True to the tradition of sound systems and Dubplate, Steve Vibronics delivers his version of the album Empire Soldiers with this series of exclusive vinyls: 3 collector's 4-track maxis, each including 2 "English-style" revisited tracks and their dub versions. With a significant number of albums, collaborations, and live sessions worldwide, one might have thought that Brain Damage and Vibronics would rest on their laurels a bit. But that would be underestimating their insatiability and respective hyperactivity, and the shared sense of challenge and conceptualization of music they possess. The exercise in question here goes beyond a simple meeting, as the artists have been acquainted for a long time through remixes and live sessions. It's more about the ephemeral collision of two worlds, for the duration of a tour and an album, resulting in the birth of an unlisted third entity. Vibronics and Brain Damage have indeed come together around a concept, a narrative inspiration that will undoubtedly surprise: the experience of Anglo-Caribbean and Franco-African soldiers during the First World War. Academic historian, poet, and songwriter Madu Messenger uses the fruits of years of research to present a series of texts dealing with key subjects linking uprooting, friendship, war, and death. Pedagogical, as Brain Damage albums often are, 'Empire Soldiers' sheds light on a still often little-known period of our history, drawing unsettling parallels with contemporary observations of cultural clashes, immigration, and imperial powers. Based on a reflection on this sensitive subject, the musicians of the project – with diverse Anglo-French, Jamaican, or Asian origins – allow themselves here to operate a cultural rapprochement opposed to certain models of subservience and communitarianism. The digital reggae/dub of Brain Damage and Vibronics is thus colored by varied influences, combining the best of know-how with the spontaneity of encounter and human experience.
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