For All Things Alive Disc 1

Salmonella Dub’s long awaited new 15 track digi album For All Things Alive will be released on two digi “discs” on October 8th & November 5th 2024. The album features guest vocalists Whirimako Black, Troy Kingi, Nino Birch (Beat Rhythm & Fashion) & The Mighty Asterix. Versions of this album have also been released on Salmonella Dub’s  Return to our Kowhai 3 x 12” vinyl albums.

For All Things Alive is dedicated to all the generations who walked before us with respect and understanding for the whakapapa of Papatuanuku; the elders who brought mana, wisdom and aroha to Aotearoa’s cultural landscape through their knowledge and connection with the natural world.

For All Things Alive Disc 1

Trax & Backstories

Sprang It

Sprang It began its life as a James Brown-esk loopy sample funk thang from a Mant ableton session. The band switched it up with a quick studio session after Salmonella Dub Soundsystem gigs at the Dux Live in Otautahi Christchurch adding horns and vocals from Andrew, Dave & Asterix. Harry Bretherton masterminded the arrangement cutting hypno guitar, drunken horns, gyro springs and the swaggering "Where's his ID" vox from Andrew P~ contrasting with Dave Deaks "I can't find what’s up ahead" crooning with the rhythm and rhyme of the Mighty Asterix "sprangin' it." Check the Sprang it live video footage here shot by  Mani Penmn and his Hapuku Heehaw Film Productions at the Great Kiwi Beer fest in Otautahi.

Hands in

the Soil

Hands in the Soil - The rhythm bed was recorded in Christchurch with Whirimako Black adding vocals in the band's Whakatu studio in a session on the night of Richard Nunns’s tangi. The day Aotearoa was told we were heading into a second COVID lockdown Troy Kingi was in our Whakatu studio adding vocals making this the last tune to be finished from our new vinyl album “Return to our kowhai”. We are pleased to say we have now finally finished the album!

Molesworth

Molesworth - Molesworth’s heartbeat rhythm is a call to connect with all our landscapes both cultural and physical. This tune is auspicious in that it features young Mani Penman’s first vinyl debut, opening the track with the conch his good friend and master carver Brian Flintoff made for him. Harry Bretherton recorded Mani’s emotive ghost calls and added wooden flute in the predawn hours of an early Kaikoura morn, pitching the long notes through the frequencies known to ancient whale spirit walkers, calling them to breach once again and thrash their flutes against the oceanless valley walls to set free the wisdom trapped in the fossilised memories of all who breath the dead air that seeps through the industrial landscapes of our cities. The rhythm bed started from a Mant ableton session with our late e hoa Aaron Tokana called Just Another Duckshead. It has morphed into several tunes; Afro Duckshead, Molesworth & Crittah Messiah, tunes featuring on the band's 12” releases. “Way out in the Molesworth you can see how it is for me. Way up in the Molesworth you can feel how it’s gonna be.”

Shaping Ground

Shaping Ground Nino Birch penned the lyrics for Shaping Ground after his iconic Wellington 80's group Beat Rhythm Fashion were denied the honour of playing a Salmonella Dub tune at the NZ Music awards in 2017. This resulted in the DubSnub Stuff news articles; the Spinoff feature interview; and the end of the Spark Arena red carpeted, Vodafone sponsored TV3 music awards and Salmonella Dub politely refusing the Hall of Fame Legacy award they'd been offered that year. Dj Digital - Metalheadz Timeless Records “Love when you lot do that Shaping Ground feat Nino type shiz, The guitar in the intro and drop set it off so good. Bass, horns and drums are wicked. Vocals suit it too. Bad tune”

For All Things

Alive

‘For All Things Alive’ was first released on the band's Return To Our Kowhai 3x12’ vinyl trilogy in June 2024 "Coming alive tonight in the city" - written by Aaron Tokana with Andrew Penman & sung by Dave Deakins at JD's warehouse Otautahi/Christchurch 2018. “Some will come to look for gold. Lost their hearts before they’re old.” “Those who know to keep it strong. Live elsewhere to see the dawn” An Andrew & Dave Collaboration.

“The whakapapa of our environment should enter our consciousness more fully to counterbalance the nonsensical technological developments in order to enable us to 'Return to our Kōwhai' to nature where we belong."

- adapted from Albert Hoffman's 100th birthday speech with guidance from Kāti Māmoe Kaumatua connected with the old ways.

Source: Michael Pollan's biography "How to change your mind. The New Science of Psychedelics"

Gifted: by Mani Penman on fathers day 2018.
(thank you Mani - you are a jewel from heaven)

Never Too Late

Salmonella Dub started the writing and recording process for Never Too Late in the summer of 2012 in their Hapuku Creative Retreat the week before the last Kaikoura Roots Festival.

Originally called Andy’s Jam the track originated from a guitar riff from Andrew with trombone, trumpet + melodica motifs added by Pete Wood, ethereal intro vocals from Dave Deakins, sax from Ants Smith and keys from Mant. The arrangement was incubated in Sydney at Ants’s Smith and Western Studio during the many Salmonella Dub Soundsystem tours of Oz between 2013 and 2016. In 2017 the band engaged Nino Birch to pen lyrics for 3 new tunes, World She Waits, Shaping Ground & Andy’s Jam after Nino’s Wellington group Beat Rhythm Fashion were rejected as a credible option to perform Salmonella Dub’s tune Drifting at the NZ music awards. Andy’s Jam - instrumental mix is a classic 9.53’ extended journey through dub and jungle with signature Sal Dub bass and horn motifs. The arrangement was co-produced by Harry Bretherton in the band's Hapuku Creative Retreat over the summer of 2018/19. Nino’s vocals have been stripped out for a future release. We’ve called this version the instrumental mix despite the fact we’ve left Dave’s backing harmonies for Nino’s phrases “it’s never too late” & “gonna take the wrong way home” in the mix.

Soul

Love

Trippa

Soul Love Trippa - Harry Bretherton extended mix a 6.42” version produced by Harry Bretherton starts with the horn motif over a half tempo dub rhythm and features the addition of the verse “Fall in a hole everytime I say goodbye, Everytime I see your eyes I wanna cry. It just means I cannot lie, It just means I cannot lie” from Dave Deakins. The 170bpm tempo switch drops at 3.48” with a more grimey techy bass line than Mant’s original B-line. Soul Love Trippa - David Harrow 7” mix is a 3.38’ version featuring Dave Deakins original drum takes in a light 170Bpm jump up rhythm bed produced by David Harrow. The 7” mix opens with the call from the Mighty Asterix “Hear what the good Aotearoa music has to say” and is followed by an extended chorus. “So Long Soul Love, So Long to Love, So Strong we Live, So Strong so Far” and chatter from Asterix before the big horn motifs drop.

Soul Love Trippa originated in the next phase of the band's writing process In Christchurch 2017. Bass player Mark Tyler, missing in action for several years, was eventually tracked down in Vegas just before the IRD got him. On his return to Christchurch he first wrote the Soul Love Trippa bass lines and rhythm bed. Andrew added key’s and guitars in Mark’s Tuam St studio. Dave recorded the drums and penned the vocal line “So long Soul Love” and the bands horn section Scotty Taitoko, Michelle Harrison, Simon Kay wrote and recorded the big horn motifs with the bands original live engineer from 1993 Icemac in his Ferry Rd studio.

It was around this time Andrew engaged Harry Bretherton of Soulware and Organikismness to help co-produce a new bundle of tunes starting with the single World She Waits featuring Nino Birch. Harry crafted the first Soul Love Trippa arrangements with Andrew. The first mix was produced by David Harrow in his LA studio in 2018. The Soul Trippa Soundsystem mix has  featured in the Salmonella Dub Soundsystem live sets for the last 3 years. Now the band finally releases the Soul Love Trippa - 7” mix also produced by Harrow as the opening tune on their new 12” and as their first digi single for 2021.

Searching

for the

Sungle

Searching for the Sungle was conceived in the 2012 sessions with Andy’s Jam and originally called Classy. It was first released as Searching for the Sun (for the rain dub) on the Dub’s 25th birthday compilation Commercial Grates in 2018. Searching for the Sungle is a jungle excursion of “for the rain dub” re-written in Whakatu with Mark Tyler and Harry Bretherton. Classy original version produced by Ants Smith will be released alongside the full vocal version of Andy’s Jam featuring Nino Birch in the coming months.

Soul Love Trippa Vinyl Artwork Themes Backstory  

"Hear what the good music of Aotearoa has to say" 

There is no arrogance intended with this lyric. The Good Aotearoa Music is a reference to the wondrous and historic orchestra of native bird song in Aotearoa 500 years ago. We have a motif rolling through our artwork to represent this emphasizing the now missing members with skeletons. 

The packshot art for Soul Love Trippa uses the kowhai art from our old 2 cent coins with original lettering from the bands eye motif originator and seminal poster designer Liz Penman. 

The kowhai theme in the packshot is a motif from Salmonella Dub’s forthcoming album Return to our Kowhai arranged in Salmonella Dub’s Hapuku Creative Retreat in Kaikoura. 

The band's Kaikoura studio is surrounded by one of the oldest stands of Kowhai regrowth on the east coast, with some kowhai estimated to be over 250 years old. 

In the album title track Return to our Kowhai - a new jungle. Andrew recites a spoken word piece about the importance of the whakapapa of our environment adapted from a speech Albert Hoffman delivered at a conference celebrating his 100th birthday. 

“Some will come to look for gold. Lost their hearts before they’re old. Those who know to keep it strong will live elsewhere to see the dawn”