Dubtribe Sound System

Throuhgout the 1990s Dubtribe Sound System established a devoted following amid the West Coast house scene becaue of its live performances, record releases, and self-operated label, Imperial Dub Recordings. Comprised of Sunshine and Moonbeam Jones, the male-female duo met in San Francisco's thriving early-'90s house scene and soon after began making music together as Dubtribe. The duo's debut full-length, Sound System (1994), became a huge success, particularly the tracks "Sunshine's Theme" and "Mother Earth." The latter especially became a success, expanding Dubtribe's following beyond the West Coast. The duo began touring extensively, making its name more as a touring act than a recording one, in fact. Despite the relentless touring, Dubtribe did continue to release a steady output of music, mostly 12" EPs on its self-operated label, Imperial Dub Recordings. In 1999 the duo approached mainstream crossover success with Bryant Street, a high-profile album for Jive Electro released during the height of the late-'90s electronica boom. Following the hype, Dubtribe quietly compiled two double-disc archival releases in 2000 -- Archive, Vol. 1: Rare and Deleted, a collection of dancefloor tracks, and Archive, Vol. 2: Ambient 1994, a collection of tracks from the duo's Selene Songs era. The duo released these collections on Imperial Dub and hoped to attract the legion of new fans drawn in by Bryant Street. A year later, in 2001, Dubtribe released "Do It Now," its most popular dancefloor track to date. The track became so popular that the duo released an EP of remixes and one of versions. In the wake of this success the duo mixed Dubtribe Sound System Vs. Chillifunk Records: Heavyweight Soundclash (2002), a 15-track mix showcasing the British house label. ~ Jason Birchmeier,...