In 2006, Pepper released an 18-track record titled, No Shame. A certain song was benched from the U.S. release of that album and now Kaleo’s side-project, Sabotage Soundsystem, dropped a Naughty Don remix of it on Aug 26th via Law Records.
If you didn’t already know, Sabotage Soundsystem is a side project started by Pepper guitarist/vocalist Kaleo Wassman and former Pepper sound-man Remy Derochemont. They released their first album, The Boto Machine Gun, via Volcom Entertainment in 2009. Kaleo describes the project as “freedom from any dogma on how to record or release music. Its raw with the vibration of not overthinking what the fun is. It just is. Sabo is a place to relax and play what’s on your mind.”
[Related: Pepper Interview with Kaleo Wassman]
Its been since 2009 that we saw an album drop from Sabotage Soundsystem, but in 2018 they were putting out a new single every month for about 7-8 months. In revisiting those songs for a 2020 album release titled Sabo 2, Kaleo tells The Pier: “What I have are these songs that I released back in 2018 for Sabotage Soundsystem and I’ve basically accumulated all of those into one project while additionally throwing on 6 to 7 other tracks. What I want Sabo 2 to be is a gift for some of those people having hardships. Whether its anxiety, whether its financially, whether its depression, I want to allow these people a simple gift and its available on Soundcloud, YouTube as well as Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora etc., its completely FREE! I’m just hoping one of these songs can give you a break and take you out of the madness that may be going on in your life during these unique times.”
Sabotage Sound System – “The Whistle Song” (Naughty Don Simulation)
With that said, you can also download the album from KaleoLive.com. What makes this release special isn’t just that its free or that there’s a sweet cover of Annie Lennox & Dave Stewart’s “Sweet Dreams,” but it also includes “The Whistle Song” which Kaleo describes as a a once benched Pepper track from their No Shame record.
The song was put out on the Japan & Australian release of 2006’s No Shame album, but it’s only official U.S. release came when it was quietly attached to the major motion sound-track for 2007’s Good Luck Chuck featuring Dane Cook & Jessica Alba. While the original Pepper version of the song never saw an official home release in the U.S., Kaleo gave the song to the production team of the Naughty Don to give it a remix for this Sabo 2 record.
“The funny thing is,” Kaleo shares, “the Pepper version is completely different., so if you find that, if you’re able to hunt that one down, then you’ll be able to do a side-by-side comparison and see how the Naughty Don’s frequencies are a bit different when it comes to this genre of American reggae.”
You can do the same side-by-side comparison for Sabo’s song “Steppin Out” as Sabo 2 includes both the Sabo version of the song in addition to a Naughty Don Simulation Dub remix. And if you’re wondering who or what The Naughty Don is, we encourage you to head over to KaleoLive.com and under Projects there is a description that currently breaks down The Naughty Don.
The Naughty Don will be releasing a cover of Sublime’s “Ruca” on 11/20/2020. Then on 1/8/2021, the Naughty Don’s first official single, “Easy,” will drop with the debut album of Electric Beach set to hit ears on 2/26/21.
Which version of the “The Whistle Song” do you prefer? The Pepper or Sabotage Soundsystem version via the Naughty Don?
Pepper – “The Whistle Song”
Related Links:
Pepper Website
Kaleo Wassman Website
Law Records Website
Article By: Mike Patti
Photo By: In THe Barrel Photo
