Following the release of Count Me In, Rebelution has released a Remixes EP with a slew of guest appearances that include producers Michael GoldWasser, Marshall Goodman, Yeti Beats & Dub Architect, with guest appearances by Iration, Katchafire, The Green, J Boog, Ikey Owens, Errol Brown, Aaron Adams and Courtney Adams. See what Marshall Goodman & Dub Architect told The Pier…
All 5 songs of the Count Me In Remixes EP drops January 20th. 100% of all proceeds from the EP will be donated to the following organizations: Wecaresolar (Donate Here), Lupus Foundation of America (Donate Here), Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support (Donate Here) as well as the Surf Rider Foundation (Donate Here).
[Related: Billboards Best Reggae Albums 2014]
The album, Count Me In, released via Easy Star Records/87 Music in June 2014, featured guest appearances by Don Carlos & Collie Buddz. The album was Billboards top selling reggae album in 2014, selling over 17,000 copies in its first week, and this was Rebelution’s second consecutive debut in the top 15 on the Top 200, entering at number 14. To date, it has sold over 38,000 copies. This marks the third time that this Santa Barbara, California band has out sold others on the Reggae chart.
Now, with the momentum that Count Me In has had, it’s a great opportunity to allow several charities to benefit from it’s remixes by collaborating with such prestigious artists & producers.
Yeti Beats remixed “More Love” with J Boog, The Green, & Iration all on the same track. Michael Goldwasser provided his re-imagining of “Hate To Be The One”, while Dub Architect re-did “Roots Reggae Music” that features Don Carlos & Katchafire. Former Sublime & Long Beach Dub Allstar member, Marshall Goodman, produced 2 remixes with “De-stress” and “Count Me In” which features the late Ikey Owens, Aaron Adams & Courtney Adams.
Speaking to Ras MG, aka Marshall Goodman:
We were able to speak with Marshall Goodman about the songs he re-produced, telling The Pier: “One of the first projects my management team brought to the table in 2013 was producing and writing with Rebelution. I went through the typical first step of producing a band and listened to the demos Eric Rachmany, of Rebelution, had for their upcoming record. I chose two songs that I felt had single potential and contained the foundation to reach a market outside of their standard demographic. ‘De-Stress’ was their chosen single and I chose ‘Count Me In’ for it’s great crossover potential.”
When we asked Goodman what he brought to the production of those 2 songs, he first spoke of “De-Stress” and gave a lot of credit to guitarist/vocalist, Eric Rachmany, by explaining: “I wanted to push a Blues/Rock/Hip Hop style that my writing team and I have been developing over the past five years and I used that formula for ‘De-Stress’. Eric’s vocal performance on this track is very assertive and he uses some clever wordplay in the song, so I took the Hip Hop/Rock approach. Courtney Adams performed the guitar and bass parts, while the late Ikey Owens performed his signature synth and keyboard style on the track. ‘De-Stress’ has a great groove and heavy Hip Hop elements, so I added cuts – using excerpts of Eric’s vocal, an accent scratch for transitions, and ‘start-up’ cuts for the drum loop.”
As for the song, “Count Me In”, Marshall goes into detail, explaining: “Eric’s vocal performance and the guitar line on ‘Count Me In’ stood out to me as elements that could potentially reach an R&B/Club market. I applied the driving drum pattern to emphasize the great syncopation of the guitar part, and Aaron Adams filled the gaps with his outstanding bass line, which I view as the center of this remix. Ikey Owens brought the grit the track needed with his intuitive synth parts.”
[Related: Rest In Peace Isaiah ‘Ikey’ Owens]
For those not familiar, Ikey Owens passed away in October 2014 while on tour with Jack White. Ikey worked his parts for these remixes before his passing. Marshall concludes that: “One of my main points of elation regarding this remix EP resides in the fact that these tracks that Ikey played on back in the fall of 2013 are being released and heard! Ikey was a great friend of mine and a fine musician.”
Speaking with Justin Pietro, aka Dub Architect:
In addition to the production work that Marshall Goodman provided, we also spoke with Dub Architect about his contribution to the Remixes EP: “I saw Rebelution, The Green, Iration, & Stick Figure perform last summer in Richmond, VA with the Easy Star Records crew and had a chance to talk to vocalist/guitarist Eric Rachmany before their set. He told me that he had seen and heard my mixes online and was interested in having me do a mix from ‘Count Me In.'”
Dub Architect further explained his style of production & what he contributed to his remix of “Roots Reggae Music”: “I’ve built my sound on the greats before me – Lee Scratch Perry, Scientist, Mad Professor, King Tubby, Victor Rice, and Michael Goldwasser to name a few. I’ve translated that into a highly customized hybrid digital/analog setup which I spent the last year touring the world performing mixes on. I took this same dubwise approach to the Rebelution mix I did. Lots of drum and bass and big reverbs and delays. I recorded the final version of this mix live in Hollywood, CA and am looking forward to releasing both the audio and video!”
You can purchase the Count Me In Remixes EP on iTunes by clicking HERE!
Catch Rebelution on tour this winter & spring by viewing the dates & ticket availability below…
Related Links:
Wecaresolar (Donate Here)
Lupus Foundation of America (Donate Here)
Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support (Donate Here)
Surf Rider Foundation (Donate Here)
Article By: Mike Patti