Joss Jaffe & Music on Dub Mantra Remix
Dub Mantra Sangha Remix is a follow-up album created by California-based musician, producer, and intercultural collaborator Joss Jaffe. His latest collection features nine reimagined tracks from his critically acclaimed release Dub Mantra Sangha.
Community of Musicians
In keeping with sangha, which means community, Joss has assembled a medley of musicians and DJs including Jai Uttal, Donna De Lory, Dave Stringer, Suzanne Sterling, Silvia Nakkach, Wah!, DJ Taz Rashid, Robin Livingston, and Rara Avis.
“Working with all the different artists was a huge learning experience. I love seeing the ways these artists approach a piece of music with different avenues of creativity. Collaboration creates art that is bigger than any one artist, and makes it more complex and beautiful,” says Joss.
Electronica on Dub Mantra Remix
What I personally like most about this album is the mélange of subgenres of electronica it showcases, including EDM, ambient house, and dubstep. My favorite tracks include “Ganesha,” which has a reggaeton soundscape that keeps your feet moving and your spirit soaring. “Amaterasu” is a downtempo musical odyssey which elegantly weaves entrancing vocals and slow sensuous grooves.
Joss does a superb job of introducing world influences through integrating exotic instruments such as kora (African harp) featured on “Durga,” shakuhachi (Japanese flute) on “Amaterasu,” and sarode (Indian lute) showcased on “Moola Mantra.” This album is a blend of world rhythms, contemporary sounds, and mantras—our passport into deep grooves and sacred chants.
While Dub Mantra Sangha Remix is very much a delivery of modern sounds, Joss himself has roots in the classical Indian music tradition. He studied tabla, sarode, and vocal music under respected musicians Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. Joss has translated these elements into the remix album. Each track is an appreciation of mantras and an experience of mystic-grooves through portals of pure sonic pleasure.
Natalie Macam is a Yoga Teacher who teaches locally in Los Angeles: www.nataliemacam.com.