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The imaginative recordings produced by Mad Professor (born Neil Fraser 1955, Georgetown in Guyana) demonstrate a mastery of electronic gadgetry. Working from his own studios, Mad Professor has overseen more than two hundred albums including ground-breaking remixes for Massive Attack, Sade, and Pato Banton.
Born in Guyana, Fraser earned the Mad Professor tag from his childhood fascination with electronics. At the age of nine or ten he built a radio from scratch. Moving to London at the age of thirteen, Mad Professor continued to experiment with electronics. He bought a semi-professional reel-to-reel tape-recorder in 1975, but was unable to record in sync. This prompted him to purchase more and more equipment. By the following year, he had begun experimenting with dubbing.
Ariwa Studio
Over the years, Mad Professor's studio, which he named "Ariwa", after the Yoruban word for communication, has continued to evolve. The Studio and Record Label of the same name was started in 1979. Both were originally based in the south London suburb of Thornton Heath. In 1980 Ariwa moved to a much larger space in Peckham. During the four years that the studio remained at this site, Mad Professor found that the seemingly unsafe location cost him much of his clientele. After a brief return to the original house, the studio relocated to its present site in Whitehorse Lane, South Norwood.
The Ariwa website states that the building from which Mad Professor now operates includes the "Ariwa Sound" and "Are We Mad?" studios, as well as "two rehearsal rooms, one Preprogramming suite, and a dancing room".
Recordings
Mad Professor has worked with a huge number of reggae artists both from the UK and Jamaica. These include Jah Shaka, Pato Banton, Johnny Clarke, Lee Perry and Horace Andy. His musical styles have included roots reggae, dub, and lovers rock. Mad Professor is perhaps best known for his dub albums, which include 12 installments of the Dub Me Crazy series and 5 albums under the Black Liberation Dub banner. He has also remixed non-reggae artists such as Massive Attack (whose Protection he dubbed into No Protection) and punk band The Ruts. The Ariwa website lists collaborations with The Orb, The KLF, UB40, Jamiroquai, The Beastie Boys and Rancid. He continues to release records and perform live all over the world.
References
External links
- http://www.ariwa.com
- http://www.reggae-vibes.com/rev_sin/newgalax.htm - Album Review
- http://www.reggae-vibes.com/rev_sin/rewiredf.htm - Album Review
"Mad Professor"