Frost & Wagner • Remixes

When it comes to releasing the freshest sounds in Soul, Dub and Reggae, Sonar Kollektiv can trust the flair of DANIEL W. BEST, long-time partner of JAZZANOVA. Besides being the co-organizer of the legendary „Innercity“ parties in Berlin's Weekend, DANIEL BEST established in 1999 the label Best Seven that concerns itself with the interface between Soul and Reggae. He already displayed his great A&R skills over the years by releasing the works of FAT FREDDYS DROP, EVA BE, CHAKA DOMU, KABUKI, PAUL ST. HILAIRE, JOE DUKIE or THE BLACK SEEDS amongst others. Moreover BEST heightened the label’s profile with 2 Best seven selections compilations (SBCD0005 and SBCD0006) featuring the crème de la crème of contemporary Soul, Dub and Reggae.

FROST & WAGNER are a long time cohort of DANIEL BEST and part of the Berlin Reggae scene since the late 80s. They got to know each other in the Berlin reggae band GROWING TREE in the late eighties. FROST played the keyboard and WAGNER was drummer. In these early years they refined their skills and learnt how to incorporate other influences such as Soul, Jazz, Dub and Hip hop into their sound. They really started to produce music as a duo in 2002 and thanks to FROST’s brother BARNEY MILLAH, who is one of Berlin’s most famous Reggae DJs, they met up with DANIEL BEST, who prompty enrolled them in his Best Seven staple.

Besides their own music productions, notably their wonderful Big Disgrace EP (SB7016) that came out on Best Seven in 2006, FROST & WAGNER made a name for themselves as very successful remixers. Indeed whereas many artists and DJs consider remixing as a form of music producing, whose only aim is to make people dance, FROST & WAGNER see remixing as a form of Art in its own right. They really enjoy using the input of other artists as a basis for a new song. From there they innovate and give a different perspective to the original tune. For FROST & WAGNER there’s no rule to follow to make a good remix. Freedom of creation is the only thing that really matters. Their very personal touch is widely appreciated amongst fans of reggae and dub community and even crossed over the roots communiry, as they also worked with renowned artists such as Downbeat heroes TOSCA aka RICHARD DORFMEISTER and RUPERT HUBER of G-stone Recordings fame, GALLIANO and 2 BANKS OF FOUR mastermind EARL ZINGER and Soul Queen JOY DENALANE and BEN WESTBEECH amongst many others and with labels such as G-Stone Recordings, Buback, Sonar Kollektiv, INFRACom,! and Brownswood Recordings to name but a few. Being probably one of FROST & WAGNER’s biggest fan, DANIEL BEST couldn’t let all those Dub-Reggae gems sleep on vinyl anymore and decided to re- release all of them on a very special compilation retracing their music career of the duo from 2002 up to now.

Remixes (SBCD0009) starts off with FROST & WAGNER’s Torch Of Freedom. Originally written by CLEVELAND WATKISS, this song has been rearranged by MATTHIAS VOGT’s jazz band project RE:JAZZ in 2002. FROST & WAGNER transformed it one year after into a wonderful slice of Jazz-roots Reggae that features the lovely voice of Soul diva JOY DENALANE. It is followed by She Walks Alone of Best Seven’s own EVA BE. Their treat gives a new intensity to the original tune that appears on EVA BE’s debut album Moving Without Travelling (SB CD0007/SB 7020). Their remix of TAXI’s A Certain Something highlights once again the charming voice of singer JO LAUNDY with laid-back drum parts and beautiful strings arrangements. FROST & WAGNER certainly have a thing for female vocals but male voices are equally inspiring for them and they prove it an impressive remix of TOSCA’s Superrob that features the soulful organ of EARL ZINGER and with remixes of BEN WESTBEECH’s So Good Today originally released on GILLES PETERSON’s Brownswood Recordings, of KABUKI and CLEVELAND WATKISS’s Speed Of Sound and of JAN DELAY’s Klar, all present on the compilation. From DEYAMPERT’s The Sweetest Desilusion to ONEJIRU’s We Carry On over to MATTHIAS VOGT TRIO’s The Look Into Your Eyes, all the remixes of FROST & WAGNER have these compelling Dub- Reggae grooves that makes you feel good after a few seconds and makes you dance after a few others. The crowning glory for Berlin’s Reggae duo comes with their remix of Everything of Sonar Kollektiv’s own CLARA HILL. They give a new depth to CLARA’s voice and build a soothing atmosphere around it with an extra groove that feels like the sun shining lightly over your head. In eleven tracks FROST & WAGNER will show you that remixers are wonderful artists too and with The Remixes (SBCD0009) Best Seven serves you once again eleven fragments of heaven.

Grégoire Marino