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MEGATIVE /

TOUR / DISC

STYLE(S) 

REGGAE, DUB, PUNK

ORIGIN

US

BOOKING AREA

WORLD

CONTACT

ALEX / +33 (0)6 08 37 81 44

AVAILABLE

2022-2023

BIO

MEGATIVE is a collective of New York-based musicians, artists, and producers who create dark and deep dub-punk music heavily influenced by the late ’70s British subculture sound.

Their debut album received high praise from Télérama, which named it one of the best albums of 2018: “What strikes you about Megative’s first album is an incredible sound, a subtle blend of everything we love: The Clash, King Tubby, The Specials, Gorillaz, Massive Attack… Hip-hop beats, thunderous basslines, punky guitar skanks, rude boy choruses, dub effects, reggae toasting, mariachi trumpet… create a state of emergency, an insurrectional atmosphere… The ultimate album to listen to before the end of the world.”

The group is currently collaborating with members of the 1980s supergroup Big Audio Dynamite, including founding members Mick Jones (The Clash), Don Letts (iconic DJ and filmmaker), and Greg Roberts (Dreadzone). They are also working with contemporary reggae royalty such as singer Soom T and producer Gaudi. A collaboration with the legendary American band Fishbone is also on the horizon. MEGATIVE is led by producer Gus Van Go (known for his work with Arkells, Whitehorse, Wintersleep, Les Cowboys Fringants, Les Trois Accords) and Likeminds, a New York hip-hop producer duo who have previously produced albums for Big Flo & Oli.

These three are joined by a group of like-minded musicians, including Jamaican singer Screechy Dan, co-founder of the Ruff Entry Crew (the Wu-Tang Clan of New York dancehall reggae), Jonny Go Figure (co-founder of the Deadly Dragon Sound System), and recently Alex Barbeau, a punk musician from Montreal on vocals and guitar.

MEGATIVE’s universe evokes an “electro-noir-lounge-cinema” aesthetic: swirling sirens borrowed from reggae sound systems, dark lyrics touching on the fears of our time and the fleeting nature of time itself. Their music, blending Two-Tone, UK punk, Jamaican dub, and modern hip-hop, is the result of this rich fusion of styles and eras.

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