Scientist - Direct-to-Dub '2024

Tracks list

With over 60,000 recordings to his name, Scientist (born Hopeton Overton Brown)
is one of the most influential figures in dub. From Studio One to King
Tubby’s, Channel One to Tuff Gong, he worked at Kingston’s premier
studios, pioneering recording techniques and elevating the dub mix into an art
form in his own right.

Known as the ‘Dub Chemist’ for both his technical expertise and
forward-thinking ideas, Scientist’s Night Dreamer session brings together
musicians from across the London reggae scene, including The Instigators’
rhythm section Mafia (bass) and Fluxy (drums), Creation Rebel guitarist Tony
Ruffcut, vocalist Donovan Kingjay, Jah Shaka keyboardist Greg Assing and
saxophonist Finn Peters.

Joined by Amsterdam-based trombonist Salvoandrea Lucifora and backing vocalists
Alyssa Harrigan and Peace Oluwatobi, Scientist went about taking the studio
apart and reassembling to his exacting specifications. He spent hours on the
kick drum alone, rewired the mixing desk’s high pass EQ, brought in two
18” subwoofers, piled everyone (bar Fluxy on drums) into the control room
and had the whole place shaking under the power and clarity of the bass.

Having set up the studio just right, the group cut six tracks that were
subsequently dubbed direct-to-lacquer by Scientist, allowing his creativity to
come to the fore: “In dub mixing, the engineer now becomes the artist and
it’s a performance that the engineer do,” Scientist explains, with
almost five decades of experience to his name.

The centrepiece of the album is lead single ‘Missing You’, on which
Scientist strips back the crisp groove to let Donovan Kingjay’s vocals
soar. Dubbing in the horns, guitar and keys with an improvisatory flair,
Scientist channels the energy towards the chorus, a masterclass in tension and
release, filtered through Scientist’s signature sci-fi dub sound.

Surrounded by vintage analogue gear, and recording direct-to-disc in a manner
familiar to his early days cutting dubs at King Tubby’s, Scientist
described the experience as being “thrown back in time”.

Having made records for everyone from Sugar Minott to Barrington Levy and
released a treasure trove of cult albums under his own name, a new chapter in
the extraordinary story of Scientist is opening up. As this Night Dreamer
session attests, dub would sound very different without the one and only
Scientist. 

1.01 - Scientist - Jail House (5:00) 
1.02 - Scientist - Tribute to King George (5:33) 
1.03 - Scientist - Missing You (4:55) 
1.04 - Scientist - Be Thankful (3:57) 
1.05 - Scientist - Cosmic Dust (4:39) 
1.06 - Scientist - Higher Meditation (5:26)

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