[7"] Digikiller - Mai 2013 (DKR)

[Don Ton]

T'inquièt' Nohay "wikireggae", ça fait longtemps que j'ai arrêté de rêver.
Je disais juste que j'apprécie "la dizaine" d'unreleased qu'ils ont sortit et quand ils le peuvent represser à partir des bandes ce qui est le cas de cette dernière sortie des Invaders.
1luv.

[Nohay]

quand ils le peuvent represser à partir des bandes

je comprend bien, j'en suis un fervent partisan aussi.


ps: j'ai rien d'un wikireggae, je suis juste un fouteur de me*de avec des avis bien tranchés... Plutôt "wicked reggae" je dirai en fait et j'y suis pour rien la dedans, c'est les jams qu'il faut remercier.

[bondreggae]

just to respond quickly to my biggest fan Nohay who never ceases to point out how he thinks i am such an insatiable craven who deals only in "fashion ripress" rather than simply "putting out great rare & in-demand records" which is the entire point of what we do and not some hidden follow-fashion agenda. yes, i often play tunes we reissue in my sessions...guess why? because i like them and think they are good. what a sinister motive!

people who endlessly prattle on about "hype tunes" and "fashion tunes" only do so to try and set themselves apart and paint a picture like they are superior in knowledge and above it all. it's cliche and boring ego stroking. and it's just as tedious as some of these young guys who throw money at any rare and decent sounding digital tune they've never heard of and create what you perceive as "hype", which is really just like the same 5 rich kids competing against each other on ebay, and the same 20 people talking about it on msg boards after. the world is small now, and the people who care about this stuff is even smaller. when i start reissuing some junk like winston fergus - in ting sound (random tune that came to mind), PLEASE call me a "fashion ripresser" (no doubt Winston Fergus does not have his 2-track mastertape anymore )

anyway for all your bluster and arm chair expertise, and long monthly posts here where you reveal all my dirty secrets to everyone, let me point out a few mistakes -
1. the mcwoner is pressed from the original stamper. (so much for your golden ears). maybe pay as close attention to the matrix numbers and the look of the pressings as you to do your campaign against me, and you'd notice a few like this.
2. yes, the angela prince & the patrick andy were both remastered from vinyl. the tape(s) does not exist for those. also just b/c they are on the same rhythm does not mean they would be on the same tape, not by a long shot.

i am glad though to see that you have accepted the reality of master tapes. they mostly do not exist, and that's a fact. you cited many of the main reasons why. i guess where we truly disagree is that you seem to feel that anything not from tape is not worth doing (or maybe even listening to), which is utter comedy to me. as the NB on our site says, TAPES ARE USED WHENEVER POSSIBLE. end of story.

lastly, i fully expect some people can listen and hear the difference of what's from tape and what's not. it would be insulting the intelligence of our audience to assume otherwise.

that said -
Stop Point reissues = NOT FROM TAPE
Sir Collins reissues = 99% FROM TAPE

is that clear enough for you? do you want a warning label on it, like a cigarette pack?

[bondreggae]

also i'm not sure if something is being lost in the translation, you might not be saying this, but i have NEVER REMIXED a previously released tune. the only type of tape that we would use is the finished 2-track master, same as would have been used to make the stamper back in the day. putting out new mixes of previously issued stuff from multi-track tapes is a fraud (let alone too costly for the reissue business) and pointless. nobody including myself wants to hear some random new 2013 mix of something.

however you need to realize that even using the same master tape, you will not get a record that sounds EXACTLY the same as the original, because you are then cutting that master using different equipment, a different engineer, etc.

so the 'sound' with vary slightly, but not the mix. hope you understand what i mean, i think you do and perhaps the translation is confusing what you were saying, and/or you're using the word REMIX when it's not what you mean.

>>Ils s'en foutent de trouver des bandes, ce qui leur importe c'est de sortir du gros son qui buzz. Dans un sens c'est compréhensible et on se réjouit de voir ressortir des gros killers, mais certains points dans leur démarche sont douteux (fashion vibes, hype tunes, moyens misent en oeuvre insuffisant; priorité à la quantité pas la qualité; priorité au buzz plus qu'à l'honnêteté).<<

that is perhaps the most insulting part of your post. i can only laugh at the idea that we "do not care", because i assure you have NO IDEA the amount of work that goes into doing this, and no sane person who "didn't care" would do all this. also by your logic here we would only pass your morality test by putting out a handful of tunes a year, from master tapes, and they'd have to be tunes that nobody wants, that way we would pure of heart, away from the "fashion hype thing" and only accepting of the utmost quality. a very funny joke. good thing i don't care about the moral judgement of a stranger.

also, re: the part where you say, "i can do it, you can do it, anyone can do it", as if this exposes some ugly truth. it's ironic, because you're almost exactly right. that's one of the reasons i started doing this! because nobody else was, and i knew i could. (i said so in a published interview on united reggae website).

[Nohay]

I think you interpret my words just as badly as I interpret your approach. This is contradictory to lecture me and judge my tone, while doing the same thing, right? Want to go out big killers on your catalog and choose buzz tunes is hype. The word hype is not necessarily negative, as the word fashion. It's all about perspective and it seems difficult to deny that you are looking for pieces that will make a buzz, it is easy to understand as musically and commercially. It's better than going out of tunes that are not essential, I agree.

Where I do not always agree are: the output price, quality, and sometimes the lack of transparency. It's a shame to have to look like an idiot to get more information, but it's not a problem for me.

I do not deny the benefits of repress, but if you do not agree with me on the fact that repress will never be heavy as an original, it's strange. Especially when you are an "expert" too and even a professional now, so I understand that you're proud of your work, but it's still substitutes who will never have the history and audio content of the original work audiophile. It's my points of view, it's your right to refuse it.

In fact, the debate is more complex than it seems. About Mcwoner, the matrix was little bit damaged so and the sound is dirty on a new disc, it is very sad and frustrating. So there is not no miracle solution.
Now the critics can not only be positive, it would be too easy and hypocritical. I prefer the openness and trade point of view, don't you?

Thank you for your answer, good luck.

ps: sure i understand what you say so you understand my point of view too, it will never sounds as the original thats my problem. Sorry if i'm boring on this point. and to comfort you, yes i'm a great fan till the beginning of your release, i love your selections because you're 80s addikt as me and i have some DKr at home and i want more, but not for all tunes. Some are too important for me so i prefer find the originals one... I think you can understand that.

[bondreggae]

quick reply just so you see we are not totally enemies -

1. the price - i said this on another forum the other day, but we cannot be possibly selling records any cheaper. if you think the price is a gouge, you simply do not understand the business. also might i remind that we sell wholesale only, to everyone at the same price, and RETAIL price (which i'm sure you're looking at) varies depending on the seller and their own costs/markup.

2. transparency. here i am, talking to you about it and answering questions. how many label owners do this? i can't think there's more transparency than this.

3. of course original is better. Duh. almost nothing can match them in all aspects. i'm a record collector for almost 20 years. on this we can AGREE! however i don't think that makes represses (whether from tape or not) so horrible as you paint them. the original will always be the original. all we can do now is strive to make the best quality REISSUE of that music that is possible. however, that is often less than perfect. just read the NB on our website, it's a simple conclusion!

i am always open for discussion but accusation is different from discussion, and too often you are not "criticizing" more than just accusing, and also mostly it's based on your MORAL judgement of my intentions, which is of course, offensive to me. if you want to simply say "these records sound like shit", that's cool. but when you start fabricating things about why we do this, and we don't care about this, and blah blah, that's not criticism, that's just baseless moral judgement, based on your (what i think are) unrealistic expectations.

ANYWAY, let's get to a more important topic...did you get the unreleased mixes Steve Knight 10" which is FROM MASTER TAPE? i thought you would be a great fan of this one. i will post a picture of the tape here if you like, maybe that will make you feel better?

[Nohay]

we are not totally enemies

we're not, be sure.

1. the price

i know that, Onlyroots and you explain very well why prices are more expensive now, so i understand. But as you said, 20 rich people fight on ebay for a collector and repress become expensive for all. I'm shocked because collecting reggae now became rich people passion/activity and i think it's totally the opposite that reggae music was designed for and this contradiction makes me sad.

2. transparency. here i am, talking to you

true and i appreciate a lot, more than you i think and i probably dont deserve this.

3. of course original is better.

so we're agree on all points and we think the same. I don't think repress is shit, just different and substitutes, thats all.

i am always open for discussion but accusation is different from discussion, and too often you are not "criticizing" more than just accusing

sorry for the offense. the thing that you need to know is: i have many point of view. You just see the negativ one, but be sure my thoughts are not just like that. I have many others point of view on your work and i promise one day i will make a big positive tribute to your work. I did that on that forum two years ago but you didnt see that unfortunately, i was totally mad to see what you released.

ANYWAY, let's get to a more important topic...did you get the unreleased mixes Steve Knight 10" which is FROM MASTER TAPE? i thought you would be a great fan of this one. i will post a picture of the tape here if you like, maybe that will make you feel better?

for sure, i was the first to comment (positively) the release on your facebook topic few days ago, my name is Yohan Laronde, i'm the same guy...
I agree with you Steve Knight is a great artist and he didnt put out so much tunes so it's a great pleasure to have one more. I think my fav is the palmer, but all three are good and the midnight riders was unreleased... I think the true amazing part of your work are those unreleased you put out, that is the point where we are very lucky to have you.


finally i don't know you and your personnality, so i won't judge you in anyway, i just talk about your work.
that i know: you have wonderful 80s taste and for that i respect you very much, you seems to be a heavy selector/collector and thats all i need to know about you. I love your mix on radio, i love the digital deep pockets mix.
And about your work, criticize (or accused) doesnt mean that it's the only thing i think about; i'm sure you live a beautiful adventure, i'm sure artist are winner too in that story and many collectors are happy to buy your records; so it's good for all. You keep reggae alive, you help the community etc.

big up.

[bondreggae]

new theme song for this thread -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psR8D8MNz1Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;




respect and thanks for the kind words AND the harsh words! haha. appreciated.

and yes, the best part is to meet the producers and artists and learn from them! although a few turn out to be not the nicest people, most of them are kind and interesting, and that is the best reward.

[anbessa]

new theme song for this thread -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psR8D8MNz1Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Who is the serpent ?

[bondreggae]

LOL
didn't consider the lyrics, just the title really

maybe i should have just picked a standard peace treaty tune

hahaha