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Latest Bass Music Video Finds: Reggae and Dub Bass Part II: Bass Videos With Mark von Bergen

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Meet Mark von Bergen –

Part II of our series on great reggae bassists focuses on dub music. Dub was pioneered in the early 1970s in Jamaica by studio engineers and producers such as King Tubby, Lee “Scratch” Perry, and Errol T. Thompson. Today, elements of dub have found their way into hip hop, techno, house, jungle, ambient, and trip-hop, and form an important part of the remix culture of today’s pop music. For an excellent treatment of this area, read Michael Veal’s “Dub: Soundscapes & Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae” (Wesleyan University Press, 2007).

Since dub music traditionally involved the isolation of bass and drums on vocal reggae songs, important reggae bassists – including those featured in the last installment – have been featured prominently in dub music, most notably perhaps Robbie Shakespeare.

We will focus here on bassists who are important figures in what can be referred to as “designer dub” – music that is conceived as dub in the first instance instead of as a “version” of a recorded song. The most important producers of this style of dub include Adrian Sherwood, Neil (the “Mad Professor”) Fraser, and Dennis Bovell, all from Britain, and Bill Laswell from the United States. Among the bassists who are major figures in this genre are Bovell, Laswell, and Jah Wobble (also from Britain).

Dennis Bovell

Multi-instrumentalist Dennis “Blackbeard” Bovell backed touring Jamaican artists on their visits to London in the 1970s. He later formed the Dub Band, which backed dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, and has worked with artists as diverse as the Slits, the Thompson Twins, and Fela Kuti. He is best known for his work in reggae and his pioneering dub albums. Here is short clip of Bovell performing with the Dub Band at the Boss Sounds Reggae Festival in Newcastle in November 2006.

Bill Laswell

Bassist Bill Laswell’s major commercial breakthrough came in 1983 on Herbie Hancock’s electro-funk-jazz hit, “Rockit.” Many of his projects since then have been heavily dub-influenced, from his controversial “Dreams of Freedom,” an ambient dub remix of Bob Marley songs, to many “designer dub” projects under his own name. Laswell is shown here with one of the many incarnations of his group Material at Tokyo Jazz in 2005.



Jah Wobble

Jah Wobble, formerly of Public Image Limited, today owns and operates his own record company, appropriately named 30 Hertz Records, and recently has released projects such as Molam Dub and Chinese Dub, in which he has combined the music of Thailand and China with dub reggae with critically acclaimed results. His main axe is an Ovation electric four-string, year unknown, so gearheads be forewarned. Here, Jah Wobble performs with his group Invaders of the Heart in 1998; Wobble’s bass starts at around 3:30, but don’t skip the percussion extravaganza that leads up to that point.

Bass Videos

Interview With K3 Sisters Band

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Interview With K3 Sisters Band

K3 Sisters Band Interview…

It is very rare when I talk to a band where all the members play bass. The K3 Sisters Band is a perfect example of a group where Kaylen, Kelsey and Kristen Kassab are all multi-instrumentalists and take turns playing bass.

Hailing from Texas, these three sisters have been playing music since they were very young and have amassed an amazing amount of original music,  music videos, streaming concerts, podcasts, and content that has taken numerous social media platforms by storm. On TikTok alone, they have over 2.5 million followers and more than a billion views.

Join me as we hear the story of their musical journey, how they get their sound, and the fundamental principles behind these prolific musicians.

Here is the K3 Sisters Band!

Photo, Bruce Ray Productions

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Bass Player Health

What is a Pinched Nerve? with Dr. Randy Kertz

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Dr Randal Kertz - Bass Player Health - Oct 2022

What is a Pinched Nerve?

In this month’s video, we will cover how to tell if you have a pinched nerve and when to seek professional help.

Dr. Randall Kertz is the author of The Bassist’s Complete Guide to Injury Management, Prevention and Better Health. Click here to get your copy today!

The Bassist’s Complete Guide to Injury Management, Prevention & Better Health

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Bass Videos

Interview With Bassist Danielle Nicole

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Interview With Bassist Danielle Nicole

Bassist Danielle Nicole…

Blues music has universal appeal. We all have our ups and downs and this particular musical genre often fits our reality. Just hearing that we are not alone makes us feel a bit better. 

Danielle Nicole writes and sings the Blues. She does an amazing job at delivering both exquisite smoky vocals but plays just the right bass line to drive the tune home. Danielle recently released “The Love You Bleed” last January and will be touring the album this upcoming year.

Join me as we learn about Danielle’s musical journey, how she gets her sound, her plans for the future and more.

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Photo, Missy Faulkner

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Bass Videos

Working-Class Zeros: The Struggles of Working-Class Musicians – Episode #1

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WORKING-CLASS ZEROS With Steve Rosati and Shawn Cav

Working-Class Zeros: Episode #1 – Gig Triangle, Day Gig, and It’s Awesome But Is It Necessary…

These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav

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Bass Edu

Premiere! Bass Playthrough With Foetal Juice’s Bassist Lewis Bridges – From the Album, Grotesque

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Premiere! Bass Playthrough With Foetal Juice's Bassist Lewis Bridges - From the Album, Grotesque

Premiere! Bass Playthrough With Foetal Juice’s Bassist Lewis Bridges – From the Album, Grotesque

Bassist Lewis Bridges Shares…

“Gruesome’s sparse intro marks a stark contrast from the intensity of the rest of the album.  The original intention was to keep the bass simple but colourful, however as I worked on it, the lines grew more expressive and the more striking flourishes began to emerge.  The intensity builds into a harmonic minor passage that takes us into the drop — a signature death grind cacophony.  This is where Foetal Juice thrives.  You’re getting a full-on right-hand barrage to in the face to take you into a groove-laden mulch-fest.

I owe my throbbing bass tone to the Darkglass Alpha Omega pedal borrowed from our sound engineer, Chris Fielding (ex-Conan), mixed with the clarity of the tried and true Ampeg SVT CL.

As mentioned earlier, colourful basslines are important, especially in a one-guitar band. Chucking some funny intervals and odd flourishes here and there brings life into the brutality. There’s no point sounding brutal if it’s not gonna be fucking evil too!

Recording this playthrough was hard work. This was not the fault of James Goodwin (Necronautical), who was kindly filming and is ace to work with, but because in true Foetal fashion, we had stinking hangovers — and that jam room was hot!”

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