Almost two
years to the day after releasing the beloved Kings And Queens - which topped
the Billboard Reggae Chart and reconfirmed John Brown’s Body’s status as one of
the most influential American reggae bands - JBB returns with KINGS AND QUEENS
IN DUB. Taking inspiration from landmark dub albums by Burning Spear, Aswad,
and others, the new release features the entire sequence from Kings And Queens
mixed by a who’s who of dub champions including Ticklah, Dubmatix, Dubfader (of
10 Ft. Ganja Plant), UK legend Dennis Bovell, Yesking, Michael G (of Easy Star
All-Stars), Lord Echo (of The Black Seeds), and more.
While the band
has been working on new material for an upcoming release loosely scheduled for
this fall, saxophonist Drew Sayers worked closely with Easy Star Records
founders Eric Smith and Lem Oppenheimer to put together this album. John
Brown’s Body had previously released the 2012 EP JBB IN DUB and had a number of
great instrumental dub tracks in their catalog, but this release marks the
first time the band has attempted to do a complete dub version of one of their
full existing albums.
The dub
collaborators give a good sense of the currently growing global dub scene,
hailing from areas of the world including the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and the
USA. Ticklah, Dubmatix, Michael G and Dubfader are good representatives of the
current vanguard from North America, each with past collaborations with JBB in
their history. Dennis Bovell and Yesking both represent the UK, Bovell of
course as one of the most influential dub artists ever, having started his
career with Matumbi, and eventually producing much of Linton Kwesi Johnson’s
output, along with helping to define the sound of UK lovers rock in the late
‘70s and early ‘80s.
A first
track from the record, “Pulsing Dub,” which was mixed by Yesking, is being
premiered by Boomshots on February 25th, and the track will be made available
to fans via John Brown’s Body’s SoundCloud page, which has over 2 million
followers. The album itself will be available via pre-order at iTunes,
including two tracks instantly available to anyone who pre-orders.
John
Brown’s Body has a handful of major tour dates coming up, including an
appearance at California Roots Festival in Monterey, CA, which has become one
of the biggest events in the US reggae calendar each year, as well as a record
release show at Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY, which will also include a DJ set
from Ticklah.
TOUR DATES
4/20
Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl (with Ticklah)
5/20 San
Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House
5/21
Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up (with Mike Love)
5/22
Hermosa Beach, CA - Saint Rocke
5/23
Monterey, CA – California Roots Music and Art Festival
6/27
Selden, NY - Pennysaver Amphitheater
7/17
Trumansburg, NY – Finger Lakes Grass Roots Festival of Music and Dance
7/25
Topanga, CA - Reggae on the Mountain
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