Dub Inc
Combining elements of dancehall, dub, and ska with the sounds of hip-hop and African music, French reggae outfit Dub Inc. spent their first two decades amassing a significant global following thanks to hard touring and a series of well-crafted D.I.Y. releases. Their multilingual approach and energetic performances have made them a festival favorite, while albums like 2008's Afrikya and 2013's Paradise continue to spread their socially conscious messages of diversity and acceptance. In 2019, they released their seventh studio album, Millions.
Formed in Saint Etienne in 1998, the band originally operated under the name Dub Incorporation. Adopting a stylistically varied and multicultural sound right out of the gate, co-lead singers Hakim "Bouchkour" Meridja and Aurélien "Komlan" Zohou based their lyrics in French, English, and Kabyle while bandmates Jérémie Grégeois (guitar), Frédéric Peyron (keyboards), Idir Derdiche (keyboards), Moritz Von Korff (bass), and Grégory "Zigo" Mavridorakis (drums) took cues from hip-hop, ska, dub, and various African traditions. Already a seasoned live group by the time they issued a proper debut, Diversite appeared in 2003 to a modest showing on the French charts. Seeking mainstream success was of little concern to Dub Incorporation and over the coming years, they focused on growing their audience organically by touring throughout Europe and releasing their music independently. 2005's Dans le Decor was followed by the concert album Dub Inc. Live. They later made their truncated name official on their fourth album, 2010's Hors Contrôle.
Along the way, Dub Inc. played major festivals like WOMAD and Paleo, continuing to earn new fans and climbing the French charts almost in spite of themselves; 2016's So What album reached number 16 in France and made a decent showing in Switzerland as well. After two decades together, the band remained engaged and passionate on their seventh album, 2019's Millions.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
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Paradise Tour (Live at L'Olympia)
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So What (Live Saint-Étienne 2017)
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