It’s been a busy few weeks here at the SLF. With both Joe Cuba CD release party and Soundlib last Wednesday, we were pretty hyped up about the Afro Dub Sessions. Without surprise, the party was a success with great music throughout the evening. We had a blast and it was good seeing many people come out to be part of it.

DJ Linh started the night with some massive tracks, seamlessly mixing dancehall classics with afro funk grooves. Super Hi Fi was banging as usual and we had the pleasure to have John Brown’s Body Sax player Drew Sayers sit in on some tracks and perform some insane solos. Emch, the session’s special guest, then came in and added a layer of dubby sound effects and melodica on top of the live band before starting his own DJ set.

For the next hour or so, he unleashed a diverse selection of classic dub, dubstep and dancehall bangers mixed in with some original Subatomic tracks including his trademark dubstep remix of Lee Perry’s “Blackboard Jungle” as well as a new dope remix of legendary U-roy. Halfway into his set, he was joined by vocalist Donny Yardas for an impromptu rub a dub session. By that time, the dance floor was packed and the entire place was getting down to some serious heavyweight music. Super Hi Fi then came back for a second set before Q Mastah and DJ Lil Tiger finished off the night in SLF fashion.

We’re pretty stoked that there are still clubs left in this city that support alternative music (especially on a Saturday night) so big up Rose Live Music for letting us do our thing and to everyone who came out and enjoyed themselves. See you all next month (3/27) for the next edition of the Afro Dub Sessions featuring special guest DJ DRM from Bastard Jazz Records alongside the usual resident SLF crew.

Thanks to everyone who came out last Saturday to Rose Live Music for the inaugural event of our new monthly Afro Dub Sessions party. We couldn’t have hoped for a better turnout especially considering the biting cold NYC winter that was in full force that night. More importantly, the vibe was great and the crowd seemed receptive to the unusual combination of dub music and afro sounds.

The night started out with our own DJ Linh, spinning some dope afro funk and old school dancehall to warm up the crowd before resident band Super Hi Fi performed their first set. With Ticklah manning the soundboard, they delivered a tight set of instrumental dub infused with funk, rock and afrobeat influences creating an irresistible groove which got the entire audience converging toward the dance floor.

Ticklah then came on the turntables, spinning  an all vynil set of rare afrobeat and dub classics. By that time, the venue was so packed it was hard to move around. Following his DJ set, super Hi Fi came back for a killer second set before SLF resident DJs Q-Mastah and Lil Tiger finished off the evening of great music with a blend of  heavyweight dub and afro grooves.

We all had a blast and we’re already working on making the next one even better. If you couldn’t make it to Rose last Saturday, make sure not to miss the next Afro Dub Session on Saturday February 27th with DJ Emch from Subatomic Sound System.  More info to come soon…

To start this new decade, we’re proud to announce the AFRO-DUB SESSIONS, a new monthly party taking place every last Saturday at Rose Live Music in Williamsburg.

Since you probably don’t want to hear our music nerd babbles about the concept behind the party, we’ll keep the academic  details for SLF staff meetings. All you need to know is that you should come witness a unique blend of live dub music and DJs showcasing the latest in Afrobeat, Afro Groove, Reggae, Dub, Dubstep and more. There’s no cover so you have no excuse for not coming through!

Each month, we’ll feature a special guest DJ in addition to resident live band Super Hi-Fi and the Sound Liberation DJ’s. For our launch party on January 30, we called on our good friend and quintessential afro-dub advocate  VICTOR “TICKLAH” AXELROD, to bless us with his many talents. If you’re not familiar with Ticklah, here’s a bit from his bio:

NYC based producer, keyboard virtuoso, and vintage Reggae wunderkind VICTOR AXELROD, aka TICKLAH, has been a continual and integral part of the NYC music scene for over a decade – as a performer, TICKLAH is a founding member of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Antibalas, the Easy Star All-Stars, and worked with Mark Ronson on both the Amy Winehouse and Daniel Merriweather albums. As a producer, TICKLAH was behind the boards for the Dub Side Of The Moon album (co-production, mixing), remixed Shaun Escoffery’s classic “Days Like This” (alongside DJ Spinna), produced 2001’s legendary Roots Combination album, and released his own critically acclaimed solo Ticklah Vs. Axelrod LP on NYC Reggae label Easy Star. The list goes on and on. … Victor is a man in very high demand from some very big players for his untouchable musical aesthetics, his intricate attention to detail, and a true understanding of our musical past.

Hope to see you all there! Here are some more details about the party:

==========

Sound Liberation Front + TheBRMG + buhbOmp presents:

[[ AFRO-DUB SESSIONS: Sounds of the Rhythm R(evolution) ]]

SATURDAY | 30 JAN 2010
(and every last Saturday of the month)
10p-4a | FREE | No dress code

@ Rose Live Music
345 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
- Between Marcy Ave. and Havemeyer St. in Williamsburg
- G/L train to Lorimer or the L to Bedford)
718.599.0069

featuring:

[[ TICKLAH aka VICTOR AXELROD ]]
( Easy Star Records, Antibalas )
+ facebook fan page | myspace.com/ticklah

w/ resident live Afro-Dub band:

[[ SUPER HI-FI ]]
( w/ members from Aphrodesia, Slavic Soul Party, The Superpowers and Blue Man Group )

and resident DJs:

[[ Q MASTAH ]]
( Sound Liberation Front, Music Nerd All-Stars )

[[ DJ LINH ]]
( Sound Liberation Front )

[[ DJ LIL TIGER ]]
( –=(] buhbOmp [)=–, Sound Liberation Front, touch&feel:radio, Music Nerd All-Stars, Soular Grooves )

more info:
+ facebook event page
+ going.com
+ eventful

maps:
+ google
+ hopstop
+ yahoo