African Head Charge is a psychedelic dub ensemble active since 1981, when they released their debut album, recorded at Berry Street Studio in London, which was, at the time, run by Dennis Bovell. [1] The group was formed by percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, [2] and featured a revolving cast of members, including the original members of Creation Rebel, Undivided Roots, Carlton "Bubblers" Ogilvie and Crucial Tony Phillps of Ruff Cutt, Style Scott of The Roots Radics and The Dub Syndicate, George Oban, (bassist who had played with Aswad and Burning Spear), Headley Bennett, Prisoner, Crocodile, (both pseudonyms for Adrian Sherwood), Nick Plytas (originally from 1970s pub-rock proto punk band Roogalator), Junior Moses, Sunny Akpan of The Funkees, Steve Beresford of Brian Eno's Portsmouth Sinfonia, Bruce Smith (musician) of Public Image Ltd, Evar Wellington of British Roots Reggae band, The Makka Bees, Skip McDonald, Gaudi and Jah Wobble. Martin Frederix, sound engineer and live-mixer for This Heat also contributed to the band, playing bass and mixing some of the tracks on Songs of Praise. The group released most of its albums on Adrian Sherwood's label, On-U Sound, with much of the iconic sleeve-design artwork provided by noted photographer, Kishi Yamamoto, who also played keyboards, Guzheng Chinese Harp and Pipa Chinese lute on some of the compositions. [1]
Journalist David Stubbs, writing in The Wire, said, "The notion of African Head Charge was hatched when Adrian Sherwood read Brian Eno's comment about his vision for a 'psychedelic Africa'". [3]
All of their early work has been re-released as double albums on vinyl and CD. [1]
Lee "Scratch" Perry was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music with his early adoption of remixing and studio effects to create new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae tracks. He worked with and produced for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Murvin, The Congos, Max Romeo, Adrian Sherwood, Beastie Boys, Ari Up, The Clash, The Orb, and many others.
Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style. Generally, dub consists of remixes of existing recordings created by significantly manipulating the original, usually through the removal of vocal parts, emphasis of the rhythm section, the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works.
Dub Syndicate is a dub band, formed by Adrian Sherwood, which became a showcase for Adrian Sherwood's collaboration with Lincoln "Style" Scott, former drummer with the Roots Radics, Suns of Arqa and Creation Rebel.
Horace Andy is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Man Army" with English trip hop group Massive Attack. He is also famous for a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine". Andy is often described as one of the most respected and influential singers in Jamaica.
Tackhead is an industrial hip-hop group that was most active during the 1980s and early 1990s, and briefly reformed in 2004 for a tour. Their music occupies the territory where funk, dub, industrial music and electronica intersect. The core members were Doug Wimbish (bass), Keith LeBlanc (percussion) and Skip McDonald (guitar) and producer Adrian Sherwood. Despite being short-lived as a band proper, the legacy and output of these groups of musicians has been prodigious.
Prince Far I was a Jamaican reggae deejay and producer, and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics about government measures initiated at the time against violent crime.
Adrian Maxwell Sherwood is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques to other forms of electronic dance music and popular music outside of the genre. He has worked extensively with a variety of reggae artists as well as the musicians Keith LeBlanc, Doug Wimbish and Skip McDonald. Sherwood has remixed tracks by Coldcut, Depeche Mode, The Woodentops, Primal Scream, Pop Will Eat Itself, Sinéad O'Connor, and Skinny Puppy. In his role as a record producer he has worked with a variety of record labels; however, his best-known label is On-U Sound Records which he founded in 1979. Sherwood has been a member of the band Tackhead. He considers himself tone deaf, and focuses on making sounds and noises rather than melody.
Ott is a British record producer and musician who has worked with Sinéad O'Connor, Embrace, the Orb, and Brian Eno, and has achieved recognition since 2002 for his own psychedelic dub tracks and his collaborations with Simon Posford. He has released two albums on Twisted Records: Blumenkraft (2003), Skylon (2008), and three albums on Ottsonic: Mir (2011), Fairchildren (2015) and Heads (2022).
On-U Sound Records is an English record label known for releasing its own unique flavour of dub music since the 1980s. The label was founded by Adrian Sherwood in 1979/1980 and is home to acts such as Tackhead, Dub Syndicate, African Head Charge, Akabu, The London Underground, Little Annie, Creation Rebel, Mark Stewart, Gary Clail, New Age Steppers, Audio Active, Asian Dub Foundation, and the dub collective Singers & Players.
Uncarved Block is the third studio album by Flux of Pink Indians who, by then, were known simply as Flux. It was released in 1986.
Michael George Campbell, better known as Mikey Dread, was a Jamaican singer, producer, and broadcaster. He was one of the most influential performers and innovators in reggae music.
Singers & Players were a reggae collective made up of vocalists and musicians associated with Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound Records. They recorded five albums between 1981 and 1988.
Skip McDonald is an American musician who also performs under the stage name Little Axe.
Daniele Gaudi, better known as Gaudi, is an Anglo-Italian musician, solo artist and record producer based in London, who specialises in dub music, electronica, reggae and worldbeat. His distinctive production sound appears in a number of albums nominated for Awards and prizes such as Grammy Award 2019 -Best Reggae Album Of The Year- for Mass Manipulation by Steel Pulse and BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music 2008 for the album Dub Qawwali by Gaudi & Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His music work and contributions have topped international charts such as: Billboard Reggae Chart no.1 with the album Heavy Rain by Lee "Scratch" Perry, Billboard Reggae Chart no.1 with the album Mass Manipulation by Steel Pulse, Billboard Reggae Chart no.1 with the album Vessel of Love by Hollie Cook, Billboard Reggae Chart no.2 with "Rainford" by Lee "Scratch" Perry, UK Dance Chart no.1 with the album "Prism" by The Orb, no.1 with "Jus' Come " by Cool Jack, no.1 in the UK iTunes chart with "Blue Monday" by Dub Pistols, Gaudi, Dubmatix.
Audio Active were a Japanese reggae fusion band who released several albums between the early 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century.
Beris Simpson, better known as Prince Hammer, is a Jamaican reggae deejay, singer, and record producer.
Lincoln Valentine Scott, better known as Style Scott, was a Jamaican reggae drummer, famous for playing in the Roots Radics and, later, with Dub Syndicate. He also recorded and performed with Prince Far I, Bunny Wailer, Scientist and Creation Rebel.
Dubblestandart is a dub reggae band from Vienna, Austria. They were founded in 1987 and achieved breakthrough success in 1992. The band has collaborated with Lee "Scratch" Perry, Ari Up from the Slits, and film director David Lynch, on their studio album Return From Planet Dub in 2009. They describe their style as "hi-energy dub" or "21st century dub".
Lucifer on the Moon is a dub remix album of songs from Lucifer on the Sofa, the tenth studio album by American indie rock band Spoon. It is a track-by-track reworking, with all remixes by British dub producer Adrian Sherwood. It was announced on September 21, 2022, and released by Matador Records on November 4, 2022. Sherwood was given access to the entire album's original multi-tracks tapes. Sherwood and his On-U Sound colleagues provided additional instrumentation. Contributors include bassist Doug Wimbish and drummer Keith LeBlanc. It is Spoon's first remix album. They previously released a remix EP for the song "Wild" in May 2022, featuring contributions from Jack Antonoff and Dennis Bovell.