DFR004: Dub Shoe - Episode 1: The Stepping Shoe

Dub Flash presents:

Dub Shoe - Episode 1: The Stepping Shoe

Release no.: DFR004

Artists: Various Dubists

LP vinyl release: 10.10.2004
Copies (vinyl): 500
Status (vinyl): Sold out

Digital re-release: 24.02.2017
(Bandcamp and streaming services)

Tracks:

A1 - Dove Dub Sound System "Dub Creation" 4:17 min. (POLAND)
A2 - System Failure feat. I-Iawy "Dub Firm" 3:46 min. (DANMARK)
A3 - Babylon Station feat. Baron Black & King Kalabash "Dub Fi Di Youth (Syncromix)" 3:37 min. (CZECH REP.)
A4 - Dangerman "Noon" 3:55 min. (ENGLAND)
A5 - Coptic Sound "Lion Rising" 5:19 min. (FRANCE)
B1 - Sir Larsie I "Prohibition Dub" 4:59 min. (GERMANY)
B2 - Earthground Combination "Fayah" 2:52 min. (ITALY)
B3 - Jesse J "Eye Of The Beholder" 4:18 min. (FINLAND)
B4 - SlimmahSound Dub System "Dub Shoe’s Revenge" 3:30 min. (NETHERLANDS)
B5 - Trevor ‘The Technician’ McKenzie "Dub Down Under (The Technician Meets The Negotiatior)" 5:28 (AUSTRALIA) VINYL BONUS!

Credits:

Written by, composed by and mixed by Last Pigeon Of Peace at Dovecote Records (A1), Andreas Krag Kristensen at System Failure Dublap Studios (A2), Syncro at GunJah Studios (A3), Dangerman at Dubstudios (A4), Coptic Sound at Coptic Studios (A5), Lars Brachmann at Phoenix Upliftment Studio (B1), Paolo B & Ras Antonio at ESAT Studio (B2), Jesse Juup at Twincat Studios (B3), Slimmah at Slimmah Studios (B4) and Trevor McKenzie & Wayne Huf at Technician's Studio (B5)
Vocals and lyrics by Alwy Elhavd (A2). Baron Black & King Kalabash (A3), Ras Francesco (B2) and Jesse J (B3)
Bass by Jana (A3) and jesse J (B3)
Guitar by Jiri (A3) and Michael Stawik (B4)
Instruments by Soldiers of Jah, Ras Caleb, Gad Cee & Dangerman (A4)
Percussion by Janne Riisiö (B3)
Keyboards by Jesse J (B3)
Drums by Jesse J (B3)
Remix by Paolo B & Ras Antonio at Dub Alkemist Studio (B2)
Manufactured by Duophonic Gbr
Lacquer cut by K at SST Brüggemann GmbH
Pressed by Optimal Media Production
Mastered by Sir Larsie I at Phoenix Upliftment Studio (all tracks but B2) and Paolo B & Ras Antonio (B2)
Compiled by Dub Rogue at Andromedub
Artwork by Ralf Wunderlich for Dieb in Dub Productions and Professor Chaos at Atelier Branle Bas
Video editing by Bingewatch-R at Come Watch TV. Video for B5 edited with vizzy.io
Produced by Ralf Dub Flash at Andromedub
(p) & (c) Dub Flash Records (2004)

Release information:

"The Stepping Shoe” is the first episode of the "Dub Shoe" compilation series, an abstract homage to Star Wars. The LP features 10 artists from 10 countries.

Question: “Why does Dub Flash use so many homages and references to Star Wars?” Answer: Dub Flash Day (which means the day Dub Flash's Dub Information Portal went online) collides with Star Wars Day: 4th May, as Star Wars released in cinemas on 4th May 1977, exactly 21 years before dubflash.com went online. It's a coincidence, “but a welcome one”, to quote Senator Palpatine.

The vinyl edition has been sold out for many years. You might still get used copies from Discogs and similar places. The digital re-release came in 2017 to streaming and download platforms.

Behind the scenes:

In the early 2000s, one of the biggest part Dub Flash played was to connect Dub people from all around the world. There was no social media yet and having your own web presence was also something which only very few people had back then. One could say, that before MySpace, people would come together online via Dub Flash's Dub Information Portal.

Out of that evolved the idea to create a compilation series focussing on the universality of Dub music. I witnessed it first hand, getting dubplates from all around the world on a daily basis. And I don't mean digital dubplates, but via snailmail on vinyl, CD, MC, minidisc, and DAT.

I don't remember much about how this album eventually came to life. What I remember is that “Dub Firm” is the Dub version of the 7" “Stand Firm”, which came without a Dub version. Same with “Dub Fi Di Youth”. “Dub Creation”, “Prohibition Dub”, “Fayah” and “Dub Down Under” were unreleased songs which I was allowed to (unexclusively) release. “Noon”, “Lion Rising”, "Eye of the Beholder" and “Dub Shoe's Revenge” were exclusively produced for this release by artists who wanted to be featured on “The Stepping Shoe”.

Until the digital 2017 re-release, “Dub Down Under” was declared the exclusive vinyl bonus track.

Additional photos:

The original vinyl cover (front and back sides).

Artwork of the A-side label of the original vinyl release.

Artwork of the A-side label of the original vinyl release.

Someone spotted a remaining copy of the album in 2015 in a record shop in Amsterdam.

Review on Dub-o-rama website back in 2004.

Latest with DFR004, Dub Flash got properly included in the distribution game. The above two screenshots show the record's entry on Music Rebel (Germany) and Ernie B's (USA). 

Another review screenshot I found in my archive. This one is from Dubfront which, if I remeber correctly, was from Switzerland.