Dub Inc hail from Saint-Etienne in France, and fuse classic roots reggae with dub, dancehall, ska, hip-hop and African influences. They create an intoxicating musical hybrid with highly charged and socially conscious songs which have earned them cult status in their native France.
Charismatic lead singers Hakim “Bouchkour” Meridja and Aurelien “Komlan” Zohou sing in English, French and Kabyle (a Berber language native to Algeria). Backed by deep rolling bass (Moritz Von Korff), keyboards (Frédéric Peyron and Idir Derdiche), guitar (Jérémie Grégeois) and drums (Grégory “Zigo” Mavridorakis), Bouchkour and Komlan convey strong positive messages through their striking vocals, creating music with a truly universal appeal.
Since forming in 1997, Dub Inc have produced six studio albums, two EP’s and two live albums. Their new album So What (2016, Diversité) embodies the potent combination of infectious energy, distinctive melody and engaged, combative lyrics.
Do you remember 20 years ago when the group first formed?
Zigo:
“Yes, of course. It was in High School, we were just friends who wanted to make music together and particularly Reggae music, because that was the music that inspired us the most, even if we had different influences, Reggae music was the most important to us.”
What was it about Reggae music that spoke to you?
Zigo:
“First of all, it would be the social message. It is very important for us to talk about conscious and social issues. We always wanted to fight against racism and to show people the problem with political corruption, especially in France and African countries. We like to talk about solutions. We can find all this is Bob Marley’s music and the older Reggae music artists. I also think that Jamaican music is really influential all over the world, especially with the rhythms and bass lines. It is easy to make people dance and feel good. Reggae touched us and we have never let it go.”
You’ve toured around the world, is there a moment in your career that has stood 
out for you?
Zigo:
“All the tours around the world make a lot of history, a lot of memories. It’s not the biggest shows that create the biggest memories, for us it is all about who we meet on the road. We love being on the road because we meet a lot of people, discover different cultures, foods and of course different audiences. It is all of that that creates all these small memories. Of course the first time we played in New York City, and the first time we played in West Africa, in Senegal for example. We have had some big events. Also the first time we played in Jamaica, the first time we headlined a big festival in France. These are all the best memories. Playing in India was strong because we saw a completely different culture, another world. Playing in Senegal for the first time in a country that we talk about a lot in our lyrics was special. This was the first time we visited West Africa. I could talk about this for hours.”
Have you been to South Africa before?
Zigo:
“It’s the first time. 5 years ago we were supposed to tour here, but a week before the tour one of our singers had an injury so we had to cancel it, so we are really excited to finally come
here.”
“We have a lot of racism in France and we always try to talk to the people to try live together. We have been inspired by Nelson Mandela, so for us it is important to come to this country, that used to represent segregation. It will be very inspirational for us to talk about our message here. South Africa still has a racism problem, like in France, so it will be great to talk about it.”
South Africa has overcome so much, and while we still have issues, we do have to look at the good that we have achieved.
Zigo:
“We try make things positive in our songs, and try look forward. We talk about serious problems but also try party at the same time. We try make things positive.”
The best way to unite people is through music.
Zigo: “Definitely.”
You have released so many albums, but out of all the songs that you have, is there one song that you love the best?
Zigo:
“It depends but in france we wrote a song four years ago called ‘Tout ce qu’ils Veulent’ – it talks about French politics. When we play that song in France, we feel the people take that song for themselves. When they sign it live for us I feel something electric and strong. When you are a musician you try to touch people the way music has touched us. We feel that this song touches people, especially when we have strikes in France. A lot of people use that song in the streets. It is such an achievement when I hear that song being sung in the streets, in that we have found a good melody and good words.”
What can South Africans expect?
Zigo:
“We have a lot of influences, we are 7 on stage, with 7 characters, so we keep all these influences and try give it to the public. You will find Reggae music, world music, dance, soul, touch, hip hop and Electro touch, what we try to do is make the people feel that they are part of the band, by making them dance and sing. We are going to present a mix of all our songs. For us it is not a good show if we don’t see the people sweaty after the show. Come get the energy and if everything is good, you will be sweaty after the show.”
For more information about the show, click on link: https://wp.me/p8tXTX-6KW
