Scientist (musician)
Encyclopedia
Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston
, Jamaica
, 1960 (sometimes known as Overton Brown), was a protégé of King Tubby
(Osbourne Ruddock), one of the originators of dub music
.
s for Don Mais' Roots Tradition label, given his chance when Prince Jammy cut short a mixing session for Mais because he was too tired to continue. The first hit record that he mixed was Barrington Levy
's "Collie Weed".
His name originated from a joke between Tubby and Bunny Lee
. Having noticed Brown's forward thinking ideas and technical aspirations, Tubby remarked "Damn, this little boy must be a scientist."
He left King Tubby's studio at the end of the 1970s and became the principal engineer for Channel One Studio
when hired by the Hoo Kim brothers, giving him the chance to work on a 16-track mixing desk rather than the four tracks at Tubby's.
He came to prominence in the early 1980s and produced many album
s, his mixes featuring on many releases in the first part of the decade. In particular, he was the favourite engineer of Henry "Junjo" Lawes, for whom he mixed several albums featuring the Roots Radics
, many based on tracks by Barrington Levy. He also did a lot of work for Linval Thompson
and Jah Thomas
. In 1982 he left Channel One to work at Tuff Gong
studio as second engineer to Errol Brown
. He then emigrated to the Washington, D.C.
area in 1985, again to work in studios as a sound engineer.
He made a series of albums in the early 1980s, released on Greensleeves Records
with titles themed around Scientist's fictional achievements in fighting Space Invaders, Pac-Men, and Vampires, and winning the World Cup
. Scientist has alleged in court that Greensleeves sold these albums without his consent, according to his interview with United Reggae online magazine.
Five of his songs from the album Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires
were used as the playlist songs on the K-Jah radio station in the 2001 video game Grand Theft Auto 3. Scientist has alleged in court that these songs were used without his consent.
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, 1960 (sometimes known as Overton Brown), was a protégé of King Tubby
King Tubby
King Tubby was a Jamaican electronics and sound engineer, known primarily for his influence on the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s...
(Osbourne Ruddock), one of the originators of dub music
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
.
Biography
Brown was introduced to electronics by his father, who worked as a television and radio repair technician. He began building his own amplifiers and would buy transformers from Tubby's Dromilly Road studio, and while there would keep asking Tubby to give him a chance at mixing. He was taken on at Tubby's as an assistant, performing tasks such as winding transformer coils, and began working as a mixer in the mid-1970s, initially creating dubs of reworked Studio One riddimRiddim
Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm," but in dancehall/reggae parlance it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song. Thus, a dancehall song consists of the riddim plus the "voicing" sung by the deejay. The resulting song structure may be taken for...
s for Don Mais' Roots Tradition label, given his chance when Prince Jammy cut short a mixing session for Mais because he was too tired to continue. The first hit record that he mixed was Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...
's "Collie Weed".
His name originated from a joke between Tubby and Bunny Lee
Bunny Lee
Edward O'Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee is a prominent, prolific and successful record producer best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
. Having noticed Brown's forward thinking ideas and technical aspirations, Tubby remarked "Damn, this little boy must be a scientist."
He left King Tubby's studio at the end of the 1970s and became the principal engineer for Channel One Studio
Channel One Studios
Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica. The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and has had a profound influence on the development of reggae music....
when hired by the Hoo Kim brothers, giving him the chance to work on a 16-track mixing desk rather than the four tracks at Tubby's.
He came to prominence in the early 1980s and produced many album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, his mixes featuring on many releases in the first part of the decade. In particular, he was the favourite engineer of Henry "Junjo" Lawes, for whom he mixed several albums featuring the Roots Radics
Roots Radics
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt and guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont. They were joined by many great musicians. As a combined force the Roots Radics became a well-respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the 1980s...
, many based on tracks by Barrington Levy. He also did a lot of work for Linval Thompson
Linval Thompson
Linval Thompson is a Jamaican reggae and dub musician and record producer.-Biography:Thompson was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, but spent time with his mother in Queens, New York, and his recording career began around the age of 20 with the self-released "No Other Woman," recorded in Brooklyn, New...
and Jah Thomas
Jah Thomas
Nkrumah "Jah" Thomas is a reggae deejay and record producer who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own Midnight Rock and Nura labels.-Biography:...
. In 1982 he left Channel One to work at Tuff Gong
Tuff Gong
Tuff Gong is a record label that was formed by the reggae group The Wailers in 1970 and named after Bob Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari movement, Leonard "The Gong" Howell. The first single on the label was "Run For Cover" by The Wailers...
studio as second engineer to Errol Brown
Errol Brown (engineer)
-Biography:Brown is the nephew of the late Duke Reid, the pioneer of Treasure Isle recording studio. Educated at Kingston Technical High School, where he did radio and television, Brown was trained as an audio engineer at Treasure Isle studios by Byown Smith and Duke Reid.Brown recorded artist such...
. He then emigrated to the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
area in 1985, again to work in studios as a sound engineer.
He made a series of albums in the early 1980s, released on Greensleeves Records
Greensleeves Records
Greensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label specialising in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975 and is based in Britain....
with titles themed around Scientist's fictional achievements in fighting Space Invaders, Pac-Men, and Vampires, and winning the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
. Scientist has alleged in court that Greensleeves sold these albums without his consent, according to his interview with United Reggae online magazine.
Five of his songs from the album Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires
Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires
Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires is an album by the dub musician Scientist. It was originally released in 1981. A digitally remastered version was released by Greensleeves Records as the twenty-fifth of their Reggae Classics series in 2001.-Album information:The album was...
were used as the playlist songs on the K-Jah radio station in the 2001 video game Grand Theft Auto 3. Scientist has alleged in court that these songs were used without his consent.
Partial discography
- Ranking Dread In Dub King Tubby And Scientist (1981)
- Introducing Scientist: The Best Dub Album in the World (1980)
- Allied Dub Selection (1980) – with Papa Tad's
- Heavyweight Dub Champion (1980)
- Big Showdown at King Tubby's (1980) – with Prince Jammy
- Scientist Meets the Space InvadersScientist Meets the Space InvadersScientist Meets the Space Invaders is a 1981 album by the dub musician Scientist.The album was produced by Mikey "Roots" Scott & Linval Thompson. The recording was done at Channel One Studios backed by the Roots Radics, and mixed at King Tubby's. The recording was by Stanley "Barnabas" Bryan,...
(1981) - Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the VampiresScientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the VampiresScientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires is an album by the dub musician Scientist. It was originally released in 1981. A digitally remastered version was released by Greensleeves Records as the twenty-fifth of their Reggae Classics series in 2001.-Album information:The album was...
(1981) - Scientist Meets the Roots Radics (1981)
- Scientist in the Kingdom of DubScientist in the Kingdom of DubScientist in the Kingdom of Dub is an album recorded and released in 1981 by the dub musician Scientist. Recorded at Channel One Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, the album was produced by Roy Cousins...
(1981) - Scientific Dub (1981) Tad's
- Dub Landing Vol. 1 (1981)
- Yabby YouYabby YouVivian Jackson , better known as Yabby You , was a reggae vocalist and producer, who came to prominence in the early 1970s through his uncompromising, self-produced work.-Biography:...
& Michael ProphetMichael ProphetMichael Prophet is a roots reggae singer known for his "crying" tenor vocal style, whose recording career began in 1977.-Biography:...
Meet Scientist at the Dub Station (1981) - First, Second and Third Generation (1981) – with King Tubby and Prince Jammy
- Dub War (1981)
- World at War (1981)
- Dub Landing Vol. 2 (1982) – with Prince Jammy
- High Priest of Dub (1982)
- Dub Duel (1982) – with Crucial Bunny
- Scientist Encounters Pac-ManScientist Encounters Pac-ManScientist Encounters Pac-Man is an album featuring the dub musician Scientist in 1982. It was produced by Linval Thompson and was released on Greensleeves Records. It was recorded at Channel One Studio, Kingston, Jamaica...
(1982) - Seducer Dub Wise (1982)
- Scientist Wins the World Cup (1983)
- Dub Duel at King Tubby's (1983) – The Professor
- Scientist & Jammy Strike Back (1983) – with Prince Jammy
- The People's Choice (1983)
- Crucial Cuts Vol. 1 (1984)
- Crucial Cuts Vol. 2 (1984)
- 1999 Dub (1984)
- King of Dub (1987)
- International Heroes Dub (1989)
- Tribute to King Tubby (1990)
- Freedom Fighters Dub (1995)
- Dub in the Roots Tradition (1996)
- Repatriation Dub (1996)
- King Tubby Meets Scientist in a World of Dub (1996) – with King Tubby
- King Tubby's Meets Scientist at Dub Station (1996) – with King Tubby
- Dubbin With Horns (1995)
- Dub Science (1997)
- Dub Science, Dub For Daze, Volume 2 (1997)
- Scientist Meets the Crazy Mad Professor at Channel One Studio (1997)
- Respect Due (Joseph I Meets the Scientist in Tribute to Jackie MittooJackie MittooJackie Mittoo was a Jamaican keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a founding member of The Skatalites and was a mentor to many younger performers, primarily through his work as musical director for the Studio One record label.-Biography:He was born Donat Roy Mittoo in Browns Town,...
) (1999) - Mach 1 Beyond Sound Barrier (1999)
- Scientist Dubs Culture Into a Parallel Universe (2000)
- All Hail the Dub Head (2001)
- Ras Portrait (2003)
- Pockets of Resistance (2003)
- Scientist Meets The Pocket (2003–2004)
- Nightshade Meets Scientist (2005) - featuring Wadi Gad
- Dub From the Ghetto (2006) (compilation)
- Dub 911 (2006)
- Scientist Launches Dubstep Into Outer Space (2010)