Dubokaj's LP 'Alpine Dub' dropped recently on Mouthwatering Records. We caught up with him to hear more on his recent work and future plans! Be prepared for a Dubokaj Monday Mixtape

It says here, in your bio, that you were a yodeler in your past life – is that correct?
I really tried hard, but finally after all these years of working on my technique I still didn't get my yodeler pass. Just kidding. And if that's really in my bio, then something went terribly wrong! But in the nineties I used to rap and sing in a Hip Hop crossover band.

So you went  from freestyling over mountain echoes to Dub, huh?
The mountains kicked my ass, they're powerful. I lost my voice, so I started listening to and soaking up the all the natural echoes and reverbs that they produce, instead. I live a stones throw away from some really beautiful mountains.

Lucky man!
Whenever I want I can go there. Switzerland is a small country, everything is pretty close by.  Same thing goes for music.That's why this project is such a genre hybrid, it takes a bit from Electronica, Pop, and of course, Dub. For the record though, Dub is more of a technique and an approach for me, than a musical genre. I'm just really into stripping things down and remixing my own songs.

I'm curious, is there a scene for this type of music in Switzerland?
Hmmm. There is a Dub scene, of course. I think they have a thriving Soundsystem scene in Geneva and also in St. Gallen. The thing is that I didn’t really leave my studio for a while, for a few years now, so I'm not sure what's really going on. I know that there's a strong Electronic music scene happening right now and that a lot of the artists are also into experimenting and creating genre hybrids.

Funny enough Austrians used to champion this sound in the late nineties and early 2000s with Kruder & Dorfmeister, Stereotyp, Megablast etc.
That’s also when I started to produce Electronic music. As far as influences are concerned, I was more into Mouse on Mars, Rhythm & Sound and Pole back then. And only now I'm moving backwards through music history, so right now I'm listening to a lot of classic Dub like The Upsetters or King Tubby.

Is Lee Scratch Perry still living in Switzerland?
He is! I think he's somewhere in the country side.

Is he a visible cultural figure? Has he been covered by the local tv or press?
You seldom find any articles on him in local press. Even though we’re surrounded by these huge natural echo chambers, Dub is not exactly what that drives average Swiss people on a daily basis!
I also think that Lee isn't really focused on Switzerland or the Swiss music scene, he just lives here.

Why do you think that is?
I think he moved here to relax and to regenerate. Switzerland is a quiet place. It's a very healthy environment.

Did you guys work together already?
Ha ha ha! I would love to, of course! It would be a great adventure. If it ever happens, we should perform up in the mountains and use them as our real time analog echo machines.

Are you planning to get this record out on the road?
I’m looking forward to playing a couple of shows in Switzerland, sometime this spring. And hopefully that will lead to more shows.

You should play this out on a sick sound system at the London carnival. Or connect with the Dub Stuy cats in Brooklyn and play out on their system. It's beautiful.
Ha ha, thanks! Never had the pleasure, but I would love to!