Que Lastima

Rhymefest ft. Queen Latifah & Haffa - Goin In (Produced by Dub Sonata)

Rhymefest feat. Queen Latifah - Goin' In (Prod. by Dub Sonata)

Vast Aire & Double A.B. - Sour Diesel (Produced by Dub Sonata)

Vast Aire & Double A.B. - Sour Diesel (The Diesel pt. 2) (Prod. by Dub Sonata)

Like Diamonds - In This Together (Produced by Dub Sonata)

Lost in the Trees - I've Always Loved The Fall (Dub Sonata Remix)

Like the mighty Mos Def, Dub Sonata is a traveling man. Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, this multi-genre producer expresses himself through the music he makes while taking continental journeys and extended stays. With his open mind and strict attention to detail, he has amassed a large body of work spanning the last decade composed mostly at his studio in The Mes Hall of Mt. Vernon, New York.
“I’ve always had a fascination with music. I was six years old playing with Casio keyboards, taking guitar lessons,” recalls Dub, who cites his love of many genres in promoting his versatility and range. After brief tenures with keyboards, guitar and bass, Dub’s next discovery was beat-making. “When I got to college, I saw people making beats in a dorm room and I was captivated; it was a magical feeling.” Using his neighbor’s equipment, the then-18 year-old fan of Wu-Tang Clan and Gang Starr had an epiphany. Soon after, he purchased an MPC2000xl and a Yamaha RM1x and pursued his passion.

Dub instinctively dedicated himself to his new-found craft and throughout the 2000s, the engineer worked with established rappers such as Nature, Bizzy Bone and Killarmy’s Dom Pachino. While gaining experience and honing his sound, Dub laid the foundation of what would become his debut album, 2007’s On The Arm. As the title suggests, it was Sonata’s way of creating a mutually beneficial opportunity with artists he admired. “It was a way of paying it forward,” he explained, “and lots of people showed a lot of love.”

Dub continued to work on hip-hop into the late ‘00s, producing songs for Sadat X, Kool G Rap and even a track (“Goin’ In”) with Grammy Award-winners Rhymefest and Queen Latifah. Dub gained recognition for his work and enjoyed coverage in URB magazine and on BBC Radio 1Xtra (to name a few), even though he states, “I didn’t know anything about public relations or marketing.” In between playing in Brooklyn-based Electro band Like Diamonds and producing their first single “In This Together,” Dub also would release his Bluntitled EP in 2011 after a busy and formative decade.

In early 2010, Dub accepted a friend’s invitation to join him on an excursion to Cuba. “Part of the allure was going to a country that you’re not supposed to as an American.” Traveling the island, the producer gave locals copies of his first album, and eventually landed in a network of Cuban musicians who helped lead the New Yorker to some rare records for sale in the back of a general store. Dub deemed the merchant a “record goldmine,” and returned to the States with a crate of vinyls, a balance of Traditional Cuban music and some import relics not often found in America. These purchases turned out to be the source samples for his sonic scrapbook, Nights In Cuba, released later that year. Deeming it his favorite work to date, Dub adds, “I enjoy making music where instruments can be the voice. I know those types of albums can be harder to sell, but artistically they are less restrictive.” Trips to Colombia, Morocco and Southeast Asia have inspired future volumes in the Nights In series. Dub reveals his overall philosophy in using travel and anthropology to inform his craft: “I don’t enjoy getting a hotel and going to the beach. I like seeing the real world; meeting indigenous people.” Although he grew up and still lives around a musical epicenter for hip-hop and other genres, this helps him see and hear beyond most. “You come back to your reality with such a different perspective. It forces you to express yourself in new ways.”

In September 2012, Double A.B. dropped his latest album Media Shower, which boasts Dub Sonata completely behind the boards. The pair, whom met at SUNY New Paltz over a decade ago, agrees that it’s the culmination of their growth and musical connection. “It took a long time to make the type of quality music that we’re putting out...there was never any rushing it,” says Dub. Noting a glossy sound that avoids reliance on loops, the producer acknowledges Media Shower as “classic-era Hip Hop suitable for the present.” Since then he has racked up production credits on releases from Sage Francis, Copywrite, Vast Aire and Swave Sevah, among others.

Most recently Dub has been focusing on a collaborative project with songwriter Tim Segreto titled "Evening Elevator." The duo lived together briefly in a college dorm room but parted ways, only to reconnect a decade later for a long overdue multi-dimensional joint effort. 

Forever a B-boy who considers DJ Premier his greatest influence, Dub earnestly hopes to venture further into genres like Electro and World Music. Collecting records as he trots the globe and sampling both his experience and the artifacts, Dub Sonata continues to stamp his passport and grooves into the collective musical consciousness.

DubSonata

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