The Disciples are a dub

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

group that was formed in 1986 by brothers Russ D. and Lol Bell-Brown. They are said to be named by

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 ...

after producing exclusively for Jah Shaka. They recorded four albums of instrumental dub for Jah Shaka's King Of The Zulu Tribe label during 1987 to 1990. Russ D. acquired some basic recording equipment in 1985 which started their productions. Over the years this has seen many changes moving from a bedroom with four- and eight track recording to a small purpose built studio which now comprises full 24 track recording and mixing facilities. The Disciples built their own sound system in 1991 and played events across the UK for the following five years. They played alongside

Aba Shanti-I Aba Shanti-I (born Joseph Smith) is a sound system operator and dub producer from the UK. Aba and his sound system have been playing through UK and Europe for over 30 years. He has been a resident sound system at Notting Hill Carnival since 1 ...

, Iration Steppas and Channel One Sound System. Musical content was strictly

and

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 ...

from all eras. Their first label, Boom Shacka Lacka, was formed in 1993 for releasing heavyweight instrumental dubs and this included a release of ''Prowling Lion''. They also produced another album, ''For Those Who Understand''. During this time their tracks featured on compilations for labels such as

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

(Macrodub series), Dope On Plastic, Zip Dog and Dubhead. Further albums were released with artists such as Rootsman, Dayjah and Sister Rasheda. In 1996, they formed their second label, Backyard Movements, which was designed for releasing roots reggae vocal releases. The label has seen works with both homegrown and Jamaican artists including

Prince Alla Keith Blake (born 10 May 1950), better known as Prince Alla (sometimes Prince Allah or Ras Allah) is a Jamaican roots reggae singer whose career began in the 1960s, and has continued with a string of releases into the 2000s. Biography Born in ...

, Michael Rose, Bunny Lie Lie, Lutan Fyah,

Prince Malachi Prince Malachi (born Mark Wynter, 1969, London, England) is an English roots reggae singer. Biography Wynter was born in south London, and is the son of jazz guitarist Winston Wynter.Campbell, Howard (2013)PRINCE MALACHI recalls survival struggle ...

, Tony Roots, Danny Vibes, Christine Miller, Ras Mac Bean, High Priest, Anthony Que and others. Since 1996, the Disciples sound system was dissolved and brother Lol pulled out of the business, Russ D. continued with both the label and DJing, teaming up with long-time friend Jonah Dan. The works continue in the Disciples Backyard Studio for their own productions and other labels.

References

External links

Myspace siteInterview with The Disciples (2003)
Dub musical groups British reggae musical groups {{UK-band-stub