Mad Professor (born
Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955,
GeorgetownGeorgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
,
GuyanaGuyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean.Guyana was discovered in 1498 by the Europeans,Guyana's past is punctuated by battles fought and won,...
) is a
dub musicDub is an instrumental subgenre of reggae music, that involves revisions of existing songs. The dub sound consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing...
producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music’s second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He is a prolific producer, contributing to or producing nearly 200 albums. He has collaborated with reggae artists such as Lee "Scratch" Perry,
Sly and RobbieSly and Robbie are one of reggae's most prolific and long lasting production teams. The rhythm section of drummer Lowell Dunbar and bass guitarist Robert Shakespeare started working together in the mid 1970s, after having established themselves separately on the Jamaican music scene...
,
Pato BantonPato Banton is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England.-Biography:Born in Birmingham, Banton first came to public attention in the early 1980s when he worked with The Beat. He recorded "Pato and Roger a Go Talk" with Ranking Roger, included on the 1982 album Special Beat Service...
,
Jah ShakaJah Shaka has been operating a London-based, roots reggae Sound System since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rasta term for God and that of a zulu warrior....
and
Horace AndyHorace Andy , is a roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", "You Are My Angel", "Skylarking" and a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine".-Early Days:Hinds recorded his first single in 1967 for producer Phil Pratt...
, as well as artists outside the realm of traditional reggae and dub, such as
SadeSade is an English group which achieved success in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The band's music features elements of soul, jazz, R&B, quiet storm, soft rock, funk, easy listening, and adult contemporary. The lead vocalist, Sade Adu, is the only woman in the band and is the only one to appear on...
,
Massive AttackMassive Attack are a British music duo from Bristol, UK, considered to be progenitors of a genre referred to as trip hop, that assemble a collective of various favoured session musicians and guest vocalists with whom they make records and tour live...
,
The OrbThe Orb are an English electronic music group known for popularising chill out music in the 1990s and spawning the genre of ambient house. Founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and KLF member Jimmy Cauty, The Orb began as ambient and dub DJs in London. Their early performances were inspired by ambient...
, and Brazilian DJ
Marcelinho da luaMarcelinho da Lua is a Brazilian reggae/electronic singer and DJ. He released the album Tranqüilo in 2003. The album's staple song, Tranqüilo, was part of the playlist for EA sports' FIFA 06 video game. Both Seu Jorge and Mart'nália participated to Tranqüilo...
.
Fraser became known as Mad Professor as a boy due to his fascination with electronics.
Mad Professor (born
Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955,
GeorgetownGeorgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
,
GuyanaGuyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean.Guyana was discovered in 1498 by the Europeans,Guyana's past is punctuated by battles fought and won,...
) is a
dub musicDub is an instrumental subgenre of reggae music, that involves revisions of existing songs. The dub sound consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing...
producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music’s second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He is a prolific producer, contributing to or producing nearly 200 albums. He has collaborated with reggae artists such as Lee "Scratch" Perry,
Sly and RobbieSly and Robbie are one of reggae's most prolific and long lasting production teams. The rhythm section of drummer Lowell Dunbar and bass guitarist Robert Shakespeare started working together in the mid 1970s, after having established themselves separately on the Jamaican music scene...
,
Pato BantonPato Banton is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England.-Biography:Born in Birmingham, Banton first came to public attention in the early 1980s when he worked with The Beat. He recorded "Pato and Roger a Go Talk" with Ranking Roger, included on the 1982 album Special Beat Service...
,
Jah ShakaJah Shaka has been operating a London-based, roots reggae Sound System since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rasta term for God and that of a zulu warrior....
and
Horace AndyHorace Andy , is a roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", "You Are My Angel", "Skylarking" and a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine".-Early Days:Hinds recorded his first single in 1967 for producer Phil Pratt...
, as well as artists outside the realm of traditional reggae and dub, such as
SadeSade is an English group which achieved success in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The band's music features elements of soul, jazz, R&B, quiet storm, soft rock, funk, easy listening, and adult contemporary. The lead vocalist, Sade Adu, is the only woman in the band and is the only one to appear on...
,
Massive AttackMassive Attack are a British music duo from Bristol, UK, considered to be progenitors of a genre referred to as trip hop, that assemble a collective of various favoured session musicians and guest vocalists with whom they make records and tour live...
,
The OrbThe Orb are an English electronic music group known for popularising chill out music in the 1990s and spawning the genre of ambient house. Founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and KLF member Jimmy Cauty, The Orb began as ambient and dub DJs in London. Their early performances were inspired by ambient...
, and Brazilian DJ
Marcelinho da luaMarcelinho da Lua is a Brazilian reggae/electronic singer and DJ. He released the album Tranqüilo in 2003. The album's staple song, Tranqüilo, was part of the playlist for EA sports' FIFA 06 video game. Both Seu Jorge and Mart'nália participated to Tranqüilo...
.
Fraser became known as Mad Professor as a boy due to his fascination with electronics. He emigrated from Guyana to London at the age of 13 and later began his music career as a service technician. He gradually collected recording and mixing equipment and in 1979 opened his own four-track recording studio, Ariwa Sounds, in the living room of his home in
Thornton HeathThornton Heath is a district in the London Borough of Croydon, 7.2 miles south of Charing Cross.Thornton Heath High Street is the centre of a large area of north Croydon known as Thornton Heath between West Croydon and South Norwood.-History:...
. He began recording
lovers rockLovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid 1970s.-History:...
bands and vocalists for his own label (including the debut recording by
Deborahe GlasgowDeborahe Glasgow was an English "Lovers Rock" singer of Jamaican parentage who was active from the late 1970s to the beginning of the 90s. Though Glasgow released only one album in her lifetime, 1989's Deborahe Glasgow, she began releasing singles in her adolescence...
) and recorded his first album after moving the studio to a new location in
PeckhamPeckham is an area of London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, located 3.5 miles south-east of Charing Cross, about one mile east of Camberwell and one mile west of New Cross....
in 1982, equipped with an eight-track setup, later expanding to sixteen. Fraser's
Dub Me Crazy series of albums won the support of
John PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004. He was known for his eclectic taste in music and...
, who regularly aired tracks from the albums. Although early releases were not big sellers among reggae buyers, the mid-1980's saw this change with releases from Sandra Cross (
Country Life),
Johnny ClarkeJohnny Clarke is a reggae musician.-Biography:Clarke grew up in the Kingston ghetto of Whitfield Town. In 1971 he won a talent contest in Bull Bay, his prize a meeting with producer Clancy Eccles, with whom he recorded his first song, "God Made the Sea and the Sun", the following year...
, Peter Culture, Pato Banton, and
Macka BMacka B is a British-born reggae artist, performer and activist with a career spanning almost 30 years in the United Kingdom and Jamaica. According to AllMusic.com “Macka B was one of Britain's most influential dancehall toasters.”...
(
Sign of the Times). Fraser moved again, this time to
South NorwoodSouth Norwood is an urban town and ward in South London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a suburban development 7.8 miles south-east of Charing Cross. South Norwood is a town comprising a resident population of just over 14,000...
, where he set up what was the largest black-owned studio complex in the UK, where he recorded highly successful lovers rock tracks by Cross, John McLean, and Kofi, and attracted major Jamaican artists including
Bob AndyBob Andy is a Jamaican reggae vocalist and songwriter. He is widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters.-Career:...
and Faybiene Miranda. He teamed up with reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry for the first time in 1989 for the album
Mystic Warrior.
Dub music, which combines reggae music and recording studio trickery, seemed to fit Mad Professor's musical and technical tastes perfectly and his early work remained faithful to the traditional Jamaican dub pioneered by
King TubbyKing Tubby was a Jamaican electronics and sound engineer, known primarily for his influence on the development of dub music in the 1960s and 1970s...
, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and
Augustus PabloHorace Swaby , better known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and keyboardist, active from the 1970s onwards. He was known for his devotion to the spiritual Rastafari movement....
. Mad Professor's early work was characterized by few vocal tracks and heavy echo, reverb, and phaser effects on the instrumentals. Eventually, he began to experiment with electronic sounds and effects alongside the traditional instruments. Synthesized sounds began to find a place in his mixes. This experimentation caught the attention of artists outside of reggae and dub genres and led to Mad Professor's work with electronic artists, most notably Massive Attack.
Recordings
Mad Professor has released hundreds of original recordings and has worked with a number of reggae and non-reggae artists. He is perhaps best known for his 12 installments of the
Dub Me Crazy series and 5 albums under the
Black Liberation Dub banner. The following is a list of his more accessible original releases, collaborations with other artists, and remixes. A complete discography can be found at Discogs.com.
Original Recordings
- 1983 – In A Rub A Dub Style
- 1985 – A Caribbean Taste Of Technology
- 1992 – True Born African Dub
- 1994 – The Lost Scrolls Of Moses
- 1995 – It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Professor
- 1997 – RAS Portraits
- 2001 – Dubbing You Crazy
- 2001 – Trix In The Mix
- 2005 – Method To The Madness
- 2007 – Dub You Crazy 2007
- 2008 – The Dubs That Time Forgot
Dub Me Crazy Series
- 1982 - Dub Me Crazy
- 1982 - Beyond The Realms Of Dub (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.2)
- 1983 - The African Connection (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.3)
- 1983 - Escape To The Asylum of Dub (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.4)
- 1985 - Who Knows The Secret Of The Master Tape (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.5)
- 1986 - Schizophrenic Dub (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.6)
- 1987 - Adventures Of A Dub Sampler (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.7)
- 1988 - Experiments Of The Aural Kind (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.8)
- 1989 - Science And The Witchdoctor (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.9)
- 1990 - Psychedelic Dub (Dub Me Crazy, Pt. 10)
- 1992 - Hijacked To Jamaica (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.11)
- 1993 - Dub Maniacs On The Rampage
Dub Maniacs On The Rampage is a dub album released by Mad Professor. It was released in 1993 on the Ariwa label. This album was the last installment in Mad Professor's "Dub Me Crazy" series.- Track listing :# "Dub So Hard" - 4:22...
(Dub Me Crazy, Pt.12)
Black Liberation Series
- 1994 - Black Liberation Dub (Chapter 1)
- 1995 - Anti-Racist Broadcast (Black Liberation Chapter 2)
- 1996 - The Evolution Of Dub (Black Liberation Chapter 3)
- 1997 - Under The Spell Of Dub (Black Liberation Chapter 4)
- 1999 - Afrocentric Dub (Black Liberation Chapter 5)
Dub You Crazy With Love Series
- 1997 – Dub You Crazy With Love
- 2000 – Dub You Crazy With Love (Part 2)
- 2008 – Bitter Sweet Dub
With Lee “Scratch” Perry
- 1990 – Mystic Warrior
- 1995 – Black Ark Experryments
- 1995 – Super Ape Inna Jungle
- 1996 – Experryments At The Grass Roots Of Dub
- 1996 - Who Put The Voodoo Pon Reggae
- 1997 – Dub Take The Voodoo Out Of Reggae
- 1998 – Live At Maritime Hall
- 1998 – Fire In Dub
- 2000 – Lee Perry Meets Mad Professor
- 2001 -- Techno Dub
With Other Artists
- 1982 – Rhythm Collision Dub (With Ruts DC)
- 1985 – Mad Professor Captures Pato Banton
- 1989 – Mad Professor Recaptures Pato Banton
- 1989 – Mad Professor Meets Puls Der Zeit
- 1990 – A Feast Of Yellow Dub (With Yellowman)
- 1996 – New Decade Of Dub (With Jah Shaka)
- 1996 – Jah Shaka Meets Mad Professor At Ariwa Sounds
- 2004 – Dub Revolutionaries (With Sly and Robbie)
- 2004 – From The Roots (With Horace Andy)
- 2004 – In A Dubwise Style (With Marcelinho da Lua)
- 2005 – Moroccan Sunrise (With Borrah)
- 2005 – Dancehall Dubs (With Crazy Caribs)
- 2009 – Nairobi Meets Mad Professor – Wu Wei (Upcoming)
Remixes
Since the '90s he has remixed tracks by
SadeSade is an English group which achieved success in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The band's music features elements of soul, jazz, R&B, quiet storm, soft rock, funk, easy listening, and adult contemporary. The lead vocalist, Sade Adu, is the only woman in the band and is the only one to appear on...
,
The OrbThe Orb are an English electronic music group known for popularising chill out music in the 1990s and spawning the genre of ambient house. Founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and KLF member Jimmy Cauty, The Orb began as ambient and dub DJs in London. Their early performances were inspired by ambient...
,
The KLFThe KLF were a band from the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Beginning in 1987, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty released hip hop-inspired and sample-heavy records as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, and on one occasion as The Timelords...
, The Beastie Boys,
JamiroquaiJamiroquai are an English Alternative/acid jazz/funk/soul/disco band. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, the Brand New Heavies, Galliano, and Corduroy...
,
RancidRancid is an American punk rock band from Albany, California, formed in 1991. Founded by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, both of whom previously played in ska punk group Operation Ivy, the band is credited with helping to revive mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the United States during...
,
Depeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic band who formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andrew Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
,
Perry FarrellPerry Farrell is a Jewish-American musician who is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza...
and Japanese pop singer
Ayumi Hamasakiis a Japanese singer-songwriter and former actress. Also called Ayu by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" due to her popularity and widespread influence in Japan. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to pursue a career in entertainment...
. His best-known project, perhaps, is 1995's
No Protection, an
electronicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
dub version of
Massive AttackMassive Attack are a British music duo from Bristol, UK, considered to be progenitors of a genre referred to as trip hop, that assemble a collective of various favoured session musicians and guest vocalists with whom they make records and tour live...
's second album,
ProtectionProtection is Bristol-based trip-hop collective Massive Attack's second album.-Sound:Protection was featured in the top ten of Rolling Stone magazine's 'Coolest Albums of All Time List,' calling it "great music for when you're driving around a city at 4 am," due to the 'chill out' nature of the...
.
Mad Professor has done three versions for
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
electronic group
Salmonella DubSalmonella Dub are a Dub/Drum n Bass/Reggae/Roots band from Kaikoura, New Zealand. They were formed in 1992 by Andrew Penman, David Deakins and Mark Tyler. The band has toured extensively New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Ireland...
:
- 1999 - For The Love Of It
- 2002 - Tui Dub
- 2004 - Mercy
He has also done a version of I&I for New Zealand
reggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based...
band
KatchafireKatchafire is a New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand.Katchafire formed in 1997 as a Bob Marley tribute band and later began writing and performing their own songs...
.
Interviews
External links