Second generation Jamaican dub mixer and a rival to Prince Jammy. Notable for his theme albums (with lurid cover art) on which he would meet and vanquish protagonists from off-world regions: ie Scientist Meets The Space Invaders, Scientist Encounters Pac Man. Such meetings, derived from the rivalry of the sound clash, are central to the mythology of dub. For origins, seek out King Tubby Meets The Upsetter At The Grass Roots Of Dub
David Toop"Reggae is the mother of a whole lotta music. There is no other music in the world that has the versatility of dub. Dub is a masterpiece of engineering, with engineers using recording equipment to bring about musical changes... this music gave birth to the idea of the remix. "With reggae, when you make a mistake, it finds a place and fits in." So said Hopeton "Overton" Brown (Scientist) when asked to define dub, an art form he's helped shape for over 20 years, first as apprentice to King Tubby and later as resident engineer at Channel One. Dub in the Roots Tradition collects together 15 devilishly good tracks from early in his career when Tubby finally gave the gifted youth, who'd spent a couple of years repairing TVs and radios in Tubby's electrical shop, the freedom to experiment in the studio during downtime. Apparently Scientist would beaver away in the studio at all hours of the night then bring his dubs to the maestro the next day for comment and Tubby would generally reply that the work was weak, that his apprentice still had much to learn. Years later Tubby admitted he was merely pushing Scientist to stretch himself and try harder and that these early sides had been excellent. The proof is in the listening, with Scientist dubbing up a storm on these cuts laid down over 20 years ago by the Soul Syndicate and the Roots Radics on Don Mais' Roots Tradition imprint. His trademark use of controlled distortion, choppy guitar, flying hi-hats and warm, enveloping horns hits you where other dub just doesn't reach and when he works his mixalogical magic on a vocal track, as on Dub Livity, Babylon Fighter Dub or the stupefyingly splendid African Daughter Dub, you better believe respect is due. The three Burning Sounds sets are all culled from later sessions instigated by producer Nkumah "Jah" Thomas during the early eighties, and all have a cleaner, more clinical but nonetheless fresh and exciting sound. Of the three it's Scientist's solo dubs minus Tubby on Dubbing With Horns that impress most, showing that, of all Tubby's many challengers, Scientist was the real heir apparent to the crown.
Grant Smithies