In the Scientist's Lab

Beginning as many engineers, at a young age Hopeton Brown (aka the Scientist) became fascinated by building amplifiers. And oddly enough, the electronics shop that he frequented was owned by the venerable King Tubby. Over time, the Scientist collected enough gumption to ask for a gig mixing records for the producer. And resultantly, the young musical manipulator was actually first given a gig as a repair man. This was before the two conducted numerous conversations about the science of dub and mixing in general. Finally as a challenge, Tubby granted the Scientist’s wish and gave him a shot.

And as the Scientist went to work, another customer overheard him mixing down the sounds of his sparse reggae based works. Don Mais, was impressed enough to put the now eighteen year old Scientist on as producer when Prince Jammy became too fatigued to complete a project. The results were apparently strong enough to get the young man more work as well as a permanent fixture on the Roots Tradition label until the Scientist was hired by Channel One during the early ‘80s.

This was to be the time of his highest output – as well as his most artistically successful. Between the years 1981 and ’87, the Scientist release roughly twenty five discs under his own name in addition to the work he did for others.

The Scientist, who had moved to Washington DC by this point, released most of these works via Greensleeves Records and had bizarrely themed titles. Most of these discs involved the Scientist in some heroic feat – like when he rid the world of vampires or won the World Cup. But no matter what his public persona was supposedly accomplishing, this dub plates sported a much more sparse interpretation of the medium than any other producer/engineer working at the time.

Lee Perry is frequently – and rightly so – tagged as an innovator of this genre. And while at the time of Perry’s earlier dub albums, the works were considered stripped of any excess, the work of the Scientist far surpasses him in this one area. Frequently, there are portions of tracks that contain nothing but the echo of some instrument. And on “Dematerialize,” from the 1981 Meets The Space Invaders, the Scientist begins the track with a drum fill that echoes out until almost thirty seconds, at which time the first few notes of the bass line can be heard.

Not withstanding his apparent talent, innovation and importance, Grand Theft Auto III basically screwed the Scientist – which could also be the title for an album.

Large portions of the 1981 disc Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires was used for a ‘station’ in the video game. And in a weird twist of the recording industry, the royalties were payed to the producer, not the engineer, Junjo Lawes. And while he apparently owns the copyright to these tracks, it would seem more than reasonable for the man whose name appears on the cover of the disc to get a piece of the action.