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Umberto Echo is a Munich-based (music) writer, (dub) professor, (sound) hermeneut, and multi-instrumentalist. Umberto Echo seizes the raw musical backbone of a riddim -- specifically reggae -- and uses it to generate multifaceted dubs in the studio as remixes or live tracks. In the past he has worked as a sound engineer for Jahcoustix, Jamaram, Headcornerstone, Dub Spencer & Trance Hill, and Dub Inc, and has produced international reggae vocalists and deejays such as Alborosie, Junior Kelly, Luciano, and Lutan Fyah, as well as remixing a host of artists, including Gentleman, Seeed, Steel Pulse, Sly & Robbie, Damian Marley, and Stereo MCs. Nestling between digital echo chambers and analog tape loops, his aim is to hop between Duke Ellington and King Tubby, opening up a new musical cosmos and consensus in the process. This is something he has achieved with his albums Dub the World (EB 074CD, 2010), Dubtrain (2007), and Elevator Dubs (2013), and it's a feat he has effortlessly and emphatically repeated on The Name of the Dub. As with his previous releases, the decisive characteristic of this album is the breathtaking international class and quality of the fundamental tracks. The cover art showcases Umberto Echo as a sound manipulator, sitting cross-legged on a bass speaker; a man who operates the mixing desk, software, and outboards with just as much musical virtuosity as when he plays keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums. While Umberto Eco is renowned for his novels, monographs, and essays, there is only one true language for Umberto Echo: to dub the world. This is how contemporary pop music should sound; not for hipsters, but exclusively for those who have always been hip. Includes dubs of tracks by Mellow Mood, Sista Gracy feat. Sugar Minott, Iba Mahr, Splendid, Dubmatix feat. Eek-a-Mouse, K-Jah feat. Runkus, Dub Inc feat. Tarrus Riley, Sara Lugo feat. Protoje, Jahcoustix feat. Horace Andy, Dactah Chando, House of Riddim feat. Keishera, The Senior Allstars feat. Tokunbo, Dub Syndicate feat. U Roy, Jamaram, Tackhead, iLLBiLLY HiTEC, and Dub Spencer & Trance Hill.
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