Rumour has it there ain’t no party like a Dub Inc party! These French reggae roots revivalists are credited with single-handedly reviving the dancehalls across France, so it makes sense their Australian debut is part of the world’s biggest party: Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD Festival. We caught up with drummer Grégory “Zigo” Mavridorakis ahead of their first show.
“Australia is a new audience for us so of course we’re going to give everything and show the energy we’re known for live. We love to make people jump, dance and have a good time with us. We’ve been told that Australians are very good fun, and I’m excited because we’ve been wanting to play in Australia for a long time now.”
Joining forces in 1997, Dub Inc is a seven-piece band of brothers who came together over their love of dancehall, dub, roots, ska, reggae and hip hop. The lyrics are a mixture of French, English, Arabic and Kabyle (spoken mainly in the north of Algeria). “We have so many influences – we’re truly a world band. I love traditional music from Africa and all roots music.
“We listen to a lot of different music – it helps with our energy and creativity. Bob Marley, Ben Harper, Jamiroquai and Run DMC – from hip hop to freestyle to reggae, we love to integrate it all. We try to show all these different tastes to the audience and we always give 100 per cent – and we have for nearly twenty years now!
Their unique story was recently chronicled by French indie filmmaker Kamir Meridja. Titled ‘The Rude Boy Story’, Meridja sought to document a band that was not afraid to go it alone, becoming fiercely independent and demanding to find success on their terms.
“We were not experienced. When we started, many people told us we would not be successful doing what we loved. I remember the first time we played in Paris we were warned that the people there are cold and would not understand our style … It was the same the first time we played in NYC and everywhere in the world.”
Seventeen years and five albums later, Zigo and his Dub Inc have well and truly proved the naysayers wrong – and now he says they simply plan to enjoy themselves. “The dancehall originated in France and we can’t wait to bring some of that culture to other parts of the world.
“For the last two, three years we’ve been travelling all over, and now that we have a chance to visit Australia and New Zealand, we will definitely come back. This is just our first step. We’re only able to stay for three or four days before we go to New Zealand and that’s not enough time to do everything we want to. Hopefully you like us and we come back again very soon.
“At our shows we plan to play new songs and also others from our older records, to give people a taste of our history and as an introduction to us. We’re very happy to be part of this event.”
Get ready – WOMADelaide kicks off this Friday inside Adelaide’s glorious Botanic Gardens. For four days, the inner city venue will be taken up by world-class traditional and contemporary musicians, dancers and DJs. Organisers also promise street theatre, visual artists and around 100 food, retail and charity stalls.
When&Where: WOMADelaide, Adelaide Botanic Park – March 7-10
Written by Natalie Rogers