DUB TRINITY
Dub Trinity is a high-spirited, 7-piece reggae/ska band that brings social consciousness to a packed dance floor. Their songs blend the styles of Burning Spear, Woody Guthrie and Linton Kwesi Johnson while their music fuses roots dub-reggae and ska with Meters-style funk, Fela Kuti's afrobeat and a dash of picket line solidarity. Dub Trinity's relationship with political issues has led to collaborations with various community and human rights-based organizations as well as invitations to play a wide variety of festivals, conferences, forums and fund-raisers.
Their present line-up includes: Kirsten Addis (bass and vocals), Chris Collins (keyboards and vocals), Scotty "Blaze" MacPherson (percussion), Jean Marc Pineau (guitar), Tom "Hojo" Reader (trombone), Greg Roy (drums, percussion and vocals) and Rob Wilkes (guitar and vocals). Now in its 9th year, Dub Trinity have accumulated an impressive list of achievements.
In October 2009, they released 2 new tracks, Alexandria and Throw Your Weapons Down. Both tracks were mixed by award-winning dub producer "Dubmatix". Another experiment in dub.
HISTORY
Beginning as a 3-piece dub unit, they set out to work with singers, songwriters and, especially, dub poets with strong slants toward social, political and musical change. After recording their first EP in July 2001 (a live 4-song set in which they proclaim that the "towers you've erected will burn."), Dub Trinity began working with dub poets d'bi young, Chet Singh and Afua Cooper.
Within months, another live album came along. "Xperimentin' Dub" is a full-length collaboration with d'bi young, an experiment in improvised drum-and-bass and dub-reggae; 1 part live improvisation, 1 part rehearsed arrangements and all dub. They also contributed to d'bi's "Blood" demo CD in 2003..
Meanwhile, Dub Trinity was also writing music for and touring with Chet Singh, another dub poet whom they "coerced out of retirement". With Chet they were invited to play various festivals and forums such as the OPIRG-Carleton IndyMedia Conference, the Toronto Mayworks Festival, the Irie Music Festival, the Ottawa Urban Music Festival as well as headlining the Peterborough Folk Music Festival twice. In 2004, they produced the critically acclaimed CD titled "Dub Trinity with Chet Singh" to very positive reviews.
Their affiliation with these aforementioned members of the newly-formed Dub Poets Collective, coupled with their strong passion and support for the dub poetry genre, led to their work as the back-up band for the Dub Poetry Festivals in Toronto in 2004 and 2005. Then, in 2007, Dub Trinity boosted Chet Singh's first solo CD titled "Darkness of Daylight", writing the music for 6 tracks.
Throughout the years, Dub Trinity have been honing their skills and talents on many levels. Now, as a 7-piece band, they share lead vocals among its members, composing new material and adding horn lines and exciting percussion arrangements. They continue to support and collaborate with community-based action groups as they strive for equal rights, justice and social change.