First announced inside our 2015 Most Anticipated Albums, John Brown’s Body will be releasing a Dub version of their last studio album, Kings and Queens, aptly titled Kings and Queens In Dub on April 7th, 2015 via Easy Star Records.
On April 16th, 2013, John Brown’s Body released Kings and Queens, a 12 track album via Easy Star Records that was met with very high praise. Now, almost 2 years to the date of it’s release, JBB will release Kings and Queens In Dub as the group has dub versions of every song from Kings And Queens, from a variety of producers from both inside the group & out. The line-up of Dub Producers for Kings And Queens In Dub include Dubmatix, Dub Fader (of 10 Ft. Ganja Plant), Ticklah, Dennis Bovell (UK Dub Legend), Yesking (from the UK), Lord Echo (aka Mike Fabulous, guitarist of The Black Seeds), Michael Goldwasser (Easy Star All-Stars), former band member Nate ‘Silas’ Ricardson and Jay Spaker.
The overall project was mainly overseen by JBB’s hornsman Drew Sayers, working with Easy Star’s Eric Smith & Lem Oppenheimer, with input from the rest of the band. Most of the tracks were dubbed over the past half year. Here’s what Drew Sayers had to say about the new album: “The band has long wanted to do a project like this – reinterpret an entire album into dub versions. Kings And Queens seemed like a perfect fit musically, and we were fortunate enough to get some of the most legendary and inspiring producers in the game to be involved. I think this album encapsulates who we are as a group: our foundation is firmly rooted in the classics and we sought inspiration from albums like Gregory Isaac’s ‘Slum In Dub’ and Aswad’s “New Chapter of Dub”. But we never look in only one direction and I think what you will hear in this album is a devotion to originality and independence.”
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 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.
Related Links:
JBB Website
JBB Facebook
Easy Star Records Website
Exclusive Easy Star Records Blog
Article By: Mike Patti
Listen: JBB – “Fracture Dub”
