Dubblestandart is a dub group from Austria, based in Vienna, that forms in 1988 under bandleader Paul Zasky. The current members listed are Ali Tersch and Robbie Ost.

Style and live work

The group is known for energetic live performances, which it describes as Hi-Energy or 21st Century Dub Dub. Its music sits across dub, reggae, electronic, downtempo and electro-dub, and it plays both as a live act and as a backing band.

Recording history

Dubblestandart makes 11 studio albums, along with 10- and 12-inch maxi CD releases and a range of remixes. Its catalogue includes remixes for Waldeck and ElodieO. The band also works with a number of other international artists and producers on past releases.

One of its best-known albums is Return From Planet Dub, which includes production by Lee “Scratch” Perry, Ari Up and Gudrun. The album features guest appearances from Lee “Scratch” Perry, Ari Up and film director David Lynch. Lynch appears on “Chrome Optimism”, a dub-reggae version of Jean Michel Jarre’s “Oxygen Part 4”.

Collaborations and performances

Dubblestandart performs and records with a wide range of artists, including Lee “Scratch” Perry, Ari Up, Dillinger, Topcat and Lily Allen. Other collaborators named in its history include Sly & Robbie, Mad Professor, Sounds From The Ground, Dreadzone, The Rootsman, Manasseh, Keith LeBlanc, Mark Stewart, Supermax, Subatomic Sound System, Jahdaan Black Amore, Doctor Marshall, Ken Boothe, Devon Denton and Vienna Scientists.

The group first works with Lee “Scratch” Perry in 1992. In 2009, Dubblestandart appears with Lee “Scratch” Perry and Ari Up at Central Park SummerStage in New York City.

Notable releases and labels

The album Egalica marks a more pop-oriented direction for the group. It is issued on Gig Records in Austria, a label associated with Markus Spiegel, who also makes the first productions with Falco. The album reaches two top ten positions in the Austrian Top 40 in 1994/95.

Recognition

Dubblestandart is discovered in 1992 by music journalist Walter Gröbchen after winning a DJ competition linked to Austria’s Ö3 single “Independend” cover radio show Musicbox. Since the mid-1990s, the group becomes increasingly popular and plays numerous concerts in Europe, Canada and the United States.