Ben Wa was an American electronic band from Oakland, California comprising Anthony "House" Chaba (programming and bass guitar) and Eric Ware (programming and keyboards), who had worked together before in bands such as Limbomaniacs, Big Janitor, and MCM & the Monster.Ben Wa biography on Allmusic.
After releasing a four track EP 1 full of breaks and electro in 1998 they began recording their debut album Devil Dub featuring guest musicians such as guitarists Buckethead and M.I.R.V., drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia and turntablist DJ Disk, plus Scientist live on stage for the release party in January 1999. Chaba and Ware had met Scientist when opening for Bill Laswell's Praxis in San Francisco.Michelle Goldberg: Ben Wa's debut CD, 'Devil Dub,' offers classic old-school dub. In: Metro Silicon Valley, January 7, 1999.
Reviews for Devil Dub were positive with URB calling it "one of the most crucial records of any genre released this year" and Michelle Goldberg of Metro Silicon Valley stating: "The lazy pace is lulling, but like Tricky's music, it's more edgy and creepy than ethereal." Rick Anderson of Allmusic gave 4,5 out of 5 stars, writing: "This is remarkably pleasant stuff."Rock Anderson: Review of Devil Dub on Allmusic. Noah Wayne of online music magazine Splendid wrote: "It's campy, it's twisted, it's dub!"Noah Wayne: Review of Devil Dub . In: Splendid, November 9, 1998.
Two of their tracks, "Re-Dub" and "Ephedream", were included on Laswell's releases Reanimator: Black Market Science and Tetragrammaton - Submerge.Reanimator - Black Market Science on Discogs.Tetragramaton - Submerge on Discogs. They also contributed tracks to a few other dub compilations. on official website.
Another EP called Elektro-Krazy followed in 2000, again concentrating on breaks and electro and described on Epitonic as "the gap between Detroit techno and funky dance floor breaks in a most ingenious way".Ben Wa on Epitonic. Their next album Disciples Of Retro-Tech was released in 2001 as a double vinyl and single compact disc, featuring explorations of pure electro and synth-pop terrain. Stephen Cook of Allmusic wrote: "The hybrid mix is so inventive that suspect pastiche and old-school chic absolutely do not figure into it". He gave the album 4 out of 5 stars.Stephen Cook: Review of Disciples Of Retro-Tech on Allmusic. Daiv Whaley of music newspaper Hear/Say concluded his review: "This is cool, accessible music for every child of man and machine. File under 'electro-funk,' file under 'fantastic.'"Daiv Whaley: Review of Disciples of Retro-Tech. In Hear/Say, November 2001.
Discography EP 1 (12" EP on Black Hole Records, 1998) Devil Dub (CD album on Black Hole Records, 1998) Elektro-Krazy (12" EP on Malvado Records, 2000) Retro-Tech EP (12" EP on Stray Records, 2001) Disciples Of Retro-Tech (Double vinyl and single CD album on Stray Records, 2001)
Devil Dub
Devil Dub is the 1999 debut album by San Francisco Bay Area band Ben Wa consisting of "Dr. Ware" and "House"(Limbomaniacs, Tommy Guerrero, Buckethead's Giant Robot, MCM & the Monster).
After forming in 1997, contributing to several compilations and releasing an EP in 1998, Devil Dub was the first full-length release by the duo. House sums up:
Guest musicians finally included avant-garde guitarist Buckethead, drummer Brain (with Primus at this time) and DJ Disk (from the Invisibl Skratch Piklz).
A critics from URB magazine called it "one of the most crucial records of any genre released this year".
Track listing
Personnel Buckethead – guitar, neuro-pulse guitar-activated Larynx Modeler DJ Disk – turntable, orange Bear Brain – beats M.I.R.V. – broken guitar Adrian Isabell – percussion Dr. Ware – keyboards, programming House – bass, programming Dow W. Patten – preacher Recorded at Tyrell Studios, Oakland CA Produced by Ben Wa.
Notes Ben wa humbly acknowledged the following for inspiration: Scientist, Mad Professor, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, King Tubby, Sly and Robbie, Bill Laswell and Kraftwerk.
References
External links
as archived on July 28, 2009. GearTalk: Ben Wa. In: IGN, April 4, 2001. Chris Baty: Ben There, Done That. In: SF Weekly, October 17, 2001. Cleofus Williams: , gogorilla.com Michelle Goldberg on the album Interview by Martijn Busink, 2002