Twilight
Circus Dub Sound System is the product of one Ryan Moore. When we say
"one" we mean "one." A multi-instrumentalist, Ryan
plays and mixes all the tracks himself in the studio he built himself
with the analog gear he painstakingly sought out and purchased himself.
Instead of digital gear, Ryan often uses live instrumentation (all the
way down to single drum hits themselves) and mixes his dubs live. In other
words, he is a one-man dub army.
Ryan
grew up in the dense, gummy forests of Vancouver, where he was exposed
to reggae at an early age. He became obsessed with the genre & learned
to play multiple instruments by playing along with classic Jamaican recordings.
By 1981, Ryan was working as a studio musician for Nettwerk Records. He
went on to become a member of Legendary Pink Dots, and Tear Garden (with
cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy). But his obsession with dub & reggae was
too strong, and in 1995 he released his first album as Twilight Circus
Dub Sound System on his own M Records. He has since gone on to release
over 10 albums and countless singles, EPs, & Dub plates to worldwide
acclaim & respect from his peers--as evidenced on last year's Foundation
Rockers (M), which featured collaborations with Mykal Rose of Black Uhuru,
Luciano, Ranking Joe and the legendary Big Youth (who also makes an appearance
on Dub from the Secret Vaults).
Dub
from the Secret Vaults is Twilight Circus' 11th full-length album
and first to be released by a US label. Needless to say, ROIR, who has
always dedicated itself to promoting the world's best dub, is honored
to release this album. In fact, it's a wonder we didn't do this earlier.
Dub from the Secret Vaults is a compendium of unreleased material
from TCD's entire existence--selected, updated, and/or composed especially
for ROIR by Twilight Circus. But Ryan explains it best:
Years
ago I collected numerous releases from ROIR during their early cassette-only
days. I can recall eagerly awaiting the next mail order delivery containing
various musical treats: dub, reggae & otherwise. It is now with a
sense of this history that I have prepared this new Twilight Circus album
for ROIR. All the material has never before been heard outside the secret
dub laboratory. The tracks span all the various eras of Twilight Circus
up to the present & even include some early dub experiments recorded
on cassette almost 20 years ago! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did
making it! Keep on dubbing,
--RM - Jan, 2004.
Along
with Bill Laswell, Mad Professor, Skiz Fernando, Kevin Martin, Style Scott
and Adrian Sherwood, Ryan Moore is one of the few contemporary artists
to continue to create vital and innovative dub.
"...Wrestles
with history's titans and leaves the ring commanding 'nuff respect...a
landmark in post hiphop sound engineering." –Spin
"...The heaviest original dub sounds on the planet! " –XLR8R
"...Dubmeister
extraordinaire...this is as good as newly created dub gets these days."
–The Wire
"Moore's
songwriting and recording technique remains superior to anyone working
in dub today." –Exclaim!
"One
of the most creative and original Dub wizards in the world!" –Reggae
Vibes
