Dubmarine’s second album, Laser Sound Beam, arrived earlier this year, but the record has very deep roots – its opening track ‘Beat In Control’ dates all the way back to when frontman D-Kazman was in his late teens and experiencing the exhilaration of dancing in a club for the very first time. “I was in the army when I was 17, and two days after I got out, I went to a club for the first time,” explains the singer. “It was a really eye-opening experience. That song and the lyrics are based on those experiences I had when I was younger.”
The driving track attempts to capture the feeling of a whole new world opening up though dance. “When you’re in a dancing frame of mind, you can go outside of yourself, and your body is capable of doing all kinds of amazing things,” D-Kazman says. “Dancing to me is one of the miracles of music, and I’m really interested in what happens in the body and the mind. A lot of tribal dancing is based around the idea of opening yourself up as a channel to different things, different dimensions, and I’ve felt that through dance.”
Dubmarine’s combination of dub, reggae, roots and dancehall has made them into a potent live band over the years, and Laser Sound Beam represents an attempt to capture the energy of their live performances.“Our last record had a very slickly-produced studio sound, but we had some complaints that it didn’t capture the energy of the live sound, so we put a lot of time and effort into doing that this time around and people are digging it. It’s getting some radio play, it’s doing well.”
With the new songs in their set, the band is feeling more energised than ever. “It’s great to hear how people respond to the new stuff,” D-Kazman says. “These days we’re really into the idea of pushing ourselves. We’ve been together for a few years now, so we’re in a place where we can really explore our musicality and take it to unexpected places. The show accompanying the album really pushes a lot of things – we change some of the tunes up a bit, add a few more toys into the mix. For me personally, it’s one of the most fun shows I’ve ever done.”
Laser Sound Beam does indeed feature a broad array of sounds – some tracks push the band’s sound in a more explicitly club and dance-oriented direction, with synths and heavy bass, while others even feature elements of Middle Eastern music. D-Kazman says this diversity was always the idea. “That’s always been one of our goals, to take on an array of different global sounds and rhythms. Our music is about trying to bring together different cultures and influences and mixing them all together. I think it’s futuristic in the way it puts all those things together.”
Dubmarine’s lyrics can be overtly political – as in recent single ‘Spearchukka’, which takes on the commercial fishing industry – but the message is always presented in a positive and even upbeat way. “When it comes to politics, it can be a bit of a downer if you focus on just the problem, so you want to try and think about the solution as well. We like to be aware of what’s happening around us and bring that awareness to the table. There are a lot of global forces like greed and inequality that we like to address, but we also like to remind people that they can think for themselves, and we like to suggest solutions.”
BY ALASDAIR DUNCAN
Dubmarine play The Standard on Friday October 18.Laser Sound Beamout now through Sugarrush Music.
