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MAD PROFESSOR.......YOURS TRULY NO COMMENT !
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The question is often asked, just how
sane is The Mad Professor ?Judging by
the contents of his character and by the
results of his recordings, and the variety
of the artistes who has passed through
Ariwa studios then he is certainly one of
the sanest producers around.
Neil Fraser began his musical career on
the technical side of things as a service
engineer for mixing desks and amplifiers.
That skill and a good ear for "on key"
music became his asset when he began
building a 4 track studio at his home in
Thornton Heath. At school Neil was
christened Mad Professor by friends who
were amazed by the experiments he was
carrying out. By the turn of the Eighties,
Mad Professor launched the Ariwa label
and released "Come back Again" by Sgt.
Pepper, then came "Young Girl" by
Family Love, "Love Power/Love On A Two
Way Street" by Divinia Stone, "True True
Loving" by Aquizim. |
Mad Professor
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Soon after Mad
Professor launched the now legendary
Dub Me Crazy series featuring "Beyond
The Realms Of Dub" "Escape To The
Asylum Of Dub" and "Dub Maniacs On
The Rampage", the series became on top
with the variations of sounds and effects.
Whilst all the music was flowing, Mad
Professor was gradually developing the
studio and by the mid Eighties a 24 track
2 inch state- of the art studio with its own
unique sound, Sandra Cross and Pato
Banton had No. l hits, Macka B. joined
Ariwa and had hit album "Sign of the
Times". By the end of the Eighties,
Macka B & Kofi scored No. l with "Dread
A Who She Love" and Intense with
"Mellow" & "On My Mind". The Nineties
kicked of with another hit from Macka B
& Kofi "Proud of Mandela" and Intense -
"You are the One". In 1991, Professor met
U-Roy and recorded the classic "True
Born African" which topped the charts in
August of that year. By 1992, Professor
slowed down the output of the label and
concentrated on the touring circuit
resulting in successful tours of Germany,
Holland, France, Sweden, Denmark,
Poland, Ireland, Spain, Austria, Italy,
Yugoslavia, USA, Canada. The tours are
usually under the banner of the label. By
Spring 1994, The Ariwa album catalogue
increased to 104 LP's recent productions
being "Heritage" Sharifa, "Mr Government"
- Peter Hunningale. "Black Liberation
Dub" Mad Professor was the launch of a
new dub series. Also the studio was
updated to 48 track or 24 - 24 recording.
The Professor has new acts waiting to
break the surface under the banner
ARIWA - the Yoruba word for
communication, artistes such as Kofi,
John Mclean, Vitality, Lorna G, Peter
Hunningale, Danny Red, Lindy Layton,
Tracy Spencer, The Boom, Massive
Attack, Jah Shaka, Sade, Brilliant,
Clementine and The Orb have benefited
from the Mad Professor's touch, the
Nineties also have brought the Prof, into
the realms of the remix market.
Text taken from "Word Up", a cultural magazine available only on the Internet.
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