Dub Defender

Hello all, things are going well at the moment. Subterranean Studios is in full effect in Uptown Manhattan. Everything is plugged in and you can feel creativity in the air.

Yesterday was a great day, Aku (Dragons of Zynth) came over and laid down a track for one of my new singles that will come out as Dub Defender...my newest and freshest endeavor. It looks like I will be playing tenor sax with Dragons on the 16th at Brookyln Masonic temple too, which should be fun. On this track will also be a very talented friend of mine who is tearing up the Dancehall scene, MC ZULU. This week Zulu was featured on a worldwide release via Ninja Tune Records, Ghislain Poirier ft. MC Zulu.

The mixing board was plugged in for the first time yesterday with the help of Rich Greico (Westbound Train, Void Union)...

Working with a mixing board really changes everything. With pro tools and other similar programs, it is easy to obsess over what "looks right" on the screen, instead of actually feeling and listening. A whole new world has opened up and I am anxious to explore.

I will keep you all posted on what comes up next for me. Thanks for reading and have a productive day!

Steven Jess Borth II

p.s Included below is some music that just appeared out of thin air yesterday. (Aku on Rhodes, me on tenor and Rich playing trumpet.)

collaborate now.

Hello everyone. I am enjoying a nice break in northern California right now. For the past week I was in Lake Tahoe enjoying some fresh air thanks to the many beautiful trees in the area.

At the moment some great things are in the works. I have some Satori shows coming up next month and I also have been collaborating with many different artists.

A few months back Zach Hill (Hella, Team Sleep) called me into the studio do play sax on his new solo CD coming out next month. Below is a link to a write up about the project and a list of other musicians that are involved with his first solo endeavor to be released on Ipecac and Anticon (for vinyl)...
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/49991-no-age-marnie-stern-hella-dudes-on-zach-hill-solo-lp

Zach just did some artwork for a collaboration I am doing with an awesome artist from London called Afrikan Boy http://www.myspace.com/afrikanboy . The track also features Keziah Jones, another amazing artist from Nigeria. That will be released under the Recall Reality project very soon. You can check out some of the artwork. upper left picture

Gunnar Olsen (Bermuda, (k)nights on earth) has been working on Recall Reality with me recently too in his summer sublet in Hell's Kitchen. During breaks we go up on the roof and relax in the sun...pretty nice. :)

Dr. Echo sent me back some tracks that I had him mix and I have decided to try and always work with him because he makes everything sound exactly how i dream it should and many times he goes way beyond those expectations.

I have been a musician all of my life (starting in 4th grade) and it feels good to know that over the years I have met so many talented artist's that are into the idea of working with each other. I am lucky to have met so many great people that are true artist's!

I hope everyone is doing well and I will keep you posted as I keep on working.

Steve Borth II

NYC living

Recently I took a trip back to California after living in New York for about 4 months. I realized how much the west coast is really a part of me and that I do love California very much. My goal is to get back there someday.
For now there is a lot of work to be done here on the east coast, many shows to be played, albums to be recorded, etc.

Yesterday I sent audio files of my songs to Justin Dehart a.k.a Dr. Echo, www.aniccarecords.com/Doctor%20Echo%20Home%20Page.html
so he can mix the EP that will come out on Green Owl Records. It is really great when you trust someone enough artistically, that you can send them your music and you know that when you get it back it will have taken on a new form through someone else's hands....literally. I worked down here in Subterranean Studios (Uptown Manhattan) for the past week prepping the files, adding last minute keyboard parts and coming up with new vocal ideas that really brought the songs together.

This whole process has been years in the making and to be honest I think when it is released it will be that much better because there has been so much refinement.
Going through the songs I have recorded with friend's over the years I realized how many people have been a part of this project. It is truly amazing the support that I have as an artist.
I also started thinking of the people who have played live with me and have taken their own time and sometimes their own money (sorry guys), to get to a show and experience live music with me. In the end after every tour they have told me that they had a great experience working with me. I really have some talented and loving friends.

One last thought. I have been reading a book called "Proust was a Neuroscientist" It is a truly great read and has opened my mind to science and a whole new way of looking at how we function as humans.

Talk to me if you see me.
Steve Borth II

Thanksgiving with the Family

Computer's are such an interesting phenomenon. It is so easy to keep searching and searching, hoping to find that one thing that has been missing from your life. It seems to me that it is almost worse than being addicted to Television.
The fact that you can go into a very detailed search for information makes it much more appealing than trying to find a show that may be interesting on Tv. The internet is interactive like a choose your own ending book.
These are my thoughts on the matter at the moment.
Steve