DubXanne - Police In Dub: Hamburg-based muscians dub out The Police

The first big concert I ever saw was The Police and The Go-Go's at Madison Square Garden in New York City on my 17th birthday. That show and other Police shows I saw (a legendary show at the old RFK Stadium in Philadelphia which also included R.E.M, Madness and Joan Jett) made me a fan of their hybrid reggae/rock. In many ways The Police were a gateway band for me to explore more authentic reggae and ska music that influenced them. Needless to say it was always their more reggae sounding songs that I liked the most.

According to Police legend, at the end of 1977, Sting returned to Britain from his vacation in the United States to find his band mates newly inspired by the Jamaican sounds they were hearing all over London. It was reggae rhythms that finally shook The Police free from post-punk rock convention and the rest has become history -- to date, 40 million people all over the world have bought a Police record.

Following on the heels of The Easy Star All-Stars projects Radiodread and Dub Side Of The Moon comes DubXanne, a group of Hamburg-based musicians devoted to bringing out the original dub reggae roots of The Police. The first recordings for Police In Dub sessions started in September 2006. After exhaustive scrutiny of the Police back catalog at EMI Music Publishing (which controls and manages the rights for Sting's songs) and lengthy negotiations with Sting's management team, final consent for the project was granted in March 2008.

The recording features the legendary Big Youth (vocals on So Lonely) as well as one of Sting's best friends from the early days... Ranking Roger from The Beat (on The Bed's To Big Without You). Other vocalists include Earl 16 (Leftfield and Dreadzone albums) to the Dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah and EASED from the German dancehall reggae act SEEED as well as the DubXanne´s I Trees... (backround singers from Gentleman)

Here is a promo video about the project featuring an interview with Ranking Roger:

Here is the track list:

01. Walking On The Moon (Walking On The Dub)

02. Roxanne - (Dubxanne) - Dub Version feat. EASED FROM SEEED

03. Can´t Stand Losing You (Can't Stand Losing Dub)

04. The Bed´s Too Big Without You (The Bed's Too Big Without Dub) feat. Ranking Roger

05. Driven to Tears (Driven To Dub)

06. Message In A Bottle (Message In A Dub) feat. Earl 16

07. Once Upon A Daydream (Once Upon A Dubdream)

08. Spirits In The Material World (Spirits In A Dubworld) feat. Benjamin Zephaniah

09. Someone To Talk To (Someone To Dub To)

10. So Lonely (So Dub) feat. Big Youth

11. Reggatta De Blanc (Reggatta De Dub)

12. Wrapped Around Your Finger (Wrapped Around Your Dub) feat. Jazz'min

13. Bring On The Night (Dub On The Night)

Here is the download:

DubXanne - Police In Dub