Dub Architect 2015 Year In Review
What a year 2015 has been! As we wind down these last few days of the year I wanted to take a moment to look back at the DUBWISE vibes 2015 brought forth! Thank you all for being a part of it and I look forward to continuing to DUB it up in 2016!
As the clock struck 12AM on January 1st, 2015 I was ringing in the new year performing alongside The Expendables at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, California! Here’s a photo I took during sound check:
This was the first show of 8 in 8 days as part of my California Winter Tour 2015.
Teaching a dubwise mixing class in San Diego, CA in January.
While on this tour I stopped at my friend Hawaiiantist’s crib in Hollywood, CA to shoot a live dubwise mix for Rebelution featuring Don Carlos & Logan from Katchafire for their Count Me In Remix EP – definitely one of the biggest mixes I’ve ever done!
The final show of my California Winter Tour 2015 was at the legendary Dub Club @ Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA. If you don’t know about this venue and you love reggae music.. you need to know! Huge crowd, massive vibes! A likkle tribute to the legend Bob Marley seemed fitting for my debut at such a historic venue. Here’s video of my full set (audio only available on my SoundCloud).
February marked an epic milestone for me – getting to perform to a nearly sold out crowd at one of best venues in the United States – right in my backyard in Washington DC – the legendary 9:30 Club! And I got to perform alongside my good friends and 10 time Grammy nominees Third World & upcoming star Jesse Royal! My friend Jim Fox of Lion & Fox Recording Studios (one of the most legendary US studios in reggae history) came to see me and I got to introduce him to Third World – who he had recorded performing their hit song 96 Degrees in the Shade live at Reggae on the River more than a decade earlier – a song that I credit with helping kickstart my reggae career. It was an unbelievable night and way to celebrate Bob Marley’s birthday! Here are 2 clips from the night:
January & February also brought forth some new analog dub mixes (special thanks to Piper Street Sound for donating the old Mackie to me!):
The winter months also got me working on some original Dub Architect tunes – I’m looking forward to releasing some of my first original works in 2016! Check out Meditation Dub – cutting the wires from dubwise mixing control!
Spring was still cold here in Virginia which led to some trippy vibes via The Basement Sessions:
Full Circle… fitting title from my friends Iya Terra! On New Year’s Eve in Hermosa I had shared the stage with Iya Terra and heard them for the first time. In a smoke filled conversation in the parking lot after the show I told the guys I loved their sound and wanted to do a mix for them. In April my mix of their song Stand Strong was featured on their album Full Circle.
In early May I was very fortunate to join Easy Star All-Stars on some of their east coast tour which included The Skints who were making their US debut all the way from the UK! Great people to be on the road with!
In between touring with Easy Star & getting ready to head back west for Cali Roots & another tour I found some time to push the limits of what technology can do for dub – performing a live dubwise mix of Tatanka’s Make It Count while walking around in the middle of the woods.
At the end of May I returned back to the west coast to attend Cali Roots and for another tour. I got to link up with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad for shows in Las Vegas & SoCal and then linked back up with Easy Star All-Stars for some more NorCal shows. Here’s a live mix I did of Marley’s Jammin when I returned to Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, CA:
While I was at Cali Roots I had the chance to meet one of reggae’s legends – Don Carlos – 2 weeks later while I was on a break from tour in the middle of the desert near Joshua Tree, CA I got the opportunity to record a live dubwise mix for Don Carlos featuring my good friend and fellow DC artist – Christos DC! Huge honor for me!
When I returned home later in the summer I enjoyed performing at Camp Barefoot in the mountains of West Virginia! 2 epic late-night dubwise sets!
In September I was performing in New Jersey when I happened to catch internet gold on film.. about 1 million plays later (between Facebook & YouTube) & I present to you… drunk girls requesting “the whip & nae nae”
It’s been an unbelievable year! I’m so fortunate for the places I’ve traveled, the artists I’ve worked with, the music I’ve made, and the things I’ve been a part of. I’m humbled to get to have dub reggae music be a major part of my life and I look forward to continuing the journey in 2016!
Sign Up for Dub Architect’s Mailing List & Win a T-Shirt!
Sign up for my mailing list below and next week (Wednesday, March 25th) I’ll pick 3 winners to receive a FREE Dub Architect logo t-shirt! If you’re already signed up, you’re already entered! Winners will be notified by email. Limited to entires in the USA (due to shipping costs).
Dub Architect featured on Rebelution’s Count Me In Remix EP – debuts #1 on Billboard Reggae Chart!
Rebelution‘s Count Me In Remix EP is #1 on this week’s Billboard’s Reggae Chart! Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined being featured on the best selling reggae album in the US but I’m learning that if you dream big, work hard, and surround yourself with good people who support you, anything is possible. A big thank you to Easy Star Records for the continued love and support!
► Get your copy of the EP here: http://smarturl.it/zof28b
Year-End Wrap Up – 2014
It’s been a massive 2014! I released 15 live dub mixing videos (18 dub mixes released this year total) of bands like John Brown’s Body, Rebelution, THIRD WORLD & capletonmusic and many more, released the audio/video from my sold out set at California Roots, I did 2 mixtapes for Easy Star Records that have been played over 300,000 times, I toured the east coast, Mexico, and California traveling over 20,000 miles and playing over 40 shows, celebrated my one year wedding anniversary, and bought my first house! Now I’m headed back to California this Tuesday to start the Dub Architect California Winter Tour 2015 – 8 shows in 8 days around southern CA to start 2015 off right!
Thank YOU – colleagues, fans, family, and friends for your support! I am working tirelessly to bring to dubwise reggae music to the forefront of the global music scene and show people the happiness that performance, production, and interacting with music on a deeper level can bring. To know that there are people out there, many of whom I’ve never even met, who are supporting my dream.. is just overwhelming! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
“Music is a healing – so let’s rock and let’s groove to this feeling!” – Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
Here’s to 2015 massive! ONE LOVE!
Dub Architect – Simmer Down WUTK 90.3FM (Knoxville, TN) Interview – 12/14/2014
Dub Architect talks with DJ Crowley about the DC dub reggae scene, how the Dub Architect project started, the upcoming California Winter Tour 2015, and what the future holds for dub!
Interview with DJ Marko on Q103 – Maui, Hawaii
Check out my interview with DJ Marko on Q103! I talk about my dub production style, my upcoming Cali Roots performance and tour, and my soon to be released remix of Third World ft. Capleton!
Malala Yousafzai’s address to the UN
Malala Yousafzai is an amazing person whose compassion, wisdom, courage, and kindness shine through in her address to the United Nations on July 12, 2013. A powerful and moving message. Check out the video and some highlights below. Full transcript available here.
“Dear friends, on 9 October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends, too. They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, we want schools and education for every child’s bright future. We will continue our journey to our destination of peace and education. No one can stop us. We will speak up for our rights and we will bring change to our voice. We believe in the power and the strength of our words. Our words can change the whole world because we ware all together, united for the cause of education. And if we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.
Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty and injustice and ignorance. We must not forget that millions of children are out of their schools. We must not forget that our sisters and brothers are waiting for a bright, peaceful future.
So let us wage, so let us wage a glorious struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism, let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first. Thank you.”
New Website!
Welcome to my new website! This will be the Dub Architect HQ where you can find all my latest music, remixes, and read the occasional anecdote from myself about audio production, digital strategy management, and life. I’m by no means an expert at any of those things but rather the lifelong student looking to share what I’ve learned along my quest for knowledge in hopes that it will help another along their journey.
Feel free to write in with any comments or questions, suggestions for artists that I should collaborate with, if you’d like me to mix or remix you or your band’s music, or just wanna say hi.
dubarchitectmusic[at]gmail.com or use the form on the Contact page.
Amazing Music Moment at Bonnaroo 2013
During Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros performance at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival 2013 the band went out into the crowd and asked for fan stories. Somehow, someway… they found a fan whom they had last seen a year ago.. at his bedside the day he had to have a transplant due to Leukemia.
Stuff like this makes me proud to be a musician and hope to inspire and uplift others in the same way. Just amazing!
Zac Laurent Interview
I was asked by Zac Laurent to answer some questions about dub reggae production for his blog. Check out the interview below!
Zac Laurent Interview
I was asked by Zac Laurent to answer some questions about dub reggae production for his blog. Check out the interview below!
Dub Architect 