Mad Professor (born Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955, Georgetown, Guyana) is a Guyanese-born British

dub music Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican re ...

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 has collaborated with

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 ...

artists such as

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

Pato Banton Pato Banton (born Patrick Murray; 5 October 1961) is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname "Pato Banton" from his stepfather; his first name derives from the sound of a Jamaican owl calling "patoo, patoo ...

Jah Shaka Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior is a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who has been operating a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian t ...

and

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English tri ...

, as well as artists outside the realm of traditional reggae and dub, such as

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

, Gaudi, the Brazilian DJ Marcelinho da lua,

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

, and Perry Farrell.

Biography

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 Heath Thornton Heath is a district of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is around north of the town of Croydon, and south of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Thornton Heath was in the Co ...

.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p.13-14 He began recording lovers rock bands and vocalists for his own label (including the debut recording by

Deborahe Glasgow Deborahe Elizabeth Glasgow (19 January 1966 – 25 January 1994) was an English lovers rock singer of Guyanese parentage, who was active from the late 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s. Though Glasgow released only one album in her lifetime, 19 ...

) and recorded his first album after moving the studio to a new location in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

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 Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, who regularly aired tracks from the albums. Although early releases were not big sellers among reggae buyers, the mid-1980s saw this change with releases from Sandra Cross (''Country Life''), Johnny Clarke, Peter Culture, Pato Banton, and

Macka B Christopher MacFarlane, better known as Macka B, (born 1966) is a British-born Jamaican reggae artist, performer and activist with a career spanning thirty years and one of Britain's most influential dancehall DJs. As a practicing Rastaman, Mac ...

(''Sign of the Times''). Fraser moved again, this time to

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...

, where he set up what was the largest black-owned studio complex in the UK, where he recorded successful lovers rock tracks by Cross, John McLean, and Kofi, and attracted Jamaican artists including

Bob Andy Keith Anderson CD (28 October 1944 – 27 March 2020), better known by the stage name Bob Andy, was a Jamaican reggae vocalist and songwriter. He was widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters. Early life Anderson was bor ...

and Faybiene Miranda. He teamed up with Lee "Scratch" Perry for the first time in 1983 for the recording of the album ''Mystic Warrior'' (1989). Fraser's son continues his father's musical tradition, producing dub under the alias, Joe Ariwa.

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 instalments of the ''Dub Me Crazy'' series and 5 albums under the ''Black Liberation Dub'' banner. The following is a partial discography of his original releases including collaborations with other artists and remixes.

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 *2008 – The Dubs That Time Forgot *2009 – Audio Illusions of Dub * 2012 – The Roots of Dubstep

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 studio 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.SFStation.com, Mad Professor'', January 22, 20 ...

'' (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

Collaborations

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 *1996 –

Dub Take the Voodoo Out of Reggae ''Dub Take the Voodoo Out of Reggae'' is a studio album released by Mad Professor with Lee "Scratch" Perry, released in 1996. Critical reception The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' stated: "Mad Professor makes a fun farrago of Perry's vocals by comp ...

*1998 – Live at Maritime Hall *1998 – Fire in Dub *2000 – Lee Perry Meets Mad Professor *2001 – Techno Dub

With other artists

*1981 - Kunte Kinte (with Aquizim) *1982 – Rhythm Collision Dub (with Ruts DC) *1983 – Punky Reggae Party (Positive Style) – Anti Social Workers *1984 – Jah Shaka Meets Mad Professor at Ariwa Sounds *1985 – Mad Professor Captures

*1989 – Mad Professor Recaptures Pato Banton *1989 – Mad Professor Meets Puls Der Zeit *1989 – Mad Professor Feat The Man Ezeke Remix an Dub for Sheila Giles *1990 – A Feast of Yellow Dub (with

Yellowman Winston Foster , better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a series of singles that established ...

) *1995 – No Protection (

v Mad Professor) *1996 – New Decade of Dub (with Jah Shaka) *2000 – The Inspirational Sounds of Mad Professor *2000 – Massilia London Experience (with

Massilia Sound System Massilia Sound System is a reggae band formed in Marseille, France, in 1984. They developed a Provençal hybrid version of reggae, rub-a-dub and raggamuffin, with lyrics in the French and Occitan languages, sometimes referred to as ''trobamuff ...

) *2004 – Dub Revolutionaries (with

) *2004 – From The Roots (with

) *2004 – In A Dubwise Style (with Marcelinho da Lua) *2005 – Moroccan Sunrise (with Borrah) *2005 – Dancehall Dubs (with Crazy Caribs) *2009 – Revolution Feat. Pato Banton And Mr. Professor (With Tugg) *2009 – Nairobi Meets Mad Professor – Wu Wei *2010 – Izrael Meets Mad Professor and Joe Ariwa *2010 – Frente Cumbiero Meets Mad Professor *2010 – Rewired in Dub (with Pama International) *2011 - Rewired in Dub (with Horace Andy) *2012 – The Roots of Dubstep *2013 – Cedric Congo Meets Mad Professor *2014 - Method to the Madness (various Ariwa artists) *2017 - In The Midst Of The Storm (Mad Professor Meets

Jah9 Janine Elizabeth Cunningham (born 23 May 1983), better known as Jah9, is a Jamaican singer and also a yoga teacher. Biography Jah9 was born in Montego Bay in Saint James, Jamaica. Her father was a Baptist minister and her mother was a teach ...

) *2019 - ''Massive Attack vs Mad Professor Part II (

Mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian language, Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft ...

Remix Tapes ’98)'' *2019 – Mad Professor meets Gaudi

Remixes

Since the 1990s he has remixed tracks by

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in the ...

, Rancid,

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

, Perry Farrell and Japanese pop singer

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

. His best-known project, perhaps, is 1995's '' No Protection'', an

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

dub version of

's second album, ''

Protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

''. He has also done a version of I&I for New Zealand reggae band

Katchafire Katchafire are an all Māori New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand. History Katchafire formed in Hamilton in 1997, originally as a Bob Marley tribute band.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Katchafire keeping NZ reggae scene ...

, three versions for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

electronic group

Salmonella Dub Salmonella Dub is a dub/ drum n bass/reggae/ roots band from New Zealand. The band was formed in 1992 by Andrew Penman, Dave Deakins, and Mark Tyler. The band has toured extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia, and Europe, including the UK ...

and twelve remixes for Japanese musician

. * No Protection – "Dub version of

album

" (1995) A second remix album with Massive Attack is slated for release in 2018 *

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing was an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. Soul Coughing developed a d ...

– "Sugar Free Jazz (Multiple Remixes (Most were released on the Sugar Free Jazz: Slash In-House Cassette))" (1995) *Black Orpheus Dub – Dub version of

Black Orpheus ''Black Orpheus'' (Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play '' Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Morae ...

for the AIDS-benefit album

Red Hot + Rio ''Red Hot + Rio'' is a compilation album produced by Béco Dranoff and Paul Heck as part of the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series intended to promote AIDS awareness. This installment is a contemporary tribute to the bossa nova sound, especially the mus ...

produced by the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

(1996) * Urrun Dub – Dub version of

Fermin Muguruza Fermin Muguruza (born 20 April 1963) is a Basque rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, record label manager, and co-founder of the ska punk band Kortatu, active from 1983 to 1988, and of the crossover group Negu Gorriak, active from 1990 ...

's ''Urrun'' (1999) *

– " For The Love of It" (1999) *

– " Who... (Who Dub It?)" from ayu-mi-x II Version US+EU (2000 *

– "

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

(ARIWA Dub Mix)" from

ayu-mi-x III Non-Stop Mega Mix Version ''Ayu-mi-x'' (stylized as ''ayu-mi-x'') is the first remix album by Japanese musician Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname ...

– "Tui Dub" (2002) *

– " Hanabi (Ariwa Dub Mix)" from RMX Works from Ayu-mi-x 5 Non-Stop Mega Mix (2003) *

– "Mercy" (2004) *

Miss Kittin Caroline Hervé (born 1973), known professionally as Miss Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles " 1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked ...

– "

Happy Violentine "Happy Violentine" is the third single from the Miss Kittin's first solo album ''I Com''. Critical reception Derek Miller of Pitchfork Media described the song "Happy Violentine" as "a love song pulled inside out, a track that seems pleased to di ...

(Mad Professor Smiling Orange Dub)" (2005) *

– "

Happy Ending A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the main protagonists and their sidekicks, while the main villains/antagonists are dead/defeated. In storylines where the protagon ...

(Mad Professor Remix)" from Ayu-mi-x 6: Gold (2008)

References

Interviews

Interview in Remix MagazineInterview at niceups.com

External links

*
Aanmelden bij Facebook , FacebookAriwa Sounds Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mad Professor Dub musicians Dubtronica musicians People from Georgetown, Guyana Guyanese reggae singers 1955 births 20th-century Guyanese male singers 21st-century Guyanese male singers Living people