Festival of Light:
Matisyahu
Dub Trio
Tue, December 20, 2011
Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY
$35 advance / $35 day of show
Tickets
This event is 16 and over
http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/event/71173/Matisyahu
Matisyahu
Matisyahu
Instrument: Vocals, Beat-Box
Listening to: Go Nad Go's greatest hits
In April of 2005 a fresh voice announced his arrival on the international stage with a stunningly inventive document titled Live at Stubb's. Six years later, Matisyahu returns to the renowned Austin venue that helped to launch his career with Live at Stubb's Vol. II, a new CD-DVD package that demonstrates the continued originality and increasing depth of this longtime New Yorker's craft.
Inspired by the runaway success of the original record, which spawned the hit single "King Without a Crown" and has to date sold nearly 700,000 copies in the United States, Matisyahu says he always knew he wanted to make another live album. "Performing is such a big part of what I do," he says, "and there's a lot about that live energy that you just can't catch in the studio. So for me it was simply a matter of figuring out the right time to do it."
He chose well: Last year Matisyahu released Light, a David Kahne-produced studio disc on which he jumped boldly from hard-edged dancehall and ska-inflected New Wave to laidback pop-rock and acoustic folk-soul. The album took Matisyahu well beyond his stylistic comfort zone and charted the growth of his vocals from traditional reggae toasting to a more dynamic, emotional place. But it didn't necessarily show off his onstage evolution.
"I've played so many shows and gone through so many metamorphoses as a performer," he says. Especially valuable was the opportunity to showcase that evolution at the very club where his career really took off. "It was kind of a return-to-roots occasion," he says—albeit one where we see how far he's come, as well.
Part of that transformation has been fueled by Matisyahu's new band: Brooklyn's acclaimed Dub Trio, which includes guitarist D.P. Holmes, bassist Stu Brooks and drummer Joe Tomino. The singer first came across the group—as fate would have it—while in Austin recording the first Stubb's record. "I remember seeing their name at a record signing and being intrigued," he says. "So I got one of their records while I was on tour, and there was this one song I couldn't stop playing."
Shortly thereafter, Matisyahu spent an entire day walking around Boston writing lyrics to the tune. "I love the way they bounce back and forth between really beautiful music and heavier, harder-edged stuff," he says. "I knew right then that I wanted to work with them." Last year he booked a show with Dub Trio at a small club in Brooklyn. "We just did an improv set after maybe one rehearsal," he recalls. "It felt so right."
That improvisational spirit looms large throughout Live at Stubb's Vol. II, which pulls primarily from Light and Youth, Matisyahu's 2006 full-length. "Dub Trio understand the concept of space," he says, "which for a vocalist is great, because that leaves a lot of room for me to really get into my lyrics in new ways." Here Matisyahu uses that room to dig deeper into his sound than ever before, shedding new light on its hip-hop, rock and reggae dimensions to the vocal delight of the enthusiastic (and demographically varied) Stubb's crowd.
That audience was central to what Matisyahu set out to accomplish with Live at Stubb's Vol. II. After all, the fans were the ones who enabled his return to the venue in the first place, affording Matisyahu the opportunity to extend the legacy Stubb's represents. In fact, one crowd member made a lasting contribution.
"The night before the show I took a picture of my tour bus in the hotel parking lot and posted it on Twitter," Matisyahu remembers. "Someone sent back a tweet saying they'd figured out which hotel it was and asked if they could come say hi. I said sure and a couple of kids showed up; we hung out for a few minutes on the bus. Then the next night at the show I'm pulling people up onstage during ‘King Without a Crown' and one of them is the kid from Twitter!" The singer laughs. "So the last clip on the DVD is actually me giving him a high-five."
The appreciation, no doubt, was mutual.
Matisyahu
Instrument: Vocals, Beat-Box
Listening to: Go Nad Go's greatest hits
In April of 2005 a fresh voice announced his arrival on the international stage with a stunningly inventive document titled Live at Stubb's. Six years later, Matisyahu returns to the renowned Austin venue that helped to launch his career with Live at Stubb's Vol. II, a new CD-DVD package that demonstrates the continued originality and increasing depth of this longtime New Yorker's craft.
Inspired by the runaway success of the original record, which spawned the hit single "King Without a Crown" and has to date sold nearly 700,000 copies in the United States, Matisyahu says he always knew he wanted to make another live album. "Performing is such a big part of what I do," he says, "and there's a lot about that live energy that you just can't catch in the studio. So for me it was simply a matter of figuring out the right time to do it."
He chose well: Last year Matisyahu released Light, a David Kahne-produced studio disc on which he jumped boldly from hard-edged dancehall and ska-inflected New Wave to laidback pop-rock and acoustic folk-soul. The album took Matisyahu well beyond his stylistic comfort zone and charted the growth of his vocals from traditional reggae toasting to a more dynamic, emotional place. But it didn't necessarily show off his onstage evolution.
"I've played so many shows and gone through so many metamorphoses as a performer," he says. Especially valuable was the opportunity to showcase that evolution at the very club where his career really took off. "It was kind of a return-to-roots occasion," he says—albeit one where we see how far he's come, as well.
Part of that transformation has been fueled by Matisyahu's new band: Brooklyn's acclaimed Dub Trio, which includes guitarist D.P. Holmes, bassist Stu Brooks and drummer Joe Tomino. The singer first came across the group—as fate would have it—while in Austin recording the first Stubb's record. "I remember seeing their name at a record signing and being intrigued," he says. "So I got one of their records while I was on tour, and there was this one song I couldn't stop playing."
Shortly thereafter, Matisyahu spent an entire day walking around Boston writing lyrics to the tune. "I love the way they bounce back and forth between really beautiful music and heavier, harder-edged stuff," he says. "I knew right then that I wanted to work with them." Last year he booked a show with Dub Trio at a small club in Brooklyn. "We just did an improv set after maybe one rehearsal," he recalls. "It felt so right."
That improvisational spirit looms large throughout Live at Stubb's Vol. II, which pulls primarily from Light and Youth, Matisyahu's 2006 full-length. "Dub Trio understand the concept of space," he says, "which for a vocalist is great, because that leaves a lot of room for me to really get into my lyrics in new ways." Here Matisyahu uses that room to dig deeper into his sound than ever before, shedding new light on its hip-hop, rock and reggae dimensions to the vocal delight of the enthusiastic (and demographically varied) Stubb's crowd.
That audience was central to what Matisyahu set out to accomplish with Live at Stubb's Vol. II. After all, the fans were the ones who enabled his return to the venue in the first place, affording Matisyahu the opportunity to extend the legacy Stubb's represents. In fact, one crowd member made a lasting contribution.
"The night before the show I took a picture of my tour bus in the hotel parking lot and posted it on Twitter," Matisyahu remembers. "Someone sent back a tweet saying they'd figured out which hotel it was and asked if they could come say hi. I said sure and a couple of kids showed up; we hung out for a few minutes on the bus. Then the next night at the show I'm pulling people up onstage during ‘King Without a Crown' and one of them is the kid from Twitter!" The singer laughs. "So the last clip on the DVD is actually me giving him a high-five."
The appreciation, no doubt, was mutual.
Dub Trio
Dub Trio is back with their fourth and most powerful album to date - IV - an overwhelming blend of sounds, styles and ideas that come out swinging, and hit harder than ever. Can metal coexist with dub's bass heavy riddims? Dub Trio's newest album proves that not only can such incongruities coexist, but that in the right hands they flourish! With IV the band succeeds dramatically at emphasizing the theories, emotions, sounds, and concepts of their current musical exploration. IV finds the members playing multiple instruments, tweaking, turning & torturing knobs, cutting and chopping the audio itself, and shaping the compositions to create their own unique interpretation of 'dub' as an art form.
“IV was recorded in June 2010 after touring for 2 and a half years with Mike Patton promoting our last album Another Sound Is Dying,” explains bassist Stu Brooks. “It had been the longest duration of time in between releases. By the time we hit the studio, we were extremely hungry to put down the ideas. Most of the record was written while we were on the road. One of the most memorable and prolific sessions was in a small commune town in Brittany, France, outside of Rennes. One church, one bakery, and a cafe. We had a week there before a European tour and we were in virtual isolation. It was good for us to focus solely on writing. Some of the songs we performed over the course of the next year or so while honing in on the right parts, feels, tempos etc. We really got to know these songs before hitting the studio. We were able to record the songs in one to three takes. I feel like we maintained our live sound in the studio this way. I believe it captures the character of the band better than editing everything so it sounds like a sequence. We then brought the basics to Studio G in Brooklyn, where we've done all our dub trio records. That's where the real fun begins. Where we start the dubbing process. Being that it's our fourth Dub Trio record with producer Joel Hamilton (Sparklehorse, Blakroc, Jolie Holland) we've really learned how to work together in efficiency. We had a lot of fun, making moves in the dubbing process that were totally unexpected and spontaneous. It's really satisfying to hear portions of the record that sound very patient. There are parts of the record that are literally painful, evil, aggressive and at times disturbing. And other parts that are beautiful, emotive and chilling. It was a goal to touch on as many emotions as possible. I haven't been more excited about a record before and can't wait to share it with Dub Trio listeners.”
“As with all our records, we make the music we want to make. If we are all on the same page with a concept or style, we'll incorporate it in our sound. No idea is a bad idea,” says drummer Joe Tomino.
After touring extensively over the years as a headlining act, with the release of their New Heavy album in 2006 Dub Trio became the go-to live musicians for both Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom), and Hasidic Reggae Rap star Matisyahu's live performances. Acting as band members in Patton's Peeping Tom as well as working full time as Matisyahu's touring band Dub Trio have opened for The Who at Madison Square Garden with Peeping Tom, and performed with Matisyahu at the 2010 Winter Olympics where Matisyahu's song “One Day” was chosen as the theme for the Olympic winter games. The band has also made numerous public appearances with Matisyahu and Mike Patton including television performances on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Between tour dates, the band was able to play on and to produce studio sessions with a variety of artists - including a single mix of “One Day” by Matisyahu, and Matisyahu's version of Elton John's “Circle Of Life” for the Disney record “Disney Reggae Club.” Dub Trio has worked closely with Lady Gaga as her original show-casing band, as well as with 50 Cent and G-Unit, Mary J. Blige, Tupac Shakur, Yoko Ono, The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Tom Morello (of Rage Against The Machine), Mos Def, Mobb Deep, and many more.
The weight of Dub Trio's power comes from their incredible musicianship, their versatility as performers and the intense scope of their creativity as Producers. Their own records are a mind-ripping sonic collage of impossibly different musical structures all working together to build something much more staggering than the sum of its parts. Their 2004 debut album for ROIR, Exploring the Dangers of testified to Dub Trio's jaw-dropping live skills: the album was literally recorded as a live-dub experiment. While the band's second album, New Heavy with a special guest appearance by Mike Patton, made good on its title, creating a metallic K.O. grounded in serious low-end theory. A live album for ROIR, Cool Out And Coexist, kicked off 2007; and between some very serious session work for other artists, Dub Trio teamed with Ipecac to unleash their third studio release, Another Sound Is Dying which found Dub Trio melding their preferred styles into a newer, bigger and more cohesively original sound.
With IV the band succeeds dramatically at emphasizing the ideas, emotions, sounds, and concepts of their current musical exploration. “When listening to IV you can hear that 'dub', as a concept and less as a genre synonymous to reggae, is at the core of the music, and while listening you'll hear every thing from metal to dubstep....there's even a prepared piano track,” says drummer Joe Tomino. “As always, we aspire to create a visceral experience for the listener, and IV is no exception. Our intent is that you listen to this album from start to finish. While this record is heavy, in more ways than one, there are a lot of subtleties inherent in the music. IV is a snapshot of where and who we are at this moment in time,” Tomino explains. “There are a lot of twists and turns sonically, emotionally, and stylistically on this record. Play it loud!”
“IV was recorded in June 2010 after touring for 2 and a half years with Mike Patton promoting our last album Another Sound Is Dying,” explains bassist Stu Brooks. “It had been the longest duration of time in between releases. By the time we hit the studio, we were extremely hungry to put down the ideas. Most of the record was written while we were on the road. One of the most memorable and prolific sessions was in a small commune town in Brittany, France, outside of Rennes. One church, one bakery, and a cafe. We had a week there before a European tour and we were in virtual isolation. It was good for us to focus solely on writing. Some of the songs we performed over the course of the next year or so while honing in on the right parts, feels, tempos etc. We really got to know these songs before hitting the studio. We were able to record the songs in one to three takes. I feel like we maintained our live sound in the studio this way. I believe it captures the character of the band better than editing everything so it sounds like a sequence. We then brought the basics to Studio G in Brooklyn, where we've done all our dub trio records. That's where the real fun begins. Where we start the dubbing process. Being that it's our fourth Dub Trio record with producer Joel Hamilton (Sparklehorse, Blakroc, Jolie Holland) we've really learned how to work together in efficiency. We had a lot of fun, making moves in the dubbing process that were totally unexpected and spontaneous. It's really satisfying to hear portions of the record that sound very patient. There are parts of the record that are literally painful, evil, aggressive and at times disturbing. And other parts that are beautiful, emotive and chilling. It was a goal to touch on as many emotions as possible. I haven't been more excited about a record before and can't wait to share it with Dub Trio listeners.”
“As with all our records, we make the music we want to make. If we are all on the same page with a concept or style, we'll incorporate it in our sound. No idea is a bad idea,” says drummer Joe Tomino.
After touring extensively over the years as a headlining act, with the release of their New Heavy album in 2006 Dub Trio became the go-to live musicians for both Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom), and Hasidic Reggae Rap star Matisyahu's live performances. Acting as band members in Patton's Peeping Tom as well as working full time as Matisyahu's touring band Dub Trio have opened for The Who at Madison Square Garden with Peeping Tom, and performed with Matisyahu at the 2010 Winter Olympics where Matisyahu's song “One Day” was chosen as the theme for the Olympic winter games. The band has also made numerous public appearances with Matisyahu and Mike Patton including television performances on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Between tour dates, the band was able to play on and to produce studio sessions with a variety of artists - including a single mix of “One Day” by Matisyahu, and Matisyahu's version of Elton John's “Circle Of Life” for the Disney record “Disney Reggae Club.” Dub Trio has worked closely with Lady Gaga as her original show-casing band, as well as with 50 Cent and G-Unit, Mary J. Blige, Tupac Shakur, Yoko Ono, The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Tom Morello (of Rage Against The Machine), Mos Def, Mobb Deep, and many more.
The weight of Dub Trio's power comes from their incredible musicianship, their versatility as performers and the intense scope of their creativity as Producers. Their own records are a mind-ripping sonic collage of impossibly different musical structures all working together to build something much more staggering than the sum of its parts. Their 2004 debut album for ROIR, Exploring the Dangers of testified to Dub Trio's jaw-dropping live skills: the album was literally recorded as a live-dub experiment. While the band's second album, New Heavy with a special guest appearance by Mike Patton, made good on its title, creating a metallic K.O. grounded in serious low-end theory. A live album for ROIR, Cool Out And Coexist, kicked off 2007; and between some very serious session work for other artists, Dub Trio teamed with Ipecac to unleash their third studio release, Another Sound Is Dying which found Dub Trio melding their preferred styles into a newer, bigger and more cohesively original sound.
With IV the band succeeds dramatically at emphasizing the ideas, emotions, sounds, and concepts of their current musical exploration. “When listening to IV you can hear that 'dub', as a concept and less as a genre synonymous to reggae, is at the core of the music, and while listening you'll hear every thing from metal to dubstep....there's even a prepared piano track,” says drummer Joe Tomino. “As always, we aspire to create a visceral experience for the listener, and IV is no exception. Our intent is that you listen to this album from start to finish. While this record is heavy, in more ways than one, there are a lot of subtleties inherent in the music. IV is a snapshot of where and who we are at this moment in time,” Tomino explains. “There are a lot of twists and turns sonically, emotionally, and stylistically on this record. Play it loud!”
Venue Information:
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North 6th St
Brooklyn, NY, 11211
http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North 6th St
Brooklyn, NY, 11211
http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/
