The Brag

Easy Star All-Stars
Welcome To The Dub Side
By Dorian Gray

Reggae tribute albums can be a hit and miss affair – the rocksteady reworking of Nirvana’s Nevermind released this year looms in mind as particularly unnecessary. But when the crew of session musicians who make up Easy Star All-Stars decided in 2003 to record a dub tribute to Pink Floyd’s concept classic Dark Side of the Moon, they struck covers gold.

The stoned psychedelia and sense of space that are inherent to dub leant themselves particularly well to Dark Side of the Moon’s astral progressive rock; from the opening seconds of Dub Side – in which Easy Star All-Stars substitute the original’s ambient breathing and cash register sounds with ‘illbient’ Rasta weed puffing and coughing, before breaking down into a skank that’s only a small stylistic skip from the original’s opening chords – you can tell that it’s going to be a respectful and appropriate homage. Or maybe it just works so well because both albums were made to get stoned to. Either way, the proof is in the licensing; while the members of Pink Floyd initially refused Easy Star’s request to record a tribute album, it only took one listen to a rough demo to get them to agree.

Since Dub Side of the Moon, Easy Star All-Stars have tackled Radiohead’s OK Computer with Radiodread, and The Beatles with Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band, and this year they finally put out their first record of original material, First Light. As Easy Star All-Stars bassist Ras I Ray explains it, the nine-year delay in releasing original material has more to do with the rotating cast of characters that make up the Easy Star collective, as well as the punishing nature of their tour schedule, than anything else. “We just never had time, with all the touring,” I Ray says. “But we’re always writing new material, and we have two more CDs of material ready to go. We just need the time to put our energy and hearts into it.”

When he says that they’ve had little spare time with all the touring, he’s not kidding. In 2009 alone, Easy Star All-Stars clocked up 125 shows in 25 countries, including a three-day stint at Glastonbury in which they played Lonely Hearts, Radiodread and Dub Side consecutively across three days and three stages. But it’s not until now that the band has planned a tour in which they’ll play their most acclaimed tribute album end to end (like an independent Don’t Look Back concert), and Australia is lucky enough to have the honour. “It’s amazing that eight years after the album first came out, the fans are still loving it so much that we’re still riding the wave,” says I Ray. “We’ll be playing Dub Side from intro to outro – although it’s dub, so it’s always fresh and instantaneous; you never get a dub sounding the same two nights in a row – and we’ll also be doing some originals and selections from Radiodread and Lonely Hearts Dub Band. It’s going to be a special time.”

Word on the grapevine is that Easy Star All-Stars also have another homage album in the works, but I Ray won’t let any hints drop. “It’s killing me, I want to talk about it so bad!” he says. “I can’t wait for the label to give us permission to talk about this latest project – it’s in the works right now, and we’re looking at late spring [northern hemisphere] for the release and tour. The hardest part is keeping it as discreet as possible.”

What: First Light is out now
Who: Easy Star All-Stars perform Dub Side Of The Moon
Where: The Factory Theatre
When: Wednesday January 4