Selector Dub Rogue, the Sample Recycler

Dub Rogue is a dub producer from the heart of Europe: Berlin. Besides running the Dub Flash Records label and spinning records for the MoonBass HiFi Soundsystem, he also produces music in his Oakfield Rooftop Studios.

He started playing guitar as a young boy but soon after founding out about dub music (aged 14) he switched to the bass. This he played in a school band ("5 Freunde und der Zauberer W.") until 1996. During that time he was also active in the young German rap scene, being a member of the "Rasselbande" (as Der Dieb) and later loosely of the "Dachboden Posse" (as MK Trockenpresse). Some tracks were finished at that time but are unfortunately lost or at least he doesn't know how to get them back...

After his band split up, he bought his first personal computer in 1996 (what a new world!) and started building first riddims (with samples & midi). At the beginning these were mostly hip hop instrumentals, followed by trip hop and downbeat grooves, then soon ending up with dub vibes under the name "Dieb In Dub Productions".

At the same time and under the same name, he started to mix dubtapes. Until 2003, 50 mixtapes have been "released", mostly with a certain topic and special covers, something which he continued to do with the official label releases later on. It's some kind of hobby for him and he is inspired by many 60s and 70s vinyl covers which had great ideas. He is aware that reggae-people do not care very much about covers but he likes it nonetheless.

His official debut album "Dreams Of A Lost Soul" came out in early 2005 on Dub Flash Records and is a true musical experience, a concept album about dreams, reality and life. Kitchy but loveable. The ground basis for this music-fairytale idea came already several years ago but it took a while until he really found the time to finish the album. At the end, he was forced to release it a bit earlier than planned due to a Japan-deal. Big in Japan, alright!

Due to his limited time, he is not able to build many riddims anymore. But there's always some time for remix works. Check the discography below for details. He's also grabbing the mic from time to time again. This and his remixes for hip hop crews still show that he can't forget his roots. Future works are always planned, so let's see what will come and what not.

Outside his life as Dub Rogue and / or Dub Flash, Ralf is a philosophy student at the University of Potsdam since October 2004. Before, he "learned" (Ausbildung) a job at a big company in Berlin from 1998 to 2001 and afterwards worked three more years for them in the marketing department where he was responsible for the company's website, online commercials & campaigns and basically everything which had to do with new media. It was an interesting time but also very soul-consuming. So he quit it and did more or less the contrary: becoming a student.

With his minors psychology and media studies, he is trying to mangle the three study fields and is at the moment part of the new founded "Computer Games" institute which intends to find out a "theory of computer games in a scientific way". Sounds crazy... and it is. As of December 2009, he has mastered his two minors with the best grade each and is working on his master's thesis about the "ethics of computer games". This is in so far interesting as this is a brandnew field to work in.

Besides this, Ralf is a passionate football fan and is playing for a small team in the lowest division in Berlin. He might have been a promising young player but uncountable injuries since the mid 90s stopped him from playing seriously. He nevertheless fulfilled one of his dreams: being a footbal legionnaire in a foreign country: Since 2007, he played three seasons for the team AFCK Joensuu in the 5th division in Finland.

He also enjoys fantasy literature, is a huge Star Wars fan and can be seen walking in the Grunewald forest with his girlfriend and dog (addition: who is now dead, R.I.P.!). He avoids big "reggae" parties and crowded mass places, except if he spins records himself. If not, peace and quiet is better for him, but now he is indicating that he told me (resp. us) enough personal details. Therefore, I end this report about Dub Rogue for now. I hope you found something of interest. Cheers, Antti.

                    Press photo smile with red eyes ;-)  Interview @ Radio Fritz, Berlin

Concentrated controlling       DJ mix @ Radio Canut, Lyon/France 

Live action and chilling in the Mocambo Nightclub in Helsinki/Finland

   Selecting @ Garden Dub Festival, Lyon/France    Favourite hobby: playing football