It's some time now since I first heard the Dirty Dubsters debut "Big Tings", and felt immediately compelled to buy the Bulabeats 7" vinyl release when it landed (even though I rarely play actual records in anger any more), but it was a very special thing to see an act coming out of Ireland , pressed on wax, and reaching out to the world with an agenda to join the global reggae party. It might even have been the moment I stopped looking all the time to the past and started looking at the present and future again, with regards to musical inspiration. I went out and bought it, gave the boys a big up on Facebook, and reckoned that with my head in the "Live" scene most of the time (either producing or mixing the gigs) that I probably wouldn't see a whole lot of these guys, but would give them whatever support I could, either through bookings or buying tunes, or simple shouts on the web. Whatever. Fuck it, they were doing something very rare in Ireland, and they appeared to be bloody good at it!
Anyway I was wrong. No, no, they are very good at what they do...but it turns out I DID see a lot of them. Through Irie Ireland, and our involvement with "Trenchtown Irieland" (Electric Picnic etc) our paths crossed so many times that they have become entwined somewhat, with myself and Aunty Shimmy DJing and helping out at Irish Moss label nights, and the lads headlining some of the bigger shows we handle, we've gotten to know each other rather well at this point.
To bring you up to date, on top of their own Dirty Dubsters project, Barry & Jay now have three record labels on the go, with production facilities in Dublin and Kingston (JA), and have built up a catalogue of releases with established and emerging artists from around the globe. With their feet firmly planted in the reggae genre, they've been pulling together the many unraveling strands that the music has inspired and spawned, like Hip-Hop, Jungle, Ragga and every manner of "Bass Culture", riding and driving the new wave of appreciation for all that Jamaica's dancehalls and soundsystems have inspired.
So is this another one of my bloody blogs about Dirty Dubsters you ask?? Well kinda yeah, kinda no. In a way it's a reaffirmation of my support, and acknowledgement for what they have done and continue to do, and in a way it's a press release announcing that a more "formal" relationship has emerged from the fun and games of the last few years, because I am delighted to write that I will now be working directly with the Irish Moss/Dirty Dubster Digital imprints, handling some of the P.R. and A&R, along with Ste O'Brien (AKA Ancient Alien - Strangeways Here We Come) as the label operations expand. It's a pleasure and indeed an honour to be invited to join such a team, especially at such an exciting time for the future of reggae-based-creativity both at home and globally, and I look forward to "fighting the good fight" alongside these dynamic individuals, and flying the flag for Eire in the world-a-reggae.
And maybe even an Aussie one on Australia & Anzac Days ;)
The work starts immediately (if not sooner) so expect a few re-posts from the Irish Moss blog this week as the campaign heats up for the Nov 18th release of the next Irish Moss release "Subtifuge ft. Mr.Williamz - Ganja Dadda", which is an absolute stormer of a track, with remixes from J.Bostron, Marcus Visionary and of course Dirty Dubsters. It's a treat for anyone who loves their reggae, jungle, and fat-ass-bass (and I know you are legion) so check out the previews through the week!
IRIE!
Roots & Ancient Culture might describe the designs best, with a mixture of art from past civilisations meeting roots rastfari and soundsystem culture references, and when asked about the references Katie tells us "...you'll notice a lot of the inspiration comes from ancient civilizations such as the Mayans, Egyptians and the Sumerians. Ikkibu is actually the Sumerian word for "forbidden" and seeing as they invented the first written language I thought it only fitting to have my logo as cuneiform too! You'll find it on the back of all the Ikkibu t-shirts."
I like cottage industry, environmentally responsible production...and it's also nice to find affordable, wearable "art" like this...big thanks to Katie for this bespoke irie design!
