The Bush Chemists are a British
dub reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
group.
History
Wardrop formed The Bush
Chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
s in 1993 as a side-project to his other band
Centry.
[Prato, Greg " The Bush Chemists Biography, ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved 11 September 2010 He had run a record stall in
Camden Market
The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead R ...
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
since 1988, . He began creating his own dub tracks using a 4-track recorder in 1989, setting up his own
Conscious
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
Sounds label shortly afterwards.
[Bush Chemists ''Raw Raw Dub'']
", ROIR
ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper.
Background
ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...
. Retrieved 11 September 2010 His main collaborator is Paul Davey,
[Bergstrom, John (2005)]
Bush Chemists ''Raw Raw Dub''
, ''PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'', 19 December 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2010 and they have worked regularly with singers including Kenny Knots and
Culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
Freeman.
[Green, Michael (2008) "Digital roots return to Tel Aviv", '']The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'', 8 February 2008, p. 6 The debut album ''Dubs from
Zion
Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...
Valley'' was a collaboration with
Jonah
Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...
Dan, released in 1994, and their first US release was ''Dub Outernational'', recorded in Wardrop's attic studio,
[Wolk, Douglas (1996)]
Bush Chemists ''Dub Outernational''
, ''CMJ New Music Monthly
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
'', March 1996, p. 31 and released in 1996 on
ROIR
ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper.
Background
ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...
.
[Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 46-7][Prato, Greg " ''Dub Outernational'' Review, ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved 11 September 2010 The band mix traditional
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
with digital dub.
[Jeffries, David " ''Raw Raw Dub'' Review, ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved 11 September 2010 Albums followed regularly through the late 1990s and early 2000s, including 2005's ''Raw Raw Dub'', also released on ROIR. Wardrop also
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
s the
Jah Warrior releases.
Discography
Albums
*''Strictly Dubwise'' (1994), Conscious Sounds/Universal Egg
*''Dub Outernational'' (1996),
ROIR
ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper.
Background
ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...
*''Light Up Your Spliff'' (1996), Conscious Sounds
*''In Dub: Light Up Your Chalice'' (1999), Dubhead
*''Dub Fire Blazing'' (2001), Dubhead
*''Raw Raw Dub'' (2005), ROIR
*''Bush Chemists Singles'' (2010), Conscious Sounds
;Collaborations:
*''Dubs From Zion Valley'' (1994), JKPD – Jonah Dan meets The Bush Chemists
*''Fashion Records & Conscious Sound Present a Dub Convention: The Bush Chemists Meet The Dub Organiser'' (1996),
Fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
/Conscious Sounds
*''Money Run Things'' (1996), Conscious Sounds – credited to 'King General Bucks Up Pon De Bush Chemists'
*''The Conqueror'' (1998), Dubhead – Culture Freeman Meets The Bush Chemists
*''Gime De Music'' (2003), Conscious Sounds – Kenny Knots meets De Bush Chemists
*''King General Re Encounters The Bush Chemists – Broke Again'' (2009), Conscious Sounds – with King General
Singles
*"Dread Inna Babylon" (1996), Conscious Sounds – Culture Freeman & The Bush Chemists
*''Dub Clash '96'' EP (1996), Universal Egg – Jah Free & The Bush Chemists
*"Joker Smokin'" (1996), Conscious Sounds – King General & The Bush Chemists
*"Dub Fire Blazing" (2001), Dubhead – split with Mungo's Hifi
*"16 Years"/"King Davids House" (2003), Conscious Sounds – feat.
Lutan Fyah
Anthony Martin (born 4 December 1975), better known as Lutan Fyah, is a Jamaican musician, singer, and member of the Rastafari movement Bobo Shanti.
Background
Born in Spanish Town, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica, Martin studied Architecture ...
and Culture Freeman
*"Technology" (2003), Conscious Sounds –
Pablo Gad
Pablo Gad is a British Roots reggae singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the UK's most militant and outspoken vocalists in roots reggae music.
Biography
Pablo Gad was born in Jamaica and came to live in the United Kingdom in 1974. Wit ...
& The Bush Chemists
*"Tribal Warriors" (2003), Conscious Sounds – Bobby Blue & The Bush Chemists
*"Beat Around The Bush" (2004), Conscious Sounds – Lutan Fyah & The Bush Chemists
*"East of Jaro" (2004), Conscious Sounds – The Love Grocer meets The Bush Chemists
*"Original Spread Out" (2005), Conscious Sounds – Kenny Knots/The Bush Chemists
*"The Middle Way" (2005), Conscious Sounds – Chazbo/The Bush Chemists
*"Up There" (2005), Lush – Kenny Knots Meets The Bush Chemist
*"Babylon Fall Down" (2006), Jah Tubbys – Kenny Knots & The Bush Chemists
*"Meditation Master" (2006), Roots Temple – Ital Horns meets The Bush Chemists
*"Roots Temple" (2006), Roots Temple – Ital Horns meets The Bush Chemists
*"Star Dub" (2006), Jah Tubbys
*"This Train" (2006), Diop Side –
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
/The Bush Chemists
*"Victory" (2006), Conscious Sounds – Singer Blue/The Bush Chemists
*"Gold Chain" (2007), Conscious Sounds – Dandelion/The Bush Chemists
*''Rewind & Remix Vol.2'' EP (2007), Scoops –
Vibronics
Vibronics are a reggae collective, based in Leicester, England, starting in 1995. Centered on Steve Vibronics and Richi Rootz, they initially gained exposure via the ''Egg Experience '97'' shows, leading to a deal with Zion Train's Universal Egg ...
meets The Bush Chemists
*"Seven Winds From The East" (2008), Roots Temple – Makiko & The Bush Chemists
*"Wicked Men" (2009), Vibescreator – Fu-steps/The Bush Chemists
*"Collie Weed" (????), Conscious Sounds – The Bush Chemists & Disco Dread
*"Going Home" (????), Conscious Sounds – Kenny Knots & The Bush Chemists
*''Gunman/The Fittest'' EP (????), Conscious Sounds – feat. King General & Culture Freeman
*"Some People" (????), Dubology – King General & the Bush Chemists
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush Chemists
British reggae musical groups