Dub Selector

A Global Journey Into Contemporary Electronic Dub

Twelve electronic flavored dub tracks to keep you grooving with never-before-on-CD gems from Cottonbelly, Luciano, Sizzla, and St. Germain. Up from the deep bass vibrations of modern sound systems emerges a ruff n' tuff international crew continuing the legacy of dub. Inspired by the original dub scientists of the '70s, these next generation dub lovers pay their respect in a dub stylee with electronic decks and effects.

Cottonbelly
Stuart Matthewman began producing his distinct brand of electronic grooves in his own New York studio to keep himself occupied between tours and recording sessions with pop-soul songstress Sade. A series of his underground 12-inch singles, released under the names Cottonbelly and Edge Test, were received enthusiastically in clubs from London to Los Angeles. Besides playing sax and guitar for Sade, and co-writing and producing their albums, Stuart has worked with Maxwell, Santessa and Olu. He also composes soundtracks, most recently for the indie feature Twin Falls Idaho.

Kieser.Velten
Worzburg, Austria-based producers Olliver Kieser and Thomas Velten have been experimenting with downtempo beats and dub sounds for years, creating an aural concoction of spacey synth modulations and percolating bass that is smooth, sumptuous, and infectiously molded to the duo's distinct personalities. Their recent productions are released on Kruder & Dorfmeister's G-Stone label.

Noiseshaper
Axel Hirn and Flo Fleischmann are two musician/producers from Vienna who fuse club beats and languid dub into their own brand of electronic etherea. After moving to Berlin, the two formed Noiseshaper in January 1999, adding live instruments like piano, guitar, and percussion to electronic atmospheres created through synth sweeps, loops and samples. The duo's debut full-length, Prelaunch Sequence features vocalist Vido Jelashe, who lays down the deep soul dub vocal on "The Only Redeemer," Noiseshaper's contribution to Quango's own Dub Selector.

Boozoo Bajou
Boozoo Bajou is the electronic/world music project of Nurnberg, Germany's Peter Heider and Florian Seyberth, producers/remixers who appeared on the international downtempo, nu-jazz scene with a remix of "Chocolate Elvis" by Richard Dorfmeister's Tosca (as featured on Quango's Space Jazz). The duo's first two singles were represented on an astounding total of 39 compilations. The Boozoo aesthetic combines soulful slow-motion beats with intense, atmospheric electronics and a dash of traditional instrumentation and global texture. Relentlessly tasteful, the music absorbs bossa, Caribbean, Latin, and reggae influences without distorting or diluting them. Boozoo Bajou have released a full-length record, "Satta" on Stereo Deluxe, and have collaborated with producer Michael Reinboth, Thievery Corporation, The Funky Lowlives, and Michael Franti (Spearhead).

Luciano
Over the course of the past five years, Luciano's thoughtful lyrics and accomplished delivery have established him as one of the foremost singer/songwriters in reggae. Born Jepther McClymont, in Davey Town, Jamaica, in 1974, he grew up in Manchester, and then became an orange seller in Montego Bay. He began singing in his local church before moving to Kingston in 1992 and changing his name to Luciano. His debut solo album, Moving Up, was released in '93 on the Xterminator label. "Shake It Up Tonight" becoming his first UK reggae number one hit. His prodigious singing and songwriting is also featured on albums for VP, Island Jamaica, Sly and Robbie's Taxi label, and Jet Star, and Big Ship. Luciano has collaborated with a wide array of today's global music and reggae artists, from Baaba Maal to Israel's King, Anthony B, Buju Banton and Sizzla.

I:Cube
At 25, Nicolas Chaix was deeply immersed in the electronic dance music of the Paris rave and underground radio scene. After sending several demos to influential radio Nova programmer Gilb'r, Chaix signed to the newly founded Versatile label and produced the label's first release, Disco Cubizm, as I:Cube, fusing his interpretations of Detroit Techno and Chicago House with movie soundtracks and jingles. The EP featured a Daft Punk remixwhich instantly established Versatile as one of Europe's coolest electronic labels. After a string of remixes for various artists and several releases with Gilb'r as Chateau Flight, Chaix continues to experiment with the distinctive mixture of dub, bossa, techno, electro and house that has garnered him a global audience of electronic music fans.

Seven Dub
When they signed to the Paris label Pro-Zak in 1998, Patrick Bylebyl and Guillaume Metenier had already had been active as musicians for Babylon Fighters and Les Satellites for over five years. They'd also worked with Jalal Nurridin and musicians from the legendary US rap band Last Poets. As Seven Dub, the two multi-instrumentalist producers made a reputation for themselves as an electronic act. Delighting in playfully postmodern mix of house, jazz and dub, Seven Dub are unerringly attuned to the cosmic groove. In addition to a full-length debut, "Rock it Tonight," their precise, mellow tracks are featured on innumerable compilations, from Hifi Dub Sessions Vol.1 (Guidance), to King Size Dub Vol. 5 (Echo Beach), and the Midnight Snack Sampler (Naked Music). They've become sought after session musicians throughout Europe and have remixed acclaimed world and electronic artists like Femi Kuti, Manu Dibango and Silent Poets.

G-Corp
G-Corp is Brian Nordhoff, Joe Stevens, and Rob Cimarosti, previously known as Electribe 101. Their unique brand of Birmingham electro thrives on reggae sweetness, drum and bass energy, hip-hop tough, emotive soul power, and post-house dancefloor dynamics. Over the last few years, G-Corp have remixed their heroes Bob Marley, Sly and Robbie, Dillinger, Yabbi You, Luciano and many others. They've also issued a few EPs, including the legendary Stoned, and contributed tracks to various ambient dub compilations.

Grant Phabao
Fabien Preaux is one of the co-founders and the in-house studio engineer of France's Pro-Zak Trax label. His 1999 debut under the moniker Grant Phabao, the deservedly well-hyped Tub EP, switches effortlessly from disco-fied house to dub and downtempo, and pioneered the funk-house genre with its smooth acoustic bass samples and throbbing beats.

St. Germain
Ludovic Navarre -- alias St. Germain -- is the undisputed pioneer of the new electronic music of France. In 1991, he created a new brand of fusion by blending techno rhythms and production with jazz and blues, ambient, house and dub. Navarre records and performs live onstage with trained musicians, bridging the gap between traditional musicianship and the abstracted editing aesthetic of the electronic music producer. St. Germain was founded as a jazz outfit - the band features Pascal Ohs on trumpet, Edouard Labor on saxophone and flute, Alexandre Destrez on keyboards and Edmondo Carneiro on percussion.

The Lost Skrolls of Hamaric
This is the dubbed out alias of Stephan Moerth, a native of Berlin who also records as Stereotyp. His trancey, futuristic sound is characteristic of the Berlin dub scene centered around the Sonar Kollektiv and Daniel Best's Seven label.

Sizzla
Miguel Collins was born and raised in August Town just a few miles outside of Kingston, Jamaica, where he was still in school when his writing and singing talent was discovered by Zagalou producer Homer Harris. In 1993, he started recording as Sizzla for the famed Xterminator label. His releases, incorporating electronics and 90's production with a newfound cultural and spiritual awareness, marked a new kind of Jamaican music. Sizzla's riddims are reverently faithful to traditional roots reggae, but he also displays a unique vocal style that effortlessly combines singing, rap, and freestyle improvisation. His last two albums, Praise Ye Jah and Black Woman & Child are confirmed classics, and the world braces itself for his impending collaborations with US hip-hop artists and established Jamaican musicians.