Album Notes

DUB OPERATING SYSTEM

Dos, the debut full-length album from the Culver City Dub Collective, unites an all-star cast in a captivating blend of Jamaican roots reggae, Afro-Cuban rhythms and West Coast bossa beats. It's an intoxicating breeze that rattles the brain in all the right places, a simmering soundtrack to a thousand road trips and hazy summer afternoons.

Released by Los Angeles-based Everloving Records (Cornelius, Metric, Inara George), Dos represents a truly "collective" approach to music making. The album features stunning appearances from such luminaries as Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Money Mark, Studio One vocalist Winston Jarret, and Bedouin Soundclash singer Jay Malinowski. Despite the group's amorphous nature, the Culver City Dub Collective (CCDC) is ultimately assembled, produced and creatively grounded by two individuals: drummer/songwriter Adam Topol and guitarist/engineer Franchot Tone.

Together, the two bonded over albums by bossa kings Tom Jobim and Joao Gilberto, Bristol minimalists Massive Attack, dub prophets King Tubby and Sir Coxsone Dodd, and indie-funk home taper Luther Russell. With a vision in place and a studio at their fingertips, Tone and Topol enlisted friends such as horn player David Ralicke (renowned for his work on Beck's Mutations and Midnite Vultures), Merlo Podlewski (Dan the Automator) and Koool G. Murder (The Eels) to bring the CCDC to life.

The result is Dos, an impeccable studio album that reflects the eclectic nature of the players. Joey Altruda's upbeat remix of "The Cave" and the melodic reggae of "Lel's Sweet Inspiration Dub" soon give way to the haunting "Waltz for Tomahawk," an exploration of the Gil Evans big band sound. On "Eloise (Baghdad Remix)," Ben Harper's snake charmer guitar coaxes the melody out of the sonic basket, while Jack Johnson contributes an infectious, radio-ready vocal take to "Crying Shame." And "Big Long Gun," featuring Winston Jarret, is just a curried-goat-and-Red-Stripe away from the dusty streets of Kingston.

At the end of a perfect day, Dos is the sound of friends coming together over a mutual love of classic reggae rhythms and 21st century sonics.