Words by DJ Gravy
Just to get in on a Halloween vibe, check out the ultimate Dub-meets-Horror theme record, Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires. Click here to download.
Scientist’s themed records always had wickedly sparse dub versions with a super-dope album cover relating to the title but, in this case, there are actually some pretty funny Vampire/ Zombie-esque samples in the intros of certain especially dark, spine-tingling, minor-key dub riddims. The record’s liner notes claim it was recorded Friday the 13th, June, 1981, which is cool but June 13, 1981 was a actually a Saturday, adding an extra air of mystery to the recording
Some of the joints off this record were featured in the soundtrack to the mega popular video game, Grand Theft Auto 3. This was clearly to Scientist’s discontent, as he was not cut in to receive any royalties, and had major moral issues with his music being the score to a game he felt glamorized violent behavior. He ended up suing the label that licensed the tracks in a US court. His role as a dub mixing engineer was challenged and belittled in court.
But the issue was brought up that this style of dub mixing IS the record, hence the reason it is credited as a Scientist record. The label argued that the producer, Henry “Junjo” Lawes, should get the royalties. It just so happens that Lawes is deceased and the label owned the masters! Apparently Scientist didn’t complete his task of ridding ALL the world of the evil curse… of the vampires!