2012 has been a great 23rd year for Zion Train! A debut Caribbean festival performance (Madasound in Martinique) and a first Californian festival (SNWMF) were accompanied by a fifth Japanese tour and a fourth Mexican tour! Alongside European festival appearances at Rototom (main stage), Outlook (main stage) and Boomtown and many other events in 18 countries! 2011 saw the release of ‘The Very Best of Zion Train – Dub Revolutionaries’, on the highly respected world music label Nascente, home of recent releases from Skatalites, Manu Dibango, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
CD as well as the band’s tenth studio album ‘State of Mind’ . It was also a hectic touring year with a higlight being the 14 date ‘Dub Fiyah Tour’ of both US coasts undertaken by Perch alongside Rocker T as MC and melodica player. This was followed be Summer festivals in Europe then a 14 country European tour. Zion Train have been the undisputed leaders in the dub/dance genre for the past 2 decades, having previously been involved in the alternative and DIY underground culture craze in the UK during the 1990s, Zion Train were pioneers of the finest Roots Reggae music throughout the decade.
After a period of time with China Records, Zion Train reverted back to their original label – Universal Egg (owned by Perch), in 1999, and have been creating quality dub, electronica and world dance music ever since. They have also achieved other triumphs in between their ventures, such as the release of the world’s first ever promotional dub music video ‘Get Ready’ and the furore caused by the publicity campaign for their ‘Homegrown Fantasy’ album. 2007 saw the release of Zion Train’s long awaited ninth album ‘Live as One’. It was awarded a coveted Jamaican Reggae Grammy for ‘Best Dub Album’ and featured vocals from Earl 16, Tippa Irie, Dubdadda, YT, Marlene Johnson, Raiz and Lua. It was incredibly well received and the tour engendered enthusiastic responses in all territories visited. They continued this exciting pace into 2008/09 with shows in new regions such as Japan, Scandinavia and The Baltic states. The band also had huge success with festival appearances throughout the summer, the highlights in the UK included Arcadia Spectacular at Glastonbury and Wicker Man festival, also Reggae Geel in Belgium, Rototom Sunsplash in Italy and Reggae Sun Ska in France.
The act have always had an distinctively flexible line up, founded by Neil Perch (live dub mixing /production), in 1990 and now additionally consisting of Dubdadda (vocals), Hake (trumpet), and Richard Doswell (tenor sax). Zion Train live features a variety of renowned vocalists but primarily, the band are fronted by Dubdadda. After a period of time with China Records, Zion Train reverted back to their original label – Universal Egg (owned by Perch), in 1999, and have been creating quality dub, electronica and world dance music ever since. They have also achieved other triumphs in between their ventures, such as the release of the world’s first ever promotional dub music video ‘Get Ready’ and the furore caused by the publicity campaign for their ‘Homegrown Fantasy’ album. Zion Train’s vast array of music from the last 20 years still sounds fresh to today’s discerning ears. One of the most unique and enjoyable live dub acts on the planet, their use of dynamic onstage dub mixing whilst performing alongside acoustic instruments and exceptional vocalists, make Zion Train one of a kind.
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http://www.mixcloud.com/ziontrainindub/
http://www.youtube.com/user/neilperch
