Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser (born 27 March 1955, Georgetown, Guyana) known by his stage-name Mad Professor, is a British

dub music Dub is a 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 reggae, p.&nb ...

producer, engineer and remixer. He has collaborated with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

artists

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

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 separat ...

, Pato Banton, Jah Shaka and

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

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

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...

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 ...

, Gaudi, the Brazilian DJ Marcelinho da Lua,

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

, and

Perry Farrell Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician referred to as the " Godfather of Alternative Music". Farrell began his career with Psi Com in the early 1980s, before becoming the frontman ...

Early life

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 South 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 Coun ...

.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p.13-14

Career

Fraser began recording lovers rock bands and vocalists for his own label (including the debut recording by Deborahe Glasgow) and recorded his first album after moving the studio to a new location in

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

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), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

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

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of South 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 Woodside and ...

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

Kofi Kofi is an Akan people, Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (such as the Bono people, Bono, Akyem, Akwamu, Ashanti people, Ashanti and Fante people, Fante) in Ghana that is given to a boy born on Friday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child ...

, and attracted Jamaican artists including Bob Andy 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).

Recordings

Mad Professor has created 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 Me Crazy, Pt.12) *2022 – Covid Illusion (Dub Me Crazy, Pt.20-22)

Black Liberation series

*1994 – Black Liberation Dub (Chapter 1) *1995 – Anti-Racist Dub 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 *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 Pato Banton *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) *1995 – No Protection (

v Mad Professor) *1996 – New Decade of Dub (with Jah Shaka) *2000 – The Inspirational Sounds of Mad Professor *2000 – Marseille London Experience (with Massilia Sound System) *2003 – Psychobelly Dance Music (with Baba Zula) *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

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

Mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in 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 with non-sloped ...

Remix Tapes ’98)'' *2019 – Mad Professor meets Gaudi *2025 - Mad Professor Meets

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

In The Name Of Love

Remixes

Since the 1990s he has remixed tracks by Sade,

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 who originated in Liverpool and London in the late 1980s. Scottish people, Scottish musician Bill Drummond (alias Ki ...

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai ( ) are an English acid jazz and funk 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 th ...

, Rancid,

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

and Japanese pop singer

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live performances. Hamasaki is the List of ...

. In 1995 he produced '' No Protection'', an electronic dub version of

's second album, ''

Protection Protection is any measure taken to guard something 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 ...

''. He has also created a version of I&I for New Zealand reggae band Katchafire, three versions for New Zealand electronic group

Salmonella Dub Salmonella Dub is a Dub music, dub/drum n bass/reggae/roots 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, the Un ...

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 – "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 for the AIDS-benefit album

Red Hot + Rio Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

produced by the Red Hot Organization (1996) * Urrun Dub – Dub version of Fermin Muguruza's ''Urrun'' (1999) *

– " For The Love of It" (1999) *

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

– " key (ARIWA Dub Mix)" from ayu-mi-x III Non-Stop Mega Mix Version *

– "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 15 July 1973), known professionally as 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 worke ...

– " Happy Violentine (Mad Professor Smiling Orange Dub)" (2005) *

– "

Happy Ending A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which there is a positive outcome for the protagonist or protagonists, and in which this is to be considered a favourable outcome. In storylines where the protagonists are in phy ...

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

References

External links

*
Ariwa Sounds Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mad Professor 1955 births Living people British dub musicians British record producers British engineers Dubtronica musicians People from Georgetown, Guyana Guyanese reggae singers 20th-century Guyanese male singers 21st-century Guyanese male singers