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What's Goin' On > Subatomic Sound System ON ALL FREQUENCIES is a portrait of life in New York City done in words and sound. With an eclectic crew of men and women rolling over ten deep, it is a collection of snapshots seen through many different eyes, a reflection of a wide range of attitudes and experiences. The beauty of this city lies as much in the history of its vast musical traditions as it does in its reputation as a birthplace of innovation. Subatomic Sound System stays focused on both. The Breakdown > The album opens with a thumping hip hop beat, driving reggae bass line, squelchy dub echoes, and police sirens: Welcome to New York. Daddy Lion Chandell hails up the crew and explains "On all frequencies, on all levels, this a’ music to chant down the devil." Wheel up! From there, the album launches into a handful of unorthodox hip hop and dubby dancehall rooted tunes, each with its own unlikely twist and notably with a cast that is heavy on female mic control. “Criminal” is based on the Subatomic Sound System rhythm that won the Red Bull Vinlyab remix competition a few years back. Like a collision of Massive Attack and the Neptunes, a space age beat with blasts of sizzling jungle snares, strings, and a narcotic music box piano crouch under a unique blend of singing and rapping that lyrically describes a badass woman’s psychology. Next up, ”No Static” comes with a marriage of soul and underground hip hop: Poetic lyrical vignettes about building relationships in the urban jungle ride over classical influenced jazz guitar and a subsonic reggae bass punctuated with a universal mantra-like chorus "I don’t want no static/ I’m tired of bein’ so dramatic." Stepping up the intensity, “Ghetto Champion” brings an earth shaking baritone vocal, grimey dancehall beats, booming bass, future-proof dub vibrations and a Stevie Wonder inspired clav hook. Now the stage is set for “Rize Up”, a song Beat Magazine calls “a revolutionary anthem”. Soaring old school jazz vocals call the people to action while a shifty broken beat drum pattern, a heavy reggae bass line and dubby key skanks pound out the riddim with a dubstep feel. Cut back to the hip hop vibes: On “Doin’ It”, a warm vintage beat with futuristic syncopation teams up with a funky JB flavored guitar loop, some reggae skanks, and spacey dubs to face off with the rapping of a tough-but-not-gangsta independent woman. “Thru the Next Gate” finds a heavyweight acoustic bass colliding with an electronic UK grime sensibility, police choppers, and plenty of bleepy dub while intense ‘escape from the Matrix’ themed lyrics flesh out the message through heavily harmonized singing and rapping. At the midpoint of the album, ON ALL FREQUENCIES leans into more musically eclectic territory, starting with “Fly Free”, a cross between a reggae stepper, broken beat, and old school funk. Funky ass bass, super get down clav, and vintage guitar drive this riddim while a ton of African percussion and sultry heartfelt female vocals carry it home. Next up is “Our Father, Our King (Middle East Dub)”, a crazy out of left field reworking of a traditional Jewish folk song, Avenu Malkenu, done in classic 70s Jamaican dub production style. What appears to be a reggae rockers riddim gets twisted up with of a slithery middle eastern guitar melody, melodica, and tons of pulsing analog echoes. Taking you back to the beat that opened the album, “Breakin’ Down the Barriers” has anthemic impassioned reggae vocals and gospel harmonies that call for unity and progress over a thumping reggae fueled hip hop beat, dubby echoes, and police sirens. On “Troddin’ Along”, an aggressive jungle laced dancehall riddim with a funky afrobeat clav line and funktastic Moog hook are the foundation for rough chatted verses and a catchy melodic chorus about “Troddin’ along this dusty road, lookin’ for the half of the story that’s never been told”. “Feel Thru Life” has a dynamic dubby trip hop vibe built from a shifty syncopated beat, sexy female vocal, sparse heartbeat reggae bass, clean Hendrix like guitar, and climaxing middle eastern percussion. This leads to the search for a “Heart of Gold (Subatomic Dub)”. On the surface it is a reggae riddim with dubby echo effects and deep male singing and chatting, but then there is the unlikely inclusion of a driving acoustic hip hop bass, orchestral strings, and Latin flavored guitar lines and percussion that culminate in an unexpected cinematic outro, not unlike a Gorillaz experiment. “Hypdroponic Dub” closes out the album with a heady four on the floor electronic beat with wild percussion, Brazilian Wes Montgomery flavored guitar melodies, warm clean guitar skanks, looping funky distorted reggae keys, and lots of warm ambient throbbing echoes to slingshot the listener into a fuzzy slack jawed trance state. How This Album Came About > After the overwhelming positive response to the Subatomic Sound System Code Orange Relaxation mix CD plus the wide array of vocalists who became involved with Subatomic through the Dub Champions performances, we decided to put together an album of strictly Subatomic Sound System beats that had a similar overall vibe to the Code Orange Relaxation Techniques mix CD. That explains the eclectic mix and as well as the meaning of the title 'On All Freqencies'. Serving it up on a on a laid back tip with a little bit of everything in the mix, on all frequencies and on all levels. What the People Are Saying about the Album > "Certified
gun smoke. Cop that!" "The surprise of the year... ‘On All Frequencies’ takes on dub, underground hip hop, broken-beat and dancehall and packs them into 14 sonic gems. [The song] ‘Ghetto Champion’ is what Damien Marley should have been working on." "It
gives me the same feeling I get listening to early Massive Attack
work, not because of the sound directly,
but because of the artistic energy & flavor everyone brings
into the project. Great work!" "Tracing
the roots of bass heavy dub with a funk-styled edge of underground
hip-hop, SSS bridges dancehall energy and multi-cultural communication.
Solid beats, meaningful messages and remix trickery." "While
they may ply their trade in an assortment of reggae, hip-hop, broken
beat, and jungle tracks, each is approached with a maverick, dub-wise
sensibility that shouts a clear music-first missive to the masses.
The band delivers as advertised, hitting you thoroughly on all frequencies." "Subatomic
Sound System hurl themselves into the vacuum with fierce force,
taking you on a dubwise journey with a powerful message and style
to spare" "***** Wickedness!
Now here's an album I want to have on vinyl. A true collector for
selectors! ...[Subatomic Sound System is] one of the most important
bands contributing to the expansion of modern dub" "I’m
stunned. Seriously, these tunes are top shelf, first class dynamite.
I LOVE THEM! Massive tunes! Brilliance." "[The song]
'Rize Up' is a virtual revolutionary anthem." -Beatport.com Vital Release -BPM magazine Staff Pick Single ''Breakin' Down the Barriers'' -XLR8R magazine Official CD Release Date > January 1st, 2007 Location > New York City, NY - USA
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//Tune in and listen to the latest Subatomic
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