High Tone has stood out since their founding in 1997 thanks to their hypnotic brand of bass-pounding dub performed live with a full band. They’re also known for fruitful collaborations with musicians from around the world, including an acclaimed project with Sichuan-born musician Wang Lei back in 2005 called Wangtone.
This month, High Tone returns to China for a weeklong residency in Chengdu, where they’ll collaborate with a group of local musicians before embarking on a China tour. We caught up with the band before they set off.
High Tone is seen as a major player in the French dub scene. How do you think French dub music has changed and evolved since you formed the band in 1997?
The French dub scene began mainly in the late 1990s, with the idea to perform “live on stage with real instruments” as opposed to in the studio. Now, the new generation continues to do this, but mostly with computers and rack effects. Panda Dub, however, is one new dub artist who plays live on stage [like we do].
Tell us a bit about your Dub Soundsystem tour of China last year. What were some of your most memorable moments?
We did three gigs in China in May 2016: Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. They were all in little clubs over five days; very intense! We had good vibrations with the audience. People were really attentive and curious about our sound. All three gigs were crazy!
Though dub originated in Jamaica along with its predecessor reggae, musicians form dub bands all over the world. Why do you think dub speaks to so many people from different cultures?
Dub music has existed for a long time — since 1970 — and it's continued evolving each year. It's timeless and universal, and it has never been so alive. Dub music is part of an important underground culture linked by reggae, and we love this.
Could you clarify the difference between High Tone and your other project, Dub Invaders?
High Tone is our band; we play on stage with visuals and lights, a sound engineer, bass and drums, a keyboard, a DJ, a guitar and a sampler. It’s our first formation from 1997. Dub Invaders are the same people, but we play on a sound system, not onstage, and each musician has his own tracks with different set-up. It’s not a band, but a collective.
Tell us about your upcoming residency in Chengdu. How will these collaborations play into your next album?
We are going to Chengdu to meet Chinese traditional musicians to integrate their music into our next album. We have contacts in China for finding some people who are interested in working with us. We hope that good ideas will emerge from this meeting.
What can we expect for your concerts in Shanghai and Guangzhou?
We expect that people will be here at the show like the last time and ready to dance! We will be with our special guest, [reggae performer] Shanti D from France, and maybe one guest from China, but we don't know just yet.
Guangzhou: May 20, 9pm, RMB80 presale, RMB100 door. SD Livehouse, see event listing.
Shanghai: May 21, 8.30pm, RMB100 presale, RMB120 door. MAO Livehouse, see event listing.
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