DUBSENSEMANIA got together in 1999 under the leadership of vocalist and melodica player, Ras Takashi. They were a wide-eyed and and ragged bunch full of a love for the sound of dub music. When people think of the Japanese underground only people who have lived in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka or Aichi can appreciate how deeply reggae music and dub music is loved in Japan. It is a very big part of the underground culture. DUBSENSEMANIA is one of the pioneers of dub music in Japan.
Their mission was to reinterpret dub music in their own unique voice, which is colored by the Japanese experience. The music is also pure to the Jamaican traditions of dub music where the genre was first pioneered in the late 1960s by King Tubby, Lee Scratch Perry and a host of others. The signature sounds of riddim and echos can be heard in DUBSENSEMANIA’s instrumental and vocal performances. Jazz has also been blended into the sound to expand the range of musicality and expression.
In their heyday, DUBSENSEMANIA had quite the cult following. The band broke up once in 2007. When the great earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in 2011, many of the members moved to Okinawa. After a 10 year hiatus, however, the band reunited to perform at the Itadaki Festival in Shizuoka. Thousands of festivalgoers rejoiced in the return of one of Japan’s greatest dub bands.
I have it from a very good source that the band will release a new track this year. Stay tuned for that.
Here is a video clip from one of their rehearsals.