Easy Star All-Stars

All Music Guide:

New York City's Michael G. (born Michael Goldwasser) and Ticklah (born Victor Axelrod) are the two longtime friends who form the Easy Star All-Stars. Goldwasser had been playing guitar with the R&B band Special Request, but after five active years the band broke up. Around this time, the guitarist turned his attention to reggae and formed the Easy Star All-Stars with former Special Request keyboardist Ticklah. Ticklah had been gigging with Cooly's Hot Box, worked with DJ Spinna and Dr. Israel, and created remixes for Les Nubians and Mary J. Blige. The first release under the Easy Star All-Stars banner came in 1997 with the team's production on Rob Symeonn's "Anything for Jah" single, and a collection of their productions, Easy Star, Vol. 1, appeared in 1998. Working with Brooklyn sound system Twin Sound, the two organized three tribute concerts to Augustus Pablo in 1999 and backed the likes of Sugar Minott, the Meditations, and Sister Carol on-stage and in the studio.

In 2003, the duo released Dub Side of the Moon, their reggae/dub version of Pink Floyd's most famous album. In 2006, they turned toward Radiohead's OK Computer and reimagined it as Radiodread, while 2009 saw them honor the Beatles with Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band. Dub masters like Mad Professor, Adrian Sherwood, and Kalbata appeared on 2010's all-remix set, Dubber Side of the Moon, while 2011 found the band releasing its first full-length album of original songs, First Light. In 2012 they returned to the tribute album format with Easy Star's Thrillah, their take on Michael Jackson's classic effort Thriller with Luciano, Spragga Benz, Michael Rose, and others as guests.

Wikipedia:

Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective with a rotating roster of musicians and singers founded by the co-founders (Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer & Remy Gerstein) of New York City-based Easy Star Records in 1997. They originally formed as a studio band for the label's earliest recordings. Although they have backed many artists and produced several original releases, they are best known for covering popular albums in a reggae and dub style and have released four cover albums to date. The first, released in 2003, was an interpretation of Pink Floyd's classic The Dark Side of the Moon entitled Dub Side of the Moon; the second was 2006's Radiodread, a song-by-song cover of Radiohead's OK Computer. In April 2009, they released a cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band entitled Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band. In 2012, Easy Star's Thrillah was released, a cover of Michael Jackson's classic album. In March 2008 they released an EP consisting mostly of non-cover material. On 5 April 2011, they released their first original album entitled First Light.

History [edit]

In February 2003, Easy Star All-Stars released a cover album of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon entitled Dub Side of the Moon, a complete reggae reinterpretation of the Pink Floyd album. Dub Side of the Moon has remained on the Billboard Reggae Charts since its release in 2003. It features instructions on how to synchronize the record with The Wizard of Oz, referencing the audiovisual pairing sometimes referred to as Dark Side of the Rainbow.

Dub Side of the Moon was followed by the 2006 release of Radiodread, a reimagining of Radiohead's album OK Computer. At a 2006 Radiohead concert, Thom Yorke praised Toots & The Maytals version of "Let Down" on Radiodread. Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood has also praised the cover version, calling it "truly astounding."

In March 2008, Easy Star All-Stars released Until that Day, an EP consisting of original material except for "Dubbing Up the Walls", a cover of the Radiohead song "Climbing Up the Walls."

On January 13, 2009 the Easy Star All-Stars posted a statement on their website that they had completed their next album, a reworking of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles titled Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band, which was released on April 14, 2009. However it was exclusively released on imeem a day prior. Reviews have been favourable. Sydney street press Music Feeds rated the album 10/10. Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band cracked the Billboard Top 200 twice, making it the first reggae album to do so in over two years.

Victor Axelrod aka Ticklah compiled a dub version of a song by the Iowa reggae band Public Property on an upcoming album Work to Do set for release in July 2009.

Michael Goldwasser compiled a dub version of the song "Turn & Run" by Umphrey's McGee.

In October 2010, the Easy Star All-Stars released Dubber Side of the Moon, featuring bass-heavy remixes of Dub Side of the Moon by Dubmatix, 10 Ft. Ganja Plant, Groove Corporation, Dubphonic, The Alchemist, Dreadzone, Kalbata, Adrian Sherwood & Jazzwad, Victor Rice, Border Crossing, Mad Professor, Michael G. & Easy Star All-Stars, and J. Viewz.

On August 28, 2012 the Easy Star All-Stars released Thrillah, a reimagining of Michael Jackson's album Thriller.

Current line-up [edit]

Listed in the order and as they appear in the liner notes accompanying Dub Side of the Moon:

The core of the touring line-up has remained largely intact since 2003. The rotating roster includes: