Lion’s Den & Dub Al-kimiya meet The Rockers Disciples ft. Afrikan Simba – Open Your Eyes [LIONSCHOICE002]

Lion's Den & Dub Al-kimiya meet The Rockers Disciples feat. Afrikan Simba - Open Your Eyes [LIONSCHOICE002]

mixed & dubbed by Manasseh
A1 // Lion's Den & Dub Al-kimiya meet The Rockers Disciples feat. Afrikan Simba - Open Your Eyes [Manasseh Vocal Mix]
A2 // Lion's Den & Dub Al-kimiya meet The Rockers Disciples - Open Your Dub 3 [Manasseh Dub]

mixed & dubbed by Roots Raid
B1 // Afrikan Simba - Open Your Eyes [Roots Raid Remix]
B2 // Open Your OverDub [Roots Raid Remix]

----> (download full INFO SHEET)

LION'S DEN /// www.lionsdensound.de /// produced by J. John aka Ras Lion & L. Gesser aka Dub Al-kimiya /// re-interpretation by The Rockers Disciples aka Jata (drums, keys), Garcia (bass), Clem Bernard (lead & rhythm guitar) & HP (percussions) /// recorded & engineered by HP Barnet @ HP Studio /// lyrics & voice by N. Nduka aka Afrikan Simba /// additional percussions by K'boko Dub aka F. Lima /// recorded by J. John aka Ras Lion @ Lion's Den Studio /// mixed and dubbed by N. Raphael aka Nick Manasseh @ The Yard (A) /// remixed by T. Cherrier & B. Bouniol aka Roots Raid, Art-X & Flying Fish (B) /// artwork by Martin Engelbogen /// mastered by Star Delta Mastering /// All rights reserved. © + ℗ 2017 Lion's Den

12" / 33 1/3 RPM / 4 Track EP / 180g / 500pcs. limited & hand-numbered
&
DIGIKALLY (MP3 / WAV / etc.)



This project just perfectly shows how multiple the paths of music can be…
After a long night session together at Yaam Berlin, I had to pick up Afrikan Simba from the hotel quite early due to inhuman check out times, so without sleep for me and little for him we went down into my studio to have a nice reasoning and after session chill out - listening to tunes and sharing a great vibe. As we still had an afternoon to spend until he had to catch his flight back to the UK, he suddenly asked me smiling: 'Do you have riddim? We might as well better use the time.' Always having loved his style and lyrics I of course agreed immediately and his question and remark made me pull out this riddim “Bubble Fi Roots” - as it was one of the tunes I was working on at the time with my bredda Dub Al-kimiya, still in a very early raw stage. But as he liked it, he caught a likkl sweet melody right away and started to scribble a few words, until he had a whole powerful song in no time.
We then took the raw sketch of those recordings and a sweet melodica version from a different session with the talented musician and producer Dr. Dubious from Italy to Planet Earth Studio to rework the initial programming with live drums and live bass with Berlin's dubmaster Aldubb, as well as live percussions in the Lion's Den studio with Brazilian percussionist K'boko Dub to give it a stronger feeling and live band vibe. Those multiple tracks were then arranged and first mixing sessions and experiments followed, as well as a rootikal dubplate redub by Aldubb at Planet Earth and a heavy steppas remix by Roots Raid who caught a vibe when passing through the Lion's Den and jamming with the multitracks before actually creating their own version with the vocal in their studio in France.
All in all a great journey and precious exchange, meeting, learning, growing experience, sharing our love for dub and music with wonderful people from all over…
As still the riddim did not come alive all the way we imagined it, as it's just not the same without an actual live band taking it rootikal style all together - full live band approach with fully-fledged musicians in contrast to some parts still being MIDI-programming - and as the idea just stuck in our head, we decided to take it even further, so I asked the great Rockers Disciples from France if they could imagine doing a RockDis rework of the riddim….
The new recordings were then given to the legendary dubmaster Manasseh - the same humble man I bought my first real mixing desk from, when I was living in Brixton - for proper treatment. With his incredible mixing skills and experience he finally gave the tune what it needed and made all elements fall into place nicely.
It's a great honour and joy to present to you the outcome of this collaboration… the final roots version with the Rockers Disciples mixed by Manasseh with some dubwise excursion - in the traditional stripped down drum and bass style - straight out of his studio and a steppas remix including a 'part 2 style' dub by Roots Raid.
(Ras Lion)

"open your eyes and you can see
everything that you wanna see
use your time so wisely
and you can be what you wanna be…"

Transferred to 1/2inch Tape for extra analogue warmth, mastered with care and pressed on high quality limited and hand-numbered 180g vinyl by Star Delta / Delta Disc, UK - of course also digikally available.

===== [about the artists] =====

The Rockers Disciples [Rouen / FR]
http://www.rockdis.com/

« Let Rockers Music play »

The Rockers Disciples, alias RockDis, a été formé à Rouen (76) en juin 2005. Adeptes des sonorités des années 70, apôtres du son « rockers » et des maîtres qui l’ont créé, les cinq membres de la formation travaillent en permanence à de nouveaux projets. Ainsi, depuis sa création, RockDis a auto-produit trois albums CD et un EP vinyle et co-produit avec le label Blackboard Jungle deux CD compilations et 13 vinyles (12″, LP et 7″).

C’est l’esprit de collaboration qui caractérise le groupe : en dix ans d’existence, des artistes d’horizons très variés sont apparus sur les productions RockDis et Blackboard Jungle : des légendes jamaïcaines (Johnny Osbourne, Earl16, Tony Tuff, Patrick Andy…), des artistes anglais (Echo Ranks, Reality Souljahs, Christine Miller, Prince Malachi, Afrikan Simba), de jeunes talents (Daba Makourejah, Senor Wilson), mais aussi des voix de la nouvelle génération jamaïcaine (Lutan Fyah, Anthony John).

Aujourd’hui le groupe s’est relocalisé dans la région toulousaine et  travaille régulièrement avec le label et sound system Blackboard Jungle afin de promouvoir des artistes talentueux  et d’amener la musique du studio à la scène.

Lion's Den & Dub Al-kimiya [Berlin / GER]
www.lionsdensound.de

two dub enthusiasts and good friends - one from France, one from Germany - meeting in Berlin to work on some dubwise music… sharing some deep love for sound system culture…

Afrikan Simba [London / UK]
http://www.afrikansimba.com/

Hailing from Nigeria, Afrikan Simba is one of the leading MCs in London, having worked with top sound systems such as Jah Shaka, Aba Shanti and Channel One. He has also recorded with the likes of Jah Warrior, Zion Train, Dub Judah and runs his own ‘Ayamba’ record label, based in Jamaica. Whenever he takes up the mic, whether live or in the studio, a flow of conscious, spiritual and uplifting lyrics is guaranteed.

Nick Manasseh [London / UK]
https://www.discogs.com/artist/9052-Manasseh

Manasseh sound system was originally built in 1985 by a group of school friends (Nick, Ed Maiden and Billy T) and finished and first played on the Sunday morning of Notting Hill Carnival in that year. With the aim of playing reggae with a focus on the roots side of the music, which was missing from the scene at that time, the sound system was based in West London in the Shepherds Bush area.
Nick Manasseh started producing music the same year for sound system dub plates. His earliest productions with his partner Scruff eventually became Sound Iration. Their first single, ‘Seventh Seal’, was issued on the Mystic Red label in 1988 and is widely credited as the first ‘UK Steppers’ record. Sound Iration went on to produce the ‘In Dub’ album for Youth and Alex Paterson’s WAU MR Modo label, another landmark release. The album was re-issued on triple vinyl and double CD in 2010.
In 1990 Nick set up his first studio and was involved in setting up a new label called Riz Records, along with co producer Gil Cang, Eddie Joseph and Mak Gilchrist; to release the productions from the new studio. The label ran for about 7 years, with many notable successes such as Earl 16’s ‘Natural Roots’, Admiral Tibet’s ‘Permission’, Orville Smith’s album ‘Walking on Tightrope’ and the original vinyl release of Manasseh meets The Equalizer ‘Dub The Millennium‘ (subsequently licensed to Acid Jazz). A great retrospective- ‘The Riz Records Story’ has been reissued on the Reggae Archives label (2014).
Manasseh Studio from its Brixton days (’91-2000) was also a magnet for many other London sounds to voice dub plates, especially with visiting Jamaican artists, and was the venue for many sessions with some of the greats like Dennis Brown, the Mighty Diamonds, Freddie McGregor, Sugar Minott, Brigadier Jerry, Josie Wales, Charlie Chaplin, Johnny Osbourne, Junior Delgado, Tony Tuff and The Melodians; as well as some of the big artists of the 90s like Jigsy King, Tony Curtis, Simpleton, Shaggy Wonder, Everton Blender and Yami Bolo amongst others.
In 1987 Nick, Ed and Billy T began their show on Kiss FM, brought in by brothers Norman and Joey Jay, to play the 3-7am ‘graveyard’ slot. The station was a pirate at that time and later, when Kiss became a legal station in 1990, Manasseh occupied the 3-6am slot until 1999. It’s fair to say that this, along with Joey’s sunday evening show, became an institution and was responsible for introducing and educating a whole new generation of younger listeners to deep roots music. The two shows also had a strong effect on the Jamaican music industry, helping artists like Luciano and Sizzla to become established. Bearing in mind that in those days there was no internet or file sharing- the radio show, along with the sound system, established Manasseh as a positive force in the reggae scene, in the UK and internationally.
In 2004 Nick hooked up with Jon Jones of long standing Brighton roots night, Roots Garden. Jon wanted to start a new label, and, in a nice turn of events, the first release was a track that Nick and Gil had recorded with Johnny Osbourne originally for Riz records but had remained un-released. ‘Black Star Liner’ was a great start for the new Roots Garden label. With releases from Luciano, Freddie McGregor, Brother Culture, Dark Angel, Ava Leigh, Kenny Knots, Bob Skeng, Cate Ferris, Mc Trooper, Ruben Da Silva, Jahmali, Danny Red, Vin Gordon and many more; Roots Garden records in 2014 is going strong and is becoming a big family. Physically, Roots Garden has concentrated on vinyl singles and EPs, but the label is now also online.
In the last ten years Nick has also produced, mixed, written, and remixed music for many other artists and labels, including Reggae Roast records, Foundation records, Digi Signal records, Dubkasm, Soothsayers, Emiliana Torrini, Pama International, Resonators, The Drop, J Star, The Trojans and Rootikal records amongst many others.
In 2012, after living in the South West of England for twelve years, Nick returned to London and moved into a new studio -The Yard- in West London, just round the corner from where he first started with Sound Iration in the 80s. The new studio has brought a major upgrade in equipment and, for the first time, Nick is enjoying live recording of bands and sessions. Branching out, Nick recently did sound design for the new Julian Temple film ‘London: The Modern Babylon’ and has worked with an amazing 12 piece panpipe band from the Solomon Islands, Narasirato, mixing their albums and some live shows. Nick is now involved more than ever with mixing records for a very wide range of artists, as well as mastering, now a big part of Nick’s work.
Nick continues to DJ and work as a selector throughout the world alongside many established singers and MCs, including Brother Culture, Kenny Knots, Danny Red and Gregory Fabulous. Nick still occasionally touches down on the radio, and just before moving back to London, did two years on Passion Radio in Bristol- sitting in once a month on the Sufferer’s Choice show. Nick has worked in music since the age of 17 and considers himself unqualified for anything else, except perhaps cooking, so the future should see plenty more record releases and lots more heavyweight dub sessions!

Roots Raid [Bourges / FR]
https://soundcloud.com/rootsraid

The project Roots Raid was born in 2011 in Bourges, France, founded by two long time friends - Natty (Bassist of ondubground) and Bongo Ben (The Ligerians) - inspired by a common passion: the creation and production of DUB MUSIC.
Since then they are steadily moving forward with the mindset of « do it yourself » in their own analog studio, recording the greater part of the instruments live and dealing with old-school mixing techniques. Influenced by modern sounds of the new European scene as well as the original « rub a dub style », a musical movement which revolutionized the reggae in the early 80s at the legendary Jamaican studio Channel One.
Roots Raid offer their original vision and own flavor to the roots & dub scene, focused on a minimal, but powerful bass-and-drums-foundation, accompanied by vintage psychedelic effects. A unique vibration, timeless and dancing…

===== [lyrics] =====

Afrikan Simba - Open Your Eyes
“open your eyes and you can see
everything that you wanna see
use your time so wisely
and you can be what you wanna be

some a dem there to go to heaven
some a dem live to leave a name
for some life is all so cushy
but for some it's worries and pain
I n I do a best to rep
those who find themselves voiceless
trying to make our heads and tales in disya city of craziness
always I n I making progress
seamless time you just cyaan halt
spending time jumping hoops sometime we haffi summersault
snakes out there got nothing on me
I got the flexibility
Jah is always guiding I has always got his hand on mi

open your eyes and you can see
everything that you wanna see
use your time so wisely
and you can be what you wanna be

some say the sky is our limit
I n I sought for the stratosphere
searching up the under-stars
man it's sure it's dark out there
now here comes the shining light
shining to make your pathway bright
time for I n I to reach out, hold another and be a guide
Jah still be the ultimate
this is one thing I cyaan forget
there is no reason to worry or fret
go thru life receive the bread
darkness cyaan invade this life
they will have to flee your side
jump of no no more fi ride
hypocrites and parasites

open your eyes and you can see
everything that you wanna see
use your time so wisely
and you can be what you wanna be

this is nah virtual
this is actual
this is nah fiction
this is factual
nothing writing
still contractual
all trouble shooting
cause of Emmanuel
who is in the Lion's Den?
that man Daniel
who is in the temple?
that man Samuel
Afrikan Simba with a different angle
no tongue twisting cyaan get tangled
see natty dreadlocks dem just a dangle
natty inna turban, robes and sangle
beat kette drum, babylon dismantle
all wicked kingdom must get crumble
trod pon Jah road as a clean and humble
pon Jah Jah road we nah walk and stumble
no wickedness Ras nah fumble
so in the bottomless pit we nah tumble”