The mad master of DUB meets Dalua at the Circo. Brazil is in Mad Professor's future projects!

Today Rio welcomes producer Mad Professor (born Neal Fraser). He came to Brazil especially for the shows launching the album "Mad Professor meets Marcelinho Dalua in a dubwise style" (Deckdisc), which takes place at Circo Voador at 9 p.m. The "mad professor" was born in Guyana, lives in London, and usually dubs other people's records, as he did with Massive Attack. Besides working for others, he releases his own records (none of them released in Brazil, but a deal with Deck will end that gap). Mad Professor is one of the synonyms of dub today. Dub is a version of reggae in which the songs are extended and the instruments are doubled and enriched with echo. Although tired (he was coming from Venezuela), he seemed excited and happy to be back in Brazil.

ON THE PHONE

"It's great to be here. Even the sun is shining." About his work on Dalua's record, he said he was not 100% satisfied. But he stressed that this is common. "I was 90% satisfied. The difference between this and other records I've produced is that the Brazilian sound has more rhythm. That also made me get to know Brazil's music more. It was one of the reasons why I got interested in the project. It's dub reggae with a Latin flavor."

PROCESS IN PARTS

"First we worked at Deck's studio when I was here in February, with Marcelino (he can't say Marcelinho). Then I finished the job in my studio in London. I really liked his work, because it points to the future by taking songs and rhythms from the past and giving them a different direction. Mad Professor often recreates records for so many other artists that he can’t even remember the names to cite some: "Ah, man, it's hard to remember, I have to look at my bio (laughs). But I've done many in recent years. Sometimes I redo an entire album, sometimes only the remixes."

CRITICISM OF CURRENT JAMAICAN REGGAE

For him reggae is going through a good moment in almost the whole world, except in Jamaica and the United Kingdom: "Right now, it's the strongest international music, more than we imagine. You don't hear it on the radio, but if you feel the people's pulse you'll see it's there, in many countries. There are festivals in Italy, France, Russia, Japan, with several new local bands. But there aren't that many reggae bands today in Jamaica and in the UK. Bands have been replaced by DJs," he says, with a certain melancholy in his voice. The "professor" refers to dancehall, a new style of reggae that doesn’t use bands and whose lyrics speak of violence and prejudice, like gangsta rap. "As music, I think dancehall is valid, because you can't stop the evolution of music and people, but in terms of lyrics and ideology, personally I believe in music with positive messages." With so much work for others, Mad Professor has gone years without releasing his own record. But he said the next one will have Brazilian influences and will be released here. "Of course that will show up on my next albums, especially because I already remixed Chico Science and Cidade Negra, I already have some background. I haven't had time to make my own record because I’ve been traveling a lot and doing things for others.