They strike back with another disc of fresh sounds dubbed to perfection; featuring Fada Dougou and Zulu on guest spots, this album boasts 13 tracks of brand new material exploring a variety of styles steeped with roots.

13 MP3 Songs
REGGAE: Dub, REGGAE: Roots Reggae



Details:
The Drastics are modern roots music. Their sound fits as easily in a Kingston dancehall as it does in an artist's loft-party in the warehouse district. Though primarily classified as a reggae group, The Drastics embrace many styles of music both live and in the studio. This can be heard in their songs which draw from roots Jamaican music, hip hop, hard-bop jazz, afro-beat, dancehall, as well as folk music from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Take this powder keg cocktail of styles, add the pulse of gritty everyday urban living and you get one explosive sound. Not playing into any gimmicks or compromising to trends ("The Drastics deserve much credit for moving deep into unchartered territories" - All Music Guide) The Drastics have been consistantly rocking crowds for three years from NYC to LA and everywhere in between ("dub masters, The Drastics ... never fail to put on a killer party" - TimeOut Chicago).

The Drastics first full-length album, "Premonition", was released in 2005 to great expectation on Chicago's JumpUp! Records. The album featured guest vocalists Craig Akira Fujita (Pressure Cooker, Joint Chiefs, 10 ft Ganja Plant), King Django (Stubborn All-Stars, The Slackers, host of Jamaican musicians), Dr. Ring Ding (The Toasters, Senior All-Stars) as well as several local underground talents. The record's raw dirty sound quickly solidified their authenticity while their innovative approach to the music set them apart as leaders of a new school of reggae-based music. ("... musically inventive and steeped in a variety of styles ... know how to use horns and melodica to dub it up real fine" - Beat Magazine)

With their second release, "Chicago Massive", The Drastics undertook their biggest endeavor to date. "Chicago Massive" is a 2 disc album boasting 27 tracks and 24 friends sharing the mic in a variety of styles. The record starts with Chicago beatmaker The Graduate (Big Youth, KRS-ONE, Lutan Fyah, Illuminati Congo) earnestly confessing "this stuff is nice, real nice ... I still can't get over how hard that first disc is" as the hard-ass opening track drops on the unsuspecting listener. Guest musicians on the first disc include Chicago reeds player virtuoso Charles Gorczynski (Silences Sumire, Leaves, Salamander, Video Gum Culture, etc), beat makers Heavy Rotation, and trumpeter Rich Graiko (Westbound Train). Guest vocalists include King Django, Dr. Ring Ding, Fada Dougou, Zulu (Akon, Kool Keith), Dayna Lynn, Todd Hembrook (Deals Gone Bad), and Corey Dixon (formerly of The Zvooks). Selected cuts off this record were also treated to drastic remixes by upcoming IDM/Electroacoustic duo Silences Sumire.

Now on their third release (set to drop in late August 2007), The Drastics show no sign of slowing down. Refining their cutting-edge sound, "Waiting" comes hard and to-the-point. The album drops a perfect mixture of fresh material expanding from dub to vocal to jazz-centric improvisation carrying a maturity of sound only those who have paid their dues can manifest.