Victor Axelrod is an American musician,

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, and

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

from Brooklyn, New York. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked primarily in the genres of reggae, Afrobeat and soul, recording and producing under his own name and using the alias Ticklah. Axelrod became a founding member of

Antibalas Antibalas (Spanish for "bulletproof") is an American, Brooklyn-based afrobeat band that is modeled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra. Although their music generally follows the musical architectu ...

and

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They were part of a revival movement of mid-1960s to mid-1970s style funk and soul music. They released their debut album ''Dap Dippin in 2002, the fir ...

after meeting musicians

Martin Perna Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

and Gabe Roth (a.k.a.

Bosco Mann Gabriel Roth (born August 17, 1974), also known as Bosco Mann among other aliases, is an American record producer, musician, and co-founder of Daptone Records. He is best known as the bandleader, bass player, primary songwriter, and producer ...

) in the late 1990s. Starting in 1996, Axelrod appeared as a session musician playing keyboards for

Easy Star Records Easy Star Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996. Based in New York City, the label primarily produces and releases albums in the genres of reggae and dub. The label has had multiple albums chart at No. 1 on the ''Bill ...

, a New York City independent reggae label. This studio relationship eventually resulted in him taking on the role of co-producer and engineer of the label's release ''

Dub Side of the Moon ''Dub Side of the Moon'' is a dub reggae tribute to the 1973 Pink Floyd album, ''The Dark Side of the Moon'', co-produced by Easy Star All-Stars founders Michael G (Michael Goldwasser) and Ticklah (Victor Axelrod). Easy Star All Stars released ' ...

'', a 2003 dub reggae reinterpretation of the Pink Floyd album ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...

'' recorded by the

Easy Star All-Stars Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae styl ...

. By 2002, both Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and Antibalas had begun touring and were in high demand. Being in both bands was no longer feasible, so Axelrod decided to focus his attention solely on Antibalas. However, he continued to occasionally appear on subsequent recordings playing keyboard and organ for Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Axelrod eventually left Antibalas in 2013. In 2006, producer

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...

hired Axelrod and other members of the Dap-Kings to play on the Amy Winehouse album ''

Back to Black ''Back to Black'' is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfrie ...

''. This was to be the first of many Ronson productions where he utilized Axelrod and this group of musicians. The collective appeared on three of Ronson's solo albums (''

Version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

'', ''

Record Collection Record Collection may refer to: * Record Collection (record label), a Los Angeles-based music studio * ''Record Collection'' (album), a 2010 album by Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. *"Record Collection", a song by Kaiser Chiefs on the 2019 album, ...

'', ''

Late Night Feelings ''Late Night Feelings'' is the fifth studio album by British producer Mark Ronson. It was released on 21 June 2019. It is his first album in four years, following Uptown Special (2015). Its lead single, "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" featuring Mil ...

'') along with soundtracks, remixes and special projects with artists including

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

Daniel Merriweather Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B recording artist. Merriweather's debut solo album, '' Love & War'', was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two sing ...

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...

Miike Snow Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike Snow") is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their ca ...

and

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the ...

. In 2007, Easy Star Records released an Axelrod solo album, '' Ticklah vs. Axelrod'', continuing his relationship with the label. The record was a mixture of instrumental, dub and vocal tracks featuring

Vinia Mojica Vinia A. Mojica (born March 14, 1970) is a singer-songwriter from Queens, New York City, United States of America. She is best known for her collaborations with the Native Tongues collective and other hip hop artists. Life and career Her recor ...

, Rob Symeonn,

Tamar-kali Tamar-kali (born Tamara Colletta Brown) is an American rock singer-songwriter and composer based in Brooklyn, New York. Early life Tamar-kali was born and raised in Brooklyn a 2nd generation musician through her father, who was a band leader ...

, Mayra Vega and Mikey General. In 2008, Axelrod remixed the popular Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings song "How Long Do I Have to Wait for You” in a

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

style. Originally appearing on the Scion sampler compilation ''Volume 19: Daptone Records Remixed'', this track was later released as a single on Daptone Records. Wanting to build on the momentum of its success, Daptone encouraged Axelrod to make more recordings for the label in a similar vein. This instigation would result in a series of singles that would feature such singers as Bob and Gene, Charles Bradley, Leon Dinero, Screechy Dan, and the band The Frightnrs. Concurrently, in 2008, Axelrod partnered with New York City reggae and jungle DJ Liondub to release singles on his new sublabel Liondub 45. This gave Axelrod another outlet to release various reggae music he was making with both established and up-and-coming artists. Releases included collaborations between Axelrod and

Sugar Minott Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott (25 May 1956 – 10 July 2010)Campbell, Howard (2010)Reggae singer Sugar Minott dies at 54, Associated Press, 11 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010Peru, Yasmine (2010)Godfather of Dancehall, Sugar Minott, dead at ...

Judah Eskender Tafari Ronald William Merrills (23 July 1957 – 5 June 2020), better known by the stage name Judah Eskender Tafari was a Jamaican reggae vocalist and musician, known for his distinct vocal tone, and spiritual outlook. His records on the Studio One labe ...

, Jahdan Blakkemoore, Courtney John, and

Victor Rice Victor Rice (born April 17, 1967) is an American musician, record producer and mix engineer from New York City. Raised in Huntington, New York, Rice attended the Manhattan School of Music and began his professional career in the late 1980s during ...

. In 2009 some of his songs were featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the in-game Ticklah radio station. In 2011, guitarist/producer

Jay Nugent Jayson Nugent (born 1972; also known as Agent Jay, and Crazy Baldhead) is a guitarist and DJ from New York who plays in the style of several Jamaican music genres. Nugent's experiments with ska, reggae, rocksteady, dub music, and skinhead re ...

enlisted Axelrod to engineer an EP that he was producing for The Frightnrs, a reggae band from Queens, NY. Following that, Axelrod began to work extensively with the group, serving as the producer and engineer on two acclaimed projects: ''Inna Lovers Quarrel'' EP which was released by

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

’s label

Mad Decent Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. Recently, it has popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music created by DJ ...

label in 2015 and the album ''Nothing More to Say'', released by

Daptone Records Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, T ...

in 2016. Despite their resemblance, Victor Axelrod is not related to

Ray Dorset Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry are a British rock band, formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing lineup always fronted by Ray Dorset, the group's biggest hit was "In the Summertime ...

Selected discography

Production (albums)

2003: Easy Star All Stars -

- Easy Star Records 2005: Antibalas
Government Magic EP
- Afrosound Records 2007: Ticklah -
Ticklah Vs. Axelrod
- Easy Star Records 2012: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars -

Radio Salone ''Radio Salone'' (2012) is the third album from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars. It was produced by artist and producer Victor Axelrod aka "Ticklah," who has worked with Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Amy Winehouse and the Easy Star All Stars, a ...

- Cumbancha Records 2015: The Frightnrs -
Inna Lovers Quarrel
- Mad Decent/The Full Hundred 2016
The FrightnrsNothing More To Say
- Daptone Records

Production (singles)

2003 : Antibalas
"Che Che Cole (Makossa)"
- Daptone Records 12" 2007: Ticklah featuring Mikey General
"Rescue Me/Rockers Salvation"
- Easy Star Records 7" 2008 Sharon Jone
"How Long Do I Have To Wait For You/How Long Do I Have to Dub For You"
Daptone Records 7" 2009: Ticklah featuring Rob Symeon
"Pork Eater/Pork Version"
Easy Star Records 7" 2009 Jahdan Blakkemoore/Ticklah ft. Victor Ric
"The General (remix)/Elimination Game"
Liondub 45 7" 2009 Rob Symeonn and Tickla
"Rob I Land/One Way Road"
Concent Records 12" 2012

Bob & Gene Bob & Gene is an American R&B, singing, songwriting, duo. The duo consists of Bobby Nunn and Eugene Coplin Jr. In 1967, in their home town of Buffalo, New York, the two teenagers started writing and recording original songs that were released ...

br>"I Can't Stand These Lonely Nights/Rub The Lamp"
Daptone Records 7" 2012 Courtney Joh
"Born To Fly/Born to Dub
Liondub 45 7" 2013 Sluggy Rank
"Nah Bow Down/Wicked Dub"
Liondub 45 7" 201
Brukky"Why Yu Nuh/Why Yu Nuh"Names You Can Trust
7" 201
Ticklah"Ya Llego"
Names You Can Trust 10" 201
The Frightnrs"I'd Rather Go Blind/Version"
Daptone Records 7" 2016 The Frightnr
"Dispute/Version"
Daptone Records 7" 2016 Bob and Gene featuring the Inversions
"I Can Be Cool/Version"
Daptone Records 7" 2017 Bob and Gene featuring the Inversion
"It's Not What You Know It's Who You Know/Version"
Daptone Records 7" 2018 Charles Bradley and the Inversion
"Whatcha Doing (To Me)/Strike Three"
Daptone Records 7" 2019 Leon Diner
"Lover Like Me/Conscience is Heavy"
Daptone Records 7" 2019 The Frightnr
"Never Answer/Questions"
Daptone Records 7" 2019 Leon Dinero/Screechy Da
"If You Ask Me/Bandits"
Daptone Records 7"

Appears on

2006 Amy Winehouse -

- Universal Records (keyboards and handclaps) 2007 Antibalas
Security
- Anti Records (keyboards) 2008 Nas
"Fried Chicken”
- Def Jam (piano/co-wrote) 2009 Daniel Merriweather - Love & War - J Records (piano) 2010 The Like - Release Me - Geffen Records (organ, piano) 2010 Mark Ronson and the Business -

- RCA Records (synthesizer) 2011 Amy Winehouse - Lioness: Hidden Treasures - Island Records Group (piano) 2011 Ala Modeliste - Erykah Badu and Mark Ronson
Regeneration
- Hyundai (piano) 2012 Antibalas
Antibalas - Daptone Records
- (organ) 2012 Rufus Wainwright -

Out of the Game ''Out of the Game'' is the seventh studio album by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada in April 2012 and in the United States on May 1, 2012 through Decca Records/Polydor Records. The album was ...

- Decca Records (piano) 2015 Adele - "Lay Me Down"- XL Recordings (piano) 2015 Elvis Costell
"Point Of No Return"
Vinyl: Music From The HBO Original Series Volume 1.9 (piano) 2016 Lady Gaga - Joanne - Interscope Records (synthesizer/piano) 2016 Charles Bradley
Changes
- Daptone Records (piano, organ) 2018 Kali Uchis - Isolation - Virgin Records (piano) 2018 Mark Ronson -

- RCA Records (synthesizer) 2020 James Hunter Six
Nick Of Time
- Daptone Records (piano)

Collaborations

2002 DJ Spinna and Ticklah
remix "Days Like This" Shaun Escoffery
- Oyster Records (Remix/keyboards) ) 2003 DJ Spinn
"Alphonso's Thang"Here To There
Rapster/BBE (Co-Wrote/ keyboards) 200
Miike Snow "Animal"
(Mark Ronson remix) Columbia (organ/mixing) 2006 DJ Spinna featuring Eric Roberso
"Butterfly Girl"
fro
Intergalactic Soul
album Papa Records (Co-Wrote, Keyboards) 201
Red Hot and Bach
Dustin O’Halloran
"Minim"
Sony Music Masterworks (remix ) 2015 Major Lazer featuring Kali Uchis "Wave"

Peace is the Mission ''Peace Is the Mission'' is the third studio album by American electronic dance music project Major Lazer. It was released on June 1, 2015. The album was preceded by the international hit single "Lean On" featuring DJ Snake and MØ. The single r ...

- Mad Decent/ Because Records (co-wrote, co-producer )

References

https://www.discogs.com/artist/45387-Ticklah

Axelrod on Spotify

Axelrod Productions on DaptoneRecords.com

Don't Trip on Discogs

Don't Trip from Village Voice

Frightnrs from Observer

Ronson from Billboard

Gabe Roth on Grammy.com

Ticklah on Easystar

External links

Wide Hive Records Ticklah Page

Wide Hive Remixed Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Axelrod, Victor 1972 births Living people Record producers from New York (state) Musicians from Brooklyn State University of New York at Purchase alumni American reggae musicians Easy Star Records artists Jewish American musicians Midwood High School alumni Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings members Antibalas members 21st-century American Jews