Uoči Seasplash festivala (22.- 25. srpnja Monumenti, Pula), Marta Baradić i Vedran Meniga obavili su intervju s ekipom iz High Tone-a. Stoga, prikupite svoje znanje engleskog ili uzmite rječnik u ruke i uživajte!
Reggae hr: Please introduce the band to our readers, how long does it exist, how would you describe style of music that you play, etc. What was the motivation for one Lyon band to start to play dub music, that originally came from Jamaican reggae (that spread in Europe after being based in the UK), and how much do you think it moved from its origin?
High Tone: Hi ! High Tone started getting serious around 1996 although we had been playing together since our teenage years, we released our first 4 tracks e.p. 'Bot bud season' in 1998 ourselves and began to look for more gig bookings. Brought up on the basis of the hardcore punk DIY culture, We were all big reggae and dub fans but we were also very atttracted to the more urban sounds of hip hop, jungle and techno. So our music is a blend of those influences altogether. A basis of reggae/dub riddims with proeminent drums and bass accompanied by guitar skanks mixed with the more electronic sounds of analog synths, scratches and samples from asian and north african ethnic music which kind of made our personal touch. At the time only three bands were playing live dub in France Improvisator's dub from bordeaux, zenzile from angers and us.
At the beginning, dub was a studio technique dedicated to B sides of reggae singles, so bringing it live on stage with instruments
and overdubbing effects was pretty original.
Reggae hr: How would you describe High Tone style development from its beginning apart to what you are doing today?
High Tone: Our musical tastes have been getting much wider with time, our abilities getting better and also the use of more electronic musical tools and computer has given us more freedom to push the compositions further in the studio. Although we are still working on the mixing and blending of all the different genres we like with still a strong personal touch. Maybe the overall sound is a bit more urban than it used to be, with more electronic and noisy textures but the foundation of our sound is still the same.
Reggae hr: Besides the band, a part of your music are very impressive live visuals. Do you see visuals as being important part of your band, do you see it as providing another dimension, or being a background for the band that play without a vocalist?
High Tone: For the live perfomances, we always wanted to set a strong and deep atmosphere to our music which video and lighting are an essential part of. Maybe at the beginning we were thinking about filling the gap of not having a lead singer, but it quickly became a strong part of the performance. Xavier (lighting) and Nico (aka Led Piperz) at the video work together to make a global picture of the stage. The video is designed as a visual track to the music just as you have a sound track to a movie.The idea is to appeal to all senses of the audience and take it with us on our musical journey.
Reggae hr: Today French scene that came out of dub seems pretty developed, how do you see it from your point of view, as being a part of it?
High Tone: It's a normal evolution, every band that come out has an influence on the next generation, the french dub scene that came up in the late nineties including us but also Zenzile, Kaly Live Dub, Improvisator's Dub, Brain Damage, Ez3kiel and Lab has nurtured a new generation of musicians and bands which is a great acknoledgement of our work in the end.
Reggae hr: You had some different collaborations, that ended as different releases, please tell us something about those!
High Tone: Those collaborations were mainly born of encounters and friendship with bands we were feeling ,that had a similar approach to dub music. We started with Kaly Live Dub, long time and close friends of us from lyon, recording A 4 track EP titled 'kaltone' on the same principle , we did a collab with Improvisator's dub 'highvisators', one with Zenzile 'zentone' and one with a chinese producer called Wang Lee we had met in china 'wangtone'. Those collaborations were always very enriching and the result is always a mix of the different bands musical touch. We also did two vocal + dub version EP's with martin campbell and french singer shanti d in a more classic dub style. On side of that there has been a lot remixes ' reprocessed' with more electronic stuff by L'oeuf raide, Interlope, Le Peuple de l'Herbe, Hybride Sound system the "Dub box" with remixes from several artists we feel close too musically (Mungo's HiFI, OBF, Iration steppas, Dub addict, Brain Damage, Led Piperz)...
Reggae hr: How do you see European and dub scene in general today? With an accent being put on collaboration between French and UK dub artists, that are mostly known as the generators of the core?
High Tone: The dub European scene has become a proper scene, of course the uk scene is always very strong and influential...but all over Europe musicians also free themselves from the early influences, bringing their own touch and widening their styles and techniques. Of course the uk scene are the forefathers, Iration Steppas, Aba Shanti, Jah Shaka, Vibronics....maybe there was an inferiority complex at the beginning ....but there more and more skilled producers and musicians that make dub sound their own way which is great cause it means dub is far from being dead!
Reggae hr: Can you tell us something more about your new album "Out back"?
High Tone: 'Outback' was composed in 4 months in a very spontaneous way. It includes two cd's, each one has it's own style and was mixed by a differant producer. 'Dub axiom' is more dancefloor orientated, dub, dubstep, steppa style....while 'no border' has a more cinematic and experimental side mixing dub with rock, hip hop. One for your body, one for your soul ! This album is good synthesis of what we have been trying to achieve these past ten years.
Reggae hr: Your band consists of people who are also involved in some other projects, can you tell us something more about those? What is different in the music of DJ Twelve or Led Pipers apart from High Tone?
High Tone: Each member of the band also composes on it's own, even if we have common tastes, we also have our proper vision of sound with more of this or that influence coming out in every person's music. Last year, we released a LP titled dub invaders with two tunes from each musicians + the vj where you can see those differences. Dj Twelve had a few ep released on jarring effects and an album in 2005 more orientated towards abstract hip hop and electro and produces heavy dubstep tunes. Led Piperz has a more acid/techno/break approach, with twisted dubstep tunes with strong psychedelic influences and a obvious taste for dancefloor music. He released an ep on his label airflex labs, did a few remixes and digital releases and tours as soon as he can.
Reggae hr: Is this your first visit to Croatia, what are your general expectations while coming here?
High Tone: We have come many times to Croatia and always had good fun, we know the crowd is always very lively and up for heavy stuff. We are looking forward to the gig in Pula, should be banging ! and hope to come again before the end of the year.
Reggae hr: Plans for band in the future?
High Tone: Touring a lot as always hopefully more and more outside of france until it's studio time for a new musical adventure!!!
