NAZAMBA x VON D – SHE SOLID
DUBQUAKE RECORDS x ZAM ZAM SOUNDS /// 2020
Listen and support: https://obf-dubquake-records.bandcamp.com/album/she-solid-she-dub
Directed and edited by Arnaud Gelard
Camera operator: Simon Buisson
Many Thanks to “Ricain” for the help!
This marks our first collaboration with another label – the mighty ZamZam Sounds outta Portland! We’ve long been fans of theirs, so when Von D proposed the collaboration all sides were eager to make it happen.
Nazamba burst on the global sound system scene in 2018 with O.B.F. and the Bug-produced stormer “Vex,” and has since worked exclusively with O.B.F. and Dubquake, releasing two singles and a powerful statement of an LP last year. Firmly in the tradition of the great dub poets such as Prince Far-I, LKJ, and Mutabaruka, Nazamba has digested the lessons of the past and is now changing the game by carving his own niche in the living history of dub poetry. His lyrics are born from lessons learned living in Kingston, and meditations on life, spirit, and the trials imposed by Babylon.
“She Solid” was born when Rico & Steph of Dubquake played Nazamba the Von D instrumental while driving in the Alps – inspiration struck immediately and he began writing in the car! The poem describes the resilience of a woman – a mother – strong, independent, providing for herself and her children without the help of a man, or the institutions of society. Simply maintaining her sanity and surviving every day in a system that doesn’t value or even see her strength is a victory. Nazamba’s seemingly effortless delivery belies a mastery of cadence that perfectly locks his voice to the riddim with every syllable. A true dub poet plays his cadence like an instrument, and “She Solid” is a masterclass in this subtle art.
Von D’s hard yet restrained 140 steppers perfectly frames Nazamba’s ode to struggle and determination. Kete drum and plucked guitar filigree intertwine at the edges of the growling baritone, buoyed by a rockstone bassline mirrored in a heavily filtered midrange melody. Von D’s dub cracks open the space inherent in the tune with wicked snare splashes maimed & mangled in FX chains only he knows the secrets to. Guitar & percussion come forward and the echoes reel out in fine style. Hands-on-desk raw dub the way the people love it!!
Follow Nazamba
https://www.instagram.com/nazamba1/?hl=en
Follow Von D
https://www.instagram.com/von__d/
Follow ZamZam Sounds
https://www.instagram.com/zamzamsounds/
Released December 11, 2020
Mastered to perfection by Sam at Precise Mastering
Art, design & screen printing by Polygon Press
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