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Rockers Control Seven-Inch 45 Series
by David Katz
During these terrible times of the global pandemic, with inept, self-serving leaders fueling the flames, the renowned Brazilian roots reggae band Rockers Control offers a monthly musical balm in the form of a new digital track, to be released on the last Friday of every month, until January 2021, along with limited-edition companion vinyl 45s, issued as the schedule permits. With a range of highly-rated guest collaborators from Jamaica and the UK, as well as upcoming Brazilian artists, Rockers Control offers food for the mind and heat for the soul, each release issued with a thrilling dub B-side, expertly mixed by the New York-born bassist and dub producer, Victor Rice at Studio Copan. The result is a series of unique musical treasures with widespread appeal, all bearing the particular hallmark that has made Rockers Control one of the most revered of all Brazilian roots reggae outfits.
The Rockers Control story begins in São Paulo in 1996 when schoolfriends Bruno Buarque (drums), Cris Scabello (guitar) and MAU (bass) formed the band Afetos. “We formed during high school to play reggae covers, but it quickly grew to a more serious work as one of the first reggae bands on that scene playing our own music,” Buarque explains. “We also started flirting with the dub aesthetic early on and began to like it more and more.” Other early members included future Bixiga 70 drummer Décio 7 on percussion, Mairah Rocha from Os Barbatuques and Marietta ‘MassaRock’ Vital on background vocals, as well as Fabio ‘Yellow P’ Murakami, who went on to become one of the most influential reggae DJs in Brazil through his Dubversão sound system, which spun off from Afetos around 2002, following the release of the Afetos EP, Nação Ameaçada.
In fact, the two collaborated solidly on Dubversão’s early sessions, pioneering the art of live dub in Brazil. As Buarque explains, “Susi In Dub was the name of a weekly night that Yellow P held at a legendary venue that was called Susi In Transe, in a rough part of downtown São Paulo. Yellow P played every Friday and on the last Friday of the month, we would set up the band for live sessions that often took the form of 3 or 4 hours of pure improvising; Yellow P would select a record, we would start jamming along with it and after a while he would take the record off and we would keep playing. That was the true foundation of the Rockers Control sound, and our reputation. The local reggae scene was very low on infrastructure, with dishonest promoters, so we started creating our own parties and playing dub freely, instead of being held to delivering songs with the traditional form and structure.”
After performing at the Universo Paralelo festival in Bahia in 2006, Rockers Control were invited to record their debut album, Jacuipe Sessions, at Coaxo do Sapo, the recording studio just established by the noted pop singer and composer Guilherme Arantes (father of MassaRock). The album was released by the band in 2008 and some of its rhythms resurfaced on Basoda, the debut album by Angolan singer Pitshu, released by Dubversão that same year, as well as Chilling In Brazil, the EP voiced for Dubversão by Brother Culture, one of the UK’s most reliable reggae MCs; there were also live dub collaborations with Curumin and others.
During the intervening years, although the band never stopped working together, each member became busy with other projects: as well as working with MAU on material for avant-garde singer Anelis Assumpção and Comadre Fulorzinha founder, Karina Buhr, Buarque began working with Céu, Criolo, João Donato and a range of others, operating out of his Studio Minduca; Scabello found fame in Afrobeat collective Bixiga 70, based at his Studio Traquitana. Now the trio have decided to trawl the vaults, dusting off master tapes cut at different times at Minduca and Traquitana, as well as Copan studios and elsewhere, presenting a range of Rockers Control material, old and new. As Buarque explains, “We kind of shifted focus and got busy with other things, the gradually we felt the need to get back to working on our own stuff, recording what we are releasing now.”
On 27 May, for the first release of the bunch, upcoming Brazilian singer Giba Nascimento’s “Pluggin’ Out” is a vintage track with the band in power-pop mode, echoing The Plimsouls beneath their choppy reggae skank, as Nascimento seeks a dignified exit to the many demands he’s facing; the dub allows Rice’s melodica more breathing space, with ghostly vocal snatches, keyboard and guitar breaks fading up between the drum and bass core.
On 26 June, from the Jacuipe Sessions, the British reggae singer of Nigerian origins, Afrikan Simba, salutes his “Ancient Woman” in song, offering a love ballad from a Rastafari perspective atop a more traditional roots rhythm, its ‘flying cymbal’ drum style helped along by peppery Décio 7 conga beats and minimal MassaRock keyboards; the dub strips the rhythm down to bass-heavy minimalism, the percussion reverberating in split stereo.
On 31 July (and soon after on vinyl), Cris Scabello appears in Lover’s Rock mode as Christopher Dilovah on the irresistible “Bom Dia,” a song with a long pedigree that dates back to early Dubversão sessions, where Cris would improvise lyrics over a Wailers track. The song sends an ironic greeting to session attendees that would dance through the night, heading straight to work in the morning, drawing on a famous capoeira refrain, the dub deconstruction allowing a better understanding of each player’s musical contribution. Definitely an outstanding result!
On 28 August, over a traditional ‘rockers’-styled rhythm from the Jacuipe Sessions, British-Jamaican reggae singer Danny Red implores us to “Report Dem” to Jah for misdeeds, warning that the creator will smite all wrongdoers on judgement day; the dub concentrates on drum and bass, with plenty of phasing and delay, heightening the overriding tension.
On 25 September, taking an alternate approach to the “Ancient Woman” rhythm, the great British-Jamaican reggae singer Sandeeno counsels that a “Clean Heart” is a human requirement, rejecting hypocrites, evildoers and the corrupt; the dub homes in on Décio 7’s percussion, Buarque’s ‘flying cymbal’ and MAU’s hefty bass.
On 30 October, again from the Jacuipe Sessions, Afrikan Simba tackles an old Afetos rhythm on “Beware Of Your Enemies,” warning of the detrimental intentions of false friends, the dub dropping his voice out to focus on the pure core of drum and bass.
On 27 November, Christopher Dilovah is back with the recent “Dub Inna Bless,” a narrative of stoned dub happenings in southern Brazil, the rocking roots rhythm helped along by the horn section of Daniel Gralha, Cuca Ferreira and Doug Bone, plus MassaRock on sweet backing vocals.
On Christmas Day, Brother Culture describes his vision of a “City Of Revelation,” rejecting the punitive policies of a capitalist system that destroys the planet, forcing people from their land in the name of profits, and boasting of his microphone prowess along the way; the dub gives MAU’s and Rice’s keyboard parts centre stage, before boosting the rhythmic bedrock.
On 29 January 2021, top-ranking Jamaican deejay Welton Irie tackles the “Report Dem” rhythm for the salutary “Roots Rock Reggae,” praising the enduring allure of the music and its dub sub-genre; the dub here is suitably spongy, with some spotlight on Scabello’s fuzzy guitar, MAU’s rumbling bass and Buarque’s relentless rhythm.
Together, these pieces reveal Rockers Control as a crucial piece of Brazil’s reggae puzzle; the limited-edition handcrafted vinyl items, with their striking illustrations by reggae DJ, Magrão, won’t be around for long, so get your copy while supplies last.
Press Release by David Katz