For those people that haven’t heard of you before could tell us a little bit about yourself your story?
I’ve been involved in music since I was seven years old as a singer and performer. When I was ten I stopped singing and performing till I was about twenty and joined Roots, Rock Reggae band Afrikan Star. But in between that time I was still writing songs. Afrikan Star had a lot of live success through Europe, touring with UB40, and supporting Peter Tosh. After leaving Afrikan Star I went on to form several bands, the last of which was Mau Mau, before becoming a solo artist.
I had some success with a song called ‘I can’t take my eyes off you’ which was a part of me successfully producing the Steel Pulse album African Holocaust, which was Grammy-nominated. Through that, I signed a publishing deal with Kobalt and set up my label DT Records (Dubtransmissions).
I’ve written music for film, theatre, dance and 3 TV series for BBC. I co-write with and produce a number of up and coming artists and continue to develop my solo projects.
Who inspired you to get on stage and perform?
The Willock family
Between the age of seven and ten I stayed with them in the summer and winter holidays. They had a family band who I toured with doing popular covers of the time. We toured England and did TV and radio performances and became a popular band.
Obviously this was very inspirational.
Are there any particular artists or albums that have stuck with you and inspired you?
The first was Catch a Fire by The Wailers, the music was a mixture of reggae and American RnB and rock. Bob Marley’s lyrics changed my perception and how I saw life and inspired me to write with a social conscience.
Incredibly, one year when I was in hospital I discharged myself to go and see Bob Marley perform. At the gig, I met a friend who introduced me to Steel Pulse (who I later went on to produce) and took me into Bob Marley and the Wailers dressing room to meet them. They were astonished that a man on crutches who could hardly walk took the 35-mile journey to see them. Bob Marley and the Wailers took me on stage and I spent the evening with them after the gig. Later through producing the Steel Pulse album gave me the opportunity to work with Bob’s son Damian Marley on one of the tracks.
Another album that was a great inspiration was Miles Davis, On The Corner. It showed me not to be afraid to beyond the boundaries of popular music.
Other artists who had a massive impact were Nina Simone, Abby Lincoln and Billie Holiday, singers that sang from the depths of their soul.
Could you tell us a bit about the writing/recording of the ReverbNation Competition winning track ‘More’?
After seeing the rise of gambling, people losing their homes, families, jobs inspired me to look at the pursuit of wanting more, regardless of what you’ve got. In the writing of More, I totally looked at myself and put myself in the position of the person who wanted more, then started writing the lyrics. I wrote and performed all of the elements on all of the backing tracks for the different mixes, and in the end released the One drop remix as the single, through popular demand.
Could you tell us a bit about the recording of the video you recently released for the track?
I recorded the video with video producer Willian Douglas of Tat Vision. The one thing I like to do outside of music is laugh. So I had a chance to do my first comedy video, happily mixing comedy and social comment together.
What is the most interesting venue you have performed at?
I have to mention 2. The support gig with Peter Tosh where Afrikan Star brought the house down. We played to a full Hallenstadium in Zurich. The second was with my band Mau Mau where we played in our home town Birmingham as part of New Year celebrations in the city centre to over 60,000 people.
What do you think is missing from today’s music industry?
Variety of lyrical content and the lack of new music forms breaking through
Here at Artistic Echoes, we are always on the lookout for new artists do you have anyone to recommend?
Lauren Hoyle – a young rock indie artist, who writes and sings with passion
Daemon P – a rapper with an incredible singing voice
Both write great melodic songs – they are an inspiration to an older writer like me.
What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
To release my next single and first solo vocal album, which will be a singles album.
Find out more:
Website: dubtransmissions.org
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/therealdubnine/
Twitter: @dubnine
Instagram: @dubnine
YouTube: https://youtu.be/JoFjTzJNJM4
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/00SnSxhXLNMTKhFXZPK1sk?si=hY3xpL3zTneHq1C6Nm_ABA
Apple: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/more-ep/1500021571
