Early Risers is a collection of formative tunes from dublab’s musical family. We asked our favorite music makers to dust the cobwebs off their unheard rarities and demos. These are glimpses into the early phases of incredible talents. Early Risers was compiled especially for dublab donors. This music is seeing the light of day thanks to your generous support.

ARTIST – SONG – YEAR

01. Adventure Time & Headset – Do You Space Ace? (2003)

Notes: This was recorded by Adventure Time (Daedelus & Frosty) with Allen Avanessian of Headset way way back at Daedelus’ old home studio. It was a fun, space inspired evening with musical friends that included an upright bass line moment in time by Daedelus.

02. Alejandro Cohen – All the Money Is Gone (1991)

Notes: This song was recorded in my bedroom with a Casio keyboard and a double cassette recorder I used for overdubs. This was an early attempt at making experimental music, I was 16 at the time and my influences were Velvet Underground and the first Sonic Youth record, hence the title of the song, taken from a part of the lyrics that Kim Gordon sings. When I played it for my dad, he said: “this is not music???!!!”

03. Arabian Prince – Tokyo BBoy (1989)

Notes: I had some left over studio time and came up with this track. I never finished the second verse so never got back to it. I did the track after I performed in Japan earlier that year.

04. Baron Von Luxxury – Understood (2001)

Notes: When I started to write songs I was super into like stoner rock. Like Kyuss and Fu Manchu and Blue Cheer. I had this riff and I kept playing it while I was teaching myself Pro Tools, trying to figure out how to make drums sound good. Then one day my friend Summer Burkes was playing me this super cheesy europop song and I had an epiphany that I wanted to mix heavy guitars with light, fake sounding electronic beats. And I wanted to have kinda Goth-y, Sisters of Mercy vocals but for the lyrics to be sort of witty yet personal, and not pompously poetic. This song was the first and only ever version of that formula, but I’ve always loved it because its such a strange blend of elements, and the lyrics still make me laugh (“my pupils undergoing dilation…HUH!!!!”).

05. Black Church – Arch (2007)

Notes: Arch is dedicated to my friend Jon Gray. This song is when I first began singing, so the vocals are buried deep in reverb.

06. Brian LeBarton – Seagull’s Break (1998)

Notes: I was living in a house in La Crescenta when I made this track, I believe I was 19 and had just gotten a copy of Logic 4 and some drum programming software called ReBirth. I was living with my drummer/roommate, his girlfriend and brother, our dog Rooty, my then-girlfriend Amy and one of our friends was crashing on the couch. I was selling rugs (not drugs) on the weekends and had my weekdays free to mess around with MIDI and computers. I remember shutting the door to my bedroom for a few days as I was intent on discovering the capabilities of my new software. I still miss that old setup and the way it sounded. Here’s a picture from around that time, it was taken at a club on Schrader off Hollywood Blvd. called Club Vinyl, then it became Club 1650 now I don’t know or care what it’s called.

07. Butchy Fuego – Bumbleplight (1999)

Notes: This is the 1st entirely electronic song I ever made. Taken from my 1st solo LP on Pickled Egg Records

08. Campus Christy (PB Wolf, Steve Helmer, John Caampued, Vince Caffaro) – Nobody Knows Her (1986)

Notes: My friend John Caampued was the lead singer and keyboardist, I was plucking and thumping the electric bass, my buddy Steve (AKA Baron Zen) was on guitar, and Vince on drums. We were in high school and this was the only time I remember writing an “original” song (or even practicing). We recorded this in a garage through a boom box. John always tried to sing like Robert Smith, but the music is some weird 60’s surf thing and of course, I’m trying to be Fishbone or RHCP on the funky bass. And it just overall sucks. On so many levels.

09. Baron Zen/Chris Cut – Ice Ice Baby (1990)

Notes: My friend Steve and I were the most hardcore fans of obscure, NY rap in the late 80’s/early 90’s. All we listened to was Lakim Shabazz, Latee, Ultramagnetic, PRT, TDS Mob, Mobski, etc. I produced the beats for my own hip hop group called Lyrical Prophecy and we were the first San Jose rap group w/ a record out. Steve and I also DJed a hip hop show for college radio KSJS at San Jose State and the record labels used to call us to get our advice on what their artist’s next single should be. So when “Ice Ice Baby” came out, we just had to take advantage. I made the beat using internal keyboard and drum machine sounds on the Ensoniq EPS and we took turns Icing the track up. Then In Living Color did their spoof and it put ours to shame. Jim Carey got the look, the dance moves, etc.

10. Cineplexx – Dormir (1996)

Notes: Son de mi primer cassette de Cineplexx nunca editado. Son dos instrumentales de 1996. These are from my first cassette as Cineplexx. They are un-edited instrumentals from 1996.

11. Cineplexx – Mousse d’Chocolate (1996)

Notes: Son de mi primer cassette de Cineplexx nunca editado. Son dos instrumentales de 1996. These are from my first cassette as Cineplexx. They are un-edited instrumentals from 1996.

12. Daedelus – Casio Experience

Notes: An early song by founding dublab DJ Daedelus.

13. Diego Herrera – SurfLove (2008)

Notes: Recorded in high school. I played everything although maybe I shouldn’t have. Just an exercise in songwriting and harmony.

14. Diva Dompé – Grieve Us (2006)

Notes: This song is about heart break. My first big heart break. About trying to hold on when the other person already let go and wanting that person to at least grieve the relationship with me, but instead i pictured myself alone in an imaginary cemetery, no one to share the loss. sounds like i recorded it late at night at my parents house through the computer mic into garage band. You can even hear the hard drive spinning at the end. i used to record a lot of songs this way.

15. GB – Wrote This in a Lucid Dream (2005)

Notes: This track came about on its own during an interesting time in my life. I was really into exploring my dreams and wanting to get a grasp of some of the subconscious themes that would show up. I wanted to be able to bring some of those dream images and feelings into the waking world. This song and others I did at the time (which may or may not ever be shared publicly) were vehicles for expansion for me. There’s a certain hip hop aspect to the drums and how I put it all together but what also comes through is the wide variety of other types of music I was getting into at that time…European avant garde and tape collages, for example. I think this piece helped me to break free from my own constraints in terms of genre, sonic palette, and approach.

16. The Hightower Set (Greg Belson) – The Big Carbon Caper (1998)

Notes: Here’s a tune I produced that was released on Aquasky’s ‘Passenger’ label in 1998. I’d already released Hightower Set material with my buddy Nick Faber for the Black On Black label, and this marked my first foray into solo material. It was great working with studio legend Dave Wallace in cutting up these bass heavy beats that were critically acclaimed around various junctures of clubland!

17. The Hightower Set (Greg Belson) – Nickles and Diamonds (1998)

Notes: Here’s another tune I produced that was released on Aquasky’s ‘Passenger’ label in 1998. I’d already released Hightower Set material with my buddy Nick Faber for the Black On Black label, and this marked my first foray into solo material. It was great working with studio legend Dave Wallace in cutting up these bass heavy beats that were critically acclaimed around various junctures of clubland!

18. Jake Viator – Hortihouse 12_8 (2007)

Notes: Recorded late one night/early one morning during a long winter in Boston… Probably around the time I started listening to weirder records.

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19. Javelin – Mom Zone (2005)

Notes: I made Mom Zone using my Grandma’s recorder collection, all wood, filled with old woody smells. The progression occurred to me on the drive up to New Hampshire while listening to an AM Gold station.

20. Jonas Reinhardt – Chamonix (1994)

Notes: Stuck in a snowstorm in St. Moritz one afternoon in April of 1994, I performed an improv concert for children at a local ski school. It was recorded live to 1/8″ tape using a Nagra IV-S and a Grundig Sennheiser W1. Bass guitar by Fr.Edvard Baumgartner.

21. Marco Paul – cry of the night owl (1985)

Notes: My very first recording…circa 1985…on the first synthesizer i owned…korg poly-61m…influenced most likely in equal parts by new wave, late 70′s to early 80′s horror soundtracks, and probably Baba O’Riley. It was never released until now! – Marco Paul.

22. Matador (Gudrun Gut, Beate Bartel and Manon P. Duursma) – Pushing (1990)

Notes: Matador is the band I was in with Beate Bartel and Manon P. Duursma after and during Malaria! Beate was also part of Mania D., CHBB and Liaisons Dangereuses. Manon was in Malaria! as well. This track was released on our Ecoute album but it is not very known. I think this was made while we were still using an Atari computer! – Gudrun Gut

23. Monotax – I Can See So Far (2005)

Notes: This one is very old, for real :). It was originally an (unreleased) Elephant Pixel song. I wrote the song around 2005, but never recorded it. It was only heard in live shows, then finally recorded it in circa 2008/2009 with Monotax.

24. Nathan Lee Shafer (Half a Person) – Voice Like Churchbells (1990)

Notes: This featured me on guitars and bass.and my friend Shawn Wernette on vocals and drums. We were calling ourselves Half a Person after the Smiths song. It was recorded in my parents basement in Horton, Michigan thru a Radio Shack dj mixer and mostly Radio Shack mics. Overdubs were done by bouncing back and forth between 2 cassette decks. I thought a lot of this stuff was lost but as it turns out my old friend Harold “Bucky” LaRue who now lives in Columbus, Ohio still had the tape I sent him years ago. He did a nice job cleaning up the sound but I must say it came to him pretty rough in the first place.

25. Nathan Lee Shafer (The Vegamatics) – Hideaway A & P (1990)

Notes: This was me on guitar and bass, Shawn Wernette on vocals, and Mike Griggs on drums. Recorded probably in 1991 in my parents basement in Horton, MI. This time we were doing stuff under the name The Vegamatics, a name I had used for my own stuff going back to 1987 when I would have been 13 or 14.

26. Nike (Daniel Trudeau aka Pregnant) – ithapple (2005)

Notes: Nike was an old duo I was in right our of high school. “ithapple” was recorded on an 8 track tape recorder in my bedroom with the help of Michael RJ Saalman. We used shitty Yamaha keys and pots and pans. I think all we had as far as effects were bummer distortion pedals. hahahaa!

i thapple

i dont run your home. i will not run home

i dont why you dont leave me alone

does this seem wierd

i dont know

lesbian sister grandpa goodworthy

27. OK Ikumi – Secure Beneath The Watchful Eyes (2002)

Notes: I found this going through my old recordings. It’s an attempt at synthpop after purchasing my first ever synthesizer (a Korg DW-8000). Accompanied by a thrift store keyboard and recorded on a tape recorder. I don’t think I ever showed this to anyone.

28. Skillet (Jimmy Tamborello aka Dntel) – Typical (1989)

Notes: I think i was in 8th grade, maybe 9th. I used my dad’s 8-track cassette recorder, Roland R-8 drum machine, Roland D-50 keyboard and a sequencer. Samples were recorded and played back through a little tape recorder. My friend Marc sang and my dad played saxophone.

29. Take (Sweatson Klank) – Break Me Down (2003)

Notes: This song was made entirely on my old Ensoniq ASR 10 sampler. I almost put it on my 2005 release “Colossal” but in the end I felt it was a bit dated at the time. Funny listening back now, almost 10 years later, its still a cool track and i amazed at the detail and editing that I used to do all within the 1 inch x 3 inch screen of the ASR 10 sampler.

30. The One AM Radio (Hrishikesh Hirway) – Ohm’s Law (1999)

Notes: This song, “Ohm’s Law,” was recorded in March 1999 by Ted Leo on a 4-track in his loft apartment in a part of Boston’s Chinatown known as The Combat Zone. At the time, I didn’t yet have the name The One AM Radio. This song was the first thing I ever released, as one of two tracks on one side of a 7-inch.

31. The Urxed – Sunglasses For Your Mouth (2005)

Notes: Recorded 2005 for the first batch of shows i ever did live. Recorded in Micromat Sound Maker Pro 1.0 Bought in 1997 on two floppy discs, 16 bit max, no support past OS 8, and currently it’s existence is not even acknowledged by it’s manufacturer. I only stopped using it about a year ago. It totally rules. Grip a copy here.

32. Tom Chasteen – Blood Dub

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33. Tom Chasteen – Gypsy Cab Memory (1999)

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Cover designed by: Jesselisa Moretti