. The spectacle attracts a dusted assemblage of Rastafarian monks and Bedouin shamans, coming out of the woodwork to call our collective ancestors like they’ve done since the beginning of time. This is close to the scene evoked by the music on Bass Jihad, the second major effort by the resident Brooklyn DJ/producer/mad scientist Dub Gabriel.

Like Bill Laswell, whose Material project served as an early inspiration, Dub Gabriel makes trance music in the most traditional sense. Esoteric, organic time-signatures are woven together with cosmic drones, soaring ambient textures and a global fusion of indigenous instruments, taking the listener on a deep rhythmic trip. Production-wise, the eleven tracks on Bass Jihad represent a vast improvement on the Gabe’s sonically ambitious first album Ascend, the vision of which is fully realized here with industrial, spacey, trance-inducing dub drenched in layers of echo and reverb. The sound is ancient. From the opening “War in the Poppy Fields,” the listener is dropped right into the mix, with little introduction or warning of what’s to come.

Dub Gabriel’s musical sensibility is firmly rooted in middle-eastern styles and on the album’s best tracks, deftly played percussion, string and reed instruments twang and float over mountainous, distorted drum rhythms so funky it takes at least a few listens to grasp it. Always present underneath it all is the bass, either filtered to sound like an electrified udu (a north-african drum resembling a long-necked clay pot and ringing with earthy, metallic tones) or adding twisting, liquid squelches in the space between beats. Mostly it is of the sub-sonic variety, providing that deep resonance found in traditional Jamaican nyabinghi chants - the kind you feel in your bones or in your soul.

On the hypnotic “Saaz Remains the Same” the music does battle with what sounds like the prattle of German tourists. But if the title didn’t make it clear, the music does: Gabe and company are all business here, on a mission to take you on some serious sonic journeys. This isn’t background music. “Bass is the place” brings the first half of the album to a soft descent, and that’s where things get really interesting. As the shimmering synths of “Bass” fade out like gentle waves we’re suddenly hit with a towering tsunami – a three-note organ drone set off by a low, gurgling didg drone that takes over the listener completely. The drums hit four bars in and we’re launched into orbit. This is “The Garden of Light,” probably Bass Jihad’s most stunning moment. The ancient sounds of the ney, a bamboo flute older than memory soar over everything, evoking the wide open expanse of a Himalayan plateau, or the mountains of Venus. “Rumi Go Through Me” lands us back on earth, still starry-eyed, with Gabriel channeling Augustus Pablo over a slow staccato percussion and majestic dubbed-out bass rhythm.

Taking the album out in style is the 15-minute “Return of the Urban Mystic,” confirming Bass Jihad as future trance music of the highest order. It’s not your everyday musical diversion, but like anything worth your time it rewards repeated listens in the right state of mind. - June 2005


"All About Jazz"

Primarily written, performed, and produced by Dub Gabriel, Bass Jihad spans and touches all four corners of the world—if “all four corners” means Jamaica, India, the Middle East, and Brooklyn.
Gabriel begins this mystical electrical journey alongside Ahad Nazarzadeh-Saaz with “War in the Poppy Fields,” a panic of Middle Eastern wind and percussion instruments that drops down into—then yanks the beat back from—spacious reggae chords and echo effects.

All Gabriel’s influences—sitar, electronics, percussion, loops, and scratches—come together in “Saaz Remains the Same,” crashing waves of different musics combining in one cogent piece that is electric and fast-paced like modern life, but also echoes ancient Arabian and African, even Caribbean tribal cultures. “Rumi Go Through Me” constructs from percolating percussion, chirping electronics, sitar, and melodica another evocative soundscape typical of this set.

Along with these exotic electric combinations, Gabriel allows different individual threads to shine through, too. “Musique de L’ame” builds nimble African percussion rhythms into a soft, ambient, almost tender, trance mood. “Dis Song,” featuring Kerac and Dave Hill, Jr., is a turntablist’s dream shredded through with scratches and loops and thumped from underneath by congas and other acoustic percussion.

”Bass is the Place” and “Zooklyn” rock hard, even with their odd-time instrumental breaks and spirited vocal incantations. More funk music than world music, their coiled and thumping beats move slow and lazy but powerfully—like a panther can move. Tough stuff. - September 2005


"“(Dub Gabriel) creates music that is worthy of worship!”"

Posted on 09/17/2008
Anarchy & Alchemy is an album with a heavy dub influence (thus his name, Dub Gabriel) but this isn't an all-dub affair. Instead it's an album with influences in electronic and hip-hop, but one where dub is never far behind.

The album has the feel of music by Beats International, Tricky, and The Angel in that the sounds and textures heard are varied, unpredictable, and at first I wasn't sure in what direction things were going. Rather than dwell in depth, I decided to take it on as it came and things started to move in the music's favor. The Tricky reference comes from Dub Gabriel creating different styles to compliment his collaborators, whether it's the ladies of Yo Majesty in "Pony Girl" or Karen Gibson Roc offering a bit of spoken word stylee in "Spirit Made Flesh". Even the titles alone don't begin to explain his music: it can either be heady and overwhelming or ultra-funky and dance worthy, not unlike anything Norman Cook has ever done. The album's biggest surprise comes in the form of a cover of Suicide's "Cheree." With vocals from R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, it sounds neither like Suicide or R.E.M., and if Stipe ever had a solo career, this could be a hint of what he would be capable of doing.

The music is rich in synth and bass frequency manipulation, as much as there is an emphasis on quality samples and beats, so perhaps that's why it has a way of not sounding like this or that. Dub Gabriel balances himself, and in the process creates music that is worthy of worship. Or at least his fans will find a need to create an audio temple in his honor. Away from the hype, Dub Gabriel probably feels this is the perfect time for music revolution. He may be a few years late in his execution, but his participation in the battle is quite worthy nonetheless.

- John Book - Okay Player


"“Some of the best dance music of this year!”"

Dub Gabriel
Anarchy And Alchemy
By David Dacks

Formerly the creator of an extremely dense Middle Eastern dub sound with a strong dose of illbience, Dub Gabriel has sharpened up his sound. At times, he achieves results that rank with some of the best dance music of this year. Kicking off with a menacing bass presence and Jahdan’s rich raga tenor, atypical rhythm programming offsets the immovable foundation. The contrast of the vocal flow and post-Timbaland beats, neither of which fully resolves on beat one, creates some very serpentine rhythms. The tracks get better and better over the first half-dozen selections with abrasive lyrics and elegant deliveries enlivening these focused and brutal rhythms. The high point is Dr. Israel’s hypnotic singjay style on “Battle of the Righteous Man.” From then on, there are a few misfires. Yo Majesty bring the horniness to “Pony Girl,” which is burdened with an annoying synth hook and an all too familiar hodgepodge of contemporary club sounds, though the tablas are a nice touch. A version of Suicide’s “Cheree” with Michael Stipe is full of rock bluster that seems disconnected from the rest of the disc. Nevertheless, this album rocks more than two-thirds of the time and is without a doubt Dub Gabriel’s best ever. (Destroy All Concepts) - Exclaim Magazine


Discography

DISCOGRAPHY
CD
Gaudi (Six Degrees Records 2009)
Dub Gabriel & U-Roy ep (Destroy All Concepts 2009)
Meditronica (Rare Noise 2009)
Infinity (Destroy All Concepts 2009)
Dub Gabriel-Anarchy & Alchemy (Destroy All Concepts)- released Sept 11th 2008
N.I.C. in Dub (Hammerbass France)
Bambu Brothers (Azra)
Tigarah (Universal Records)- Remix
Raiz (Universal Records)- Remix
Balkan Beat Box (Crammed) - Remix
Dub Gabriel-Bass Jihad (Azra)
Dub Gabriel- Ascend (Baboon Records)
Samsara Soundsystem- Ritual of Carousel (Baboon/Caroline/EMI)
Land Of Baboon vol. 3 W/ Jamalski (Baboon/Caroline/EMI)
Baraka Orchestra W/ Last Poets- 5 Worlds (Baraka
Foundation/Caroline/EMI)
Qaballa Steppers w/ Bill Laswell, DXT, Dr. Israel, Prof. Shehab- Imaginatrix (Baraka
Foundation/Caroline/EMI)
Freedom Sounds “Tribute to the Skatalites”- Various
Artist (Shanachie)

VINYL
Qaballa Steppers (Baboon/Caroline/EMI)
Baraka Orchestra (Baraka Foundation/Caroline/EMI)
Dub Gabriel & Brooklyn Massive (Baraka
Foundation/Caroline/EMI)

Photos

Bio

Dub Gabriel has been pushing the boundaries of the New York music scene for over 10 years. As an up-coming Musician, Producer, and DJ in the mid 90’s, his musical explorations led him to the fringes of the downtown scene sharing the stage & DJ booth with a who’s who of artist including Meat Beat Manifesto, Francois K., Mussafir, Jamalski, Last Poets, Dr. Israel, Jneiro Jarel, Karsh Kale, Nicodemus, Badawi, Kode9, Scientist, and many others, as well as performing at such places as the United Nation, The FIFA World Cup & The Lincoln Center.

Touring regularly throughout Europe & North America, as well as recently headlining a series of shows in Beijing, China, he continues to build a legacy with everything he does. On the recording front, Gabriel dropped his first solo album, Ascend (Baboon Records) in ‘03 and followed it up with the low-end assault of Bass Jihad (Azra) in ‘05. Bass Jihad spent over two months on the CMJ radio charts and achieved critical acclaim from publications including Billboard (who compared him to Brian Eno!), Interview, XLR8R, Village Voice, LA Weekly, New York Times, Resonance & Paste, ending up on several influential best-of-the-year lists and was featured in the book Global Beat Fusion.

The word is definitely out as he is gaining much demand as a producer, remixing tracks for such artist as Balkan Beat Box (Crammed), Raiz (Universal, Italy), Tigarah (Universal, Japan) as well as scoring music for MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon.

2006 found Gabriel relocating to Berlin where he immersed himself in the wealth of underground electronic music that the city had to offer, and laid down the foundation for what is now his new album, Anarchy & Alchemy. Returning to the US in 2007 to complete the album, he brought together an incredible crew of guests and collaborators that include Michael Stipe (REM), Dr. Israel (Praxis, Method of Defiance), Yo Majesty (Domino Records), Juakali (Pinch/Dub War), Oz Fritz (Tom Waits/Bill Laswell), Scotty Hard (Wu-Tang), Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto), Sami Yaffa (New York Dolls), Mee (Asian Dub Foundation/Smashing Pumpkins), San Francisco Conservatory Graduate Orchestra, and many others.

The New Album that released on Sept. 11th in North America (Nov. 17th in Europe & Japan) has already been getting critical acclaim in such publications as Pitchfork, New York Magazine, & CMJ as well as College & Internet Radio, Blogs, & Social Networks that have been going through the roof in support of the release.

Come check out what Exclaim Magazine says is “Some of the best dance music of this year!” & Okay Player says: “(Dub Gabriel) creates music that is worthy of worship!”