Resurrector doesn’t just make music; he performs Sonic Shamanistic Alchemy. Discovered by the dreadlocked musical activist through unmediated inspiration, SSA is a form of frequency manipulation that is said to transmit spiritual liberation from the creator to the listener, much as a shaman transfers spiritual power.
“The intention is infused with a shamanic style of expression,” he says. “With the energy put into the music, the hope is that there could be energetic transformation to the audience.”
When Resurrector takes the stage, alone or with some of his Heavyweight Dub Champion collaborators – with names like Dr. Israel, A.P.O.S.T.L.E. and MC Azeem – his project of spirituo-energetic transmutation looks like a maze of electric wires. From the mess of soundboards, effect units and samplers emerges a swelling, squelching, percussive electronic meditation that betrays hip-hop and reggae influences.
Engineering is an art form, he stresses. He manipulates recorded tracks, live vocals and keyboarding to create carefully constructed vibrational combinations.
Resurrector, also known as Grant Chambers, first experimented with SSA with collaborator Patch while they lived in a log cabin with no running water in Gold Hill, Colo. One day in 1999, Chambers says, “the purpose of Heavyweight Dub Champion came to me in a vision; it had to do with creating a band, space clearing, preparation for the arrival of a warrior consciousness.”
Based on this vision, Chambers and Patch launched the band as part of a spiritual campaign called “operation raise the dead,” with Chambers taking on the role of resurrector; hence the new name. “Society is channeling people into pathways that are counter to what it means to be human,” he says. “I’m trying to get people to start thinking for themselves.”
Heavyweight Dub Champion continues to fight an “interdimensional” war for mental liberation, both through musical alchemy and ideological discussion. Their first album, Survival Guide for the End of Time, was accompanied by a 70-page book, The Last Champion Manifesto, and their Myspace page is covered with philosophical-mythological proclamations like: “The Championship will be won when we unlock the channel that connects us to ourselves.”
How all this ideology will manifest when Resurrector performs solo at Banker’s Casino remains to be seen. It’s certainly evident in lyrics such as, “Recognize, represent, put your hands in the air for the new testament.” Judge for yourself whether you feel the effects of SSA – although Chambers says they often take some time to unfold.
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