Interviews: Soleil Psychédélique – DubtilDawn

It was New Year’s Eve when I hear Dub Till Dawn get her dub on and it’s been on since there. She has a style that is dance floor fun and her energy behind the decks always makes her a pleasure to just watch if you ever take a break from grooving to look up. I took some time to ask her five questions about her music style, venue preference and gave her some space for shout outs.

Tell me how you got started djing, when did you go from buying music to djing?
I’ve been playing with mostly vinyl, since I was a teenager. It was an on again off again relationship really but, I was more of a dancer & liked to be immersed in the music. I started with some random ambient sounds fused with crazy Hawaiian surfer music to atmospheric drum & bass on to a little house music & some epic trance. It wasn’t until a few years ago did I muster up the nerve to play in front of more than just a hand full of people. I never had the equipment of my own to really delve deep into the musical stylings that I loved, so I had to rely on friends & loved ones to provide that platform. I have to say that people at the time I started playing in venues weren’t really pushing the dub/reggae sounds anymore. It was pretty difficult to find really good dub music that wasn’t completely overplayed. I’d been a long time reggae & dub lover. Anything from King Tubby to Bob Marley… one of the local groups that turned me onto the neo-dub sounds was Sub Oslo out of Fort Worth. I still collect vinyl but, I’d rather carry CDs because of shear portability & convenience.

When it comes to the music that you play, what kind of experience are you seeking for the dance floor?
When I’m playing music, which to me should evoke an emotional response in people, I hope to see people getting the message that I’m trying to relay while grooving to it. Most of the dub/reggae influenced music has a clear message. The messages I try to portray are of peace, positive forward movement, respect & tolerance for one another, the unification of us as people, standing up for your beliefs & the ability to overcome even the most tumultuous of hardships.

I have noticed that you have a great love of punk music and have a GRRL quality about your personality,is there any link from punk from what you play now?

Punk is a state of mind. It’s the never ending desire to do what you want, push the limits & boundaries of society; influence those around you, backing down to no one. So in essence, yes, I would wager that it’s really had a major influence on my choice in music. As you know, punk, dub & reggae are very much intertwined (think Ska, that’s a nice fusion to relate them with). They are all heavily revolutionary in my mind. Amazingly enough, the type of music I play is becoming more relevant in today’s world than I’d ever imagine it being (at least in my lifetime).

You have played at bars, club, warehouses, the great outdoors – out of those venues which is your favorite so far?
I prefer to be outdoors honestly, connecting with the earth & all the creatures, whether it’s someone’s land & we’re camping, an outdoor festival or a park party scenario. However, I won’t pass up an opportunity to play for a bar/club venue that has more of an eclectic mix of people. The more differing people & world views that are exposed to the type of music I play the better.

Are there any artists out there right now that you can not get enough of?
I’d say that I cannot get enough of the French dub producer KANKA. He has a terrific set of MCs & his dub production is right up my alley. “Kanka, he’s a dub organiza, he’s a dub constructa..”

Shout outs!
I’d like to thank some very special musical catalysts in my life: AEON, SunRay, Burl (R.I.P.), Epik, Nao & TomB. Love & Respect

Like Dub Till Down on Facebook at DUBtilDAWN and on Instagram at dubtildawn.