DAB (DAVID ASHER BAND) 🇺🇸 USA — “WAR PROFITEERS” AUGUST 2026 REISSUE — TWO-TRACK SINGLE REVIEW AND RADIO FEATURE Review by Gordon Lawrence Taylor Voice In The Void Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio Supporting independent underground music, artists and labels across borders, languages, scenes and cultures.
Artist: DAB (David Asher Band) 🇺🇸 USA
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA 🇺🇸
Title: War Profiteers
Format: Two-track single — Vocal / Instrumental
Genre: Roots Reggae / Dub / Conscious Reggae
August 2026: Reissue / renewed release feature
Label: DAB 🇺🇸 USA
The supplied release information identifies the recording as Reggae / Roots Reggae / Dub and the label as DAB.
Tracklisting
War Profiteers — 4:24
War Profiteers Instrumental — 4:24
The project presents the composition deliberately in both vocal and instrumental forms, placing it within the long-established reggae tradition in which the song and the version become two different perspectives upon the same musical architecture.
REVIEW
There has always been a fundamental distinction between political music that merely announces its politics and political music whose musical construction itself gives weight to the argument.
DAB — the David Asher Band — occupies the second territory with “War Profiteers.”
This is conscious roots reggae constructed not as nostalgic imitation, nor as a decorative invocation of reggae’s historical vocabulary, but as a contemporary protest recording in which rhythm, repetition, bass, space and vocal delivery collectively become mechanisms of political communication.
The stated subject could hardly be clearer. The accompanying material describes War Profiteers as addressing war-based economies throughout the world and the people who profit from them.
That premise places the composition inside one of reggae’s oldest intellectual traditions: music as reportage, protest, social criticism and counter-narrative.
Yet what makes War Profiteers work is that David Asher does not allow the political subject to overwhelm the musical language.
The argument remains embedded in the groove.
THE POLITICS OF THE RHYTHM
At approximately 4 minutes 24 seconds, the recording unfolds at what is perceptually a relaxed roots-reggae pulse of roughly 86 BPM, although the internal rhythmic subdivision can equally be measured at approximately 172 BPM in double-time.
That distinction matters.
The music possesses movement without haste.
The rhythm section creates forward momentum, but the composition never feels rushed. Instead there is the characteristic gravitational quality of roots reggae: an impression that the music is simultaneously moving forward and pulling downward into the bass register.
The low-frequency foundation operates as far more than accompaniment.
It becomes structural.
Against it sit clipped, syncopated off-beat gestures, percussion and chordal punctuation that establish the familiar rhythmic displacement of reggae without turning the piece into stylistic pastiche.
The tonal language is similarly interesting. The recording gravitates strongly toward a minor-coloured harmonic environment, with an approximate G-sharp-minor / E-major tonal relationship detectable within the supplied master. That tonal ambiguity is particularly appropriate here. It permits darkness without melodrama and forward motion without uncomplicated optimism.
There is tension in the harmony, but also resilience.
That is precisely where the composition needs to sit.
DAVID ASHER — THE VOICE AS WITNESS
Asher’s vocal does not function simply as melody placed above a reggae backing.
It functions as testimony.
The performance is direct, controlled and declarative. Rather than theatricalising the subject, the vocal allows repetition and rhythmic placement to carry much of its rhetorical force.
This is important because War Profiteers is concerned with systems rather than spectacle.
The song is not principally describing war as an isolated battlefield event. Its stated target is the economic structure existing around conflict — the transformation of destruction into commerce, suffering into revenue and warfare into an industry from which somebody, somewhere, receives a dividend.
That changes the meaning of the groove beneath Asher’s voice.
Repetition becomes almost mechanical.
Bass becomes weight.
The regularity of the rhythm can be heard metaphorically as the machinery of an economic system continuing to function regardless of the human consequences surrounding it.
Whether consciously constructed in precisely those terms or not, it is an extraordinarily effective relationship between subject and musical form.
ROOTS REGGAE AS A CONTEMPORARY LANGUAGE
There is also something significant about hearing this subject articulated through roots reggae in 2026.
Reggae’s political vocabulary has never depended exclusively upon the circumstances of one decade or geographical location. At its most enduring, roots reggae has addressed power, poverty, exploitation, displacement, colonial inheritance, violence and economic inequality.
War Profiteers understands that lineage.
But importantly, DAB does not attempt to manufacture an artificial historical recording.
The production remains clean enough for contemporary broadcasting while retaining space around its constituent musical elements. There is warmth, but there is also definition.
The bass retains physical presence.
The percussion remains articulated.
The vocal occupies the centre without completely flattening the instrumental environment beneath it.
This balance becomes even clearer when moving to the second track.
“WAR PROFITEERS INSTRUMENTAL”
The instrumental version is not simply an unnecessary additional file.
Within reggae culture, the relationship between vocal recording, instrumental version and dub has enormous historical importance. Removing the principal vocal allows the listener to reconsider the hierarchy of the original composition.
And that is exactly what happens here.
The supplied instrumental is structurally extremely close to the vocal master. Rather than becoming a radically reconstructed dub mix filled with extreme drop-outs or effects, “War Profiteers Instrumental” exposes the existing rhythmic architecture.
Without the lead voice commanding the centre, the ear begins following different things.
The relationship between bass and percussion becomes more apparent.
The syncopated chordal movement becomes more pronounced.
Small spatial details acquire greater significance.
Repetition ceases to function as a platform supporting the lyric and becomes an aesthetic object in itself.
In other words, the instrumental reveals something that the vocal version partially conceals:
the rhythm is already carrying part of the political argument.
The almost unchanging forward movement can feel hypnotic, but there is also something industrial about that persistence — appropriate for a song interrogating economies capable of turning warfare into a continuing commercial mechanism.
For radio programming, this also makes the instrumental particularly valuable. It can exist independently as a roots/dub piece while simultaneously serving as a contextual extension of the principal recording.
PRODUCTION
Production is credited jointly to Christopher Lewis and David Asher, with Asher also serving as executive producer. Christopher Lewis engineered the recording, while David Asher is credited with the vocal and instrumentation as well as composition.
That concentration of authorship gives War Profiteers an unusually unified character.
The composition, performance and production language do not appear to be fighting one another.
Instead, they speak with the same intention.
The recording begins with a relatively concise instrumental establishment before the vocal arrives, and its closing section allows the music to continue beyond the primary lyrical statement before gradually relinquishing its energy.
That structural decision is effective.
The song does not simply stop when its argument has been delivered.
The rhythm remains.
And perhaps that is the darker implication.
The machinery remains operating.
THE ARTWORK
The accompanying artwork extends the same argument into visual language.
A human face is almost consumed by an enormous respirator-like mask, with the eyes emerging from darkness while circular filters dominate the foreground.
The neon pink and blue illumination produces an interesting collision between cybernetic futurism, industrial contamination and human vulnerability.
This is not conventional roots-reggae imagery.
And that makes it more effective.
The human body appears to have been forced into technological armour simply in order to continue breathing.
Read alongside the title War Profiteers, the image suggests a world in which militarisation, industrialisation and environmental or social toxicity have become normal conditions of existence.
The person remains visible.
But only just.
FINAL ASSESSMENT
DAB David Asher Band’s “War Profiteers” is conscious roots reggae doing what conscious roots reggae has historically done at its strongest: turning rhythm into argument.
The track does not require excessive aggression because its criticism is more effective through persistence.
Bass provides gravity.
Syncopation provides movement.
Repetition provides insistence.
The vocal supplies the human statement.
And the instrumental version demonstrates that beneath that statement exists a carefully structured piece of roots music capable of communicating independently of language.
There is also something deeply appropriate about presenting War Profiteers as a vocal/instrumental pairing.
The vocal tells us what the song is confronting.
The instrumental allows us to inhabit the machinery underneath it.
Together they form two perspectives upon the same composition — message and structure, statement and space, voice and version.
In a musical environment in which the word political is sometimes reduced to branding, War Profiteers operates differently.
Its subject is direct.
Its arrangement is disciplined.
Its roots-reggae vocabulary is understood rather than merely borrowed.
And its message reaches considerably beyond the immediate moment:
when conflict becomes an economy, peace threatens somebody’s business model.
That is the uncomfortable space DAB chooses to enter.
And War Profiteers is stronger for refusing to look away.
OFFICIAL DAB / DAVID ASHER BAND LINKS
Official Website
Official “War Profiteers” Page
https://dabreggae.com/war-profiteers/
Bandcamp — DAB (David Asher Band)
https://dabdavidasherband.bandcamp.com/
Bandcamp — “War Profiteers”
https://dabdavidasherband.bandcamp.com/album/war-profiteers
Spotify — DAB David Asher Band
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0GhS6P8ikbiR0G2hulvtRA
Apple Music — DAB David Asher Band
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dab-david-asher-band/1554099341
YouTube — THE PROCESS & DAB David Asher Band
https://www.youtube.com/@dabdavidasher
YouTube Music — DAB David Asher Band
https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCHWss4F6vXfH3E9u4Jm8CAg
YouTube Music — “War Profiteers”
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lrYegWSzn15WLqEgt-RjianJC8vo1fckU
Facebook — DAB David Asher Band
https://www.facebook.com/dabdavidasherband/
Facebook — David Asher
https://www.facebook.com/DJAshRa/
Instagram — David Asher / THE PROCESS / DAB
https://www.instagram.com/theprocess77/
ReverbNation — DAB David Asher Band
https://www.reverbnation.com/dabdavidasherband
GORDON LAWRENCE TAYLOR — VOICE IN THE VOID
Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio
Supporting independent underground music, artists and labels across borders, languages, scenes and cultures.
DAB David Asher Band performing live in concert at the 2026 Hash Bash Cup.
Just released: Dabtronic, the electronic dub project from David Asher (also known for his work with THE PROCESS and DAB David Asher Band), has officially announced it's new single, "Lion In The City" The track draws its inspiration from a remarkable event that took place on July 12, 2025, when a mountain lion was sighted in Rochester New York, by Curtis Jones. Asher captured the raw energy of this unusual urban encounter, creating a powerful EDM track that features the distinctive voice of Curtis Jones. The single also includes an instrumental version of the track.
Purchase on Bandcamp
Temple Gong 2024
https://dmme.net/dabtronic-i-blinked-mezcakuba/
A couple of deeply danceable cuts from Detroit master of rhythm-and-cruise.
Although there’s not been a lot of music from David Asher since "Dub World" by THE PROCESS and "D.A.B." by the band bearing his name saw the light of day, the Michigander has never stopped dabbling with rhythms, and DABTRONIC, his superficially pop-oriented project, is a testament to the restlessness of creative spirituality. A couple of singles that introduce this endeavor, “I Blinked” and “Mezcakuba” demonstrate two not-too-divergent aspects of what it’s all about, the latter going for soulful elation and the former for admiration of the precious, yet both of them exploring mighty grooves with a great focus on mood and detail.
DABTRONIC –
I Blinked
Featuring a couple of British singers, the steaming youngster Janique James and the late post-punk pioneer Mark Stewart, “I Blinked” is just one song – approached from eight different angles to expose the finesse of its instrumental track and the ethereal allure of its topline tune. There’s a riveting riff to serve as an axis for the mellifluous “Dabtronic Mix” before “Dabtronic Dub” engages the simmering beats and blistering brass in an insistent aural swirl – equally slow but much sexier – and before the voiceless presentation of the same unfolds into a stunningly mesmeric panorama of the new act’s possibilities. Those prospects shine on the facets the “On.U Sound” mixes – with and without the warblers whose more in-your-face roles are swapped here – add to the palette, yet they’re narrowed down on “UFOA Remix” where low frequencies come out to crawl around, and on the pair of the Alien Levi mixes of the piece, one with the murmuring Rex Joswig on board, where the song’s creepy elements try to replace its melodic core.
DABTRONIC –
Mezcakuba
While all these variants dance around a four-minute mark, “Mezcakuba” that preceded them in chronological terms offers “Misled Convoy Peripheral Nervous System Remix” as an extended version of the single’s primary cut. This almost twice as long, cinematic and highly percussive experiment takes under a glitterball what in its original form is a raga-tinged electronic jive with a snippet of folk vocalese drenched in cavernous sonics, and in “On.U Sound Out The Box Mix” is given economic, if tasty, daubs of guitar and spoken word. The results of such methods feel liturgically anchored to the very history of David Asher’s chosen genre, but the restrained rapture on display might be uniquely his own.
With his new project’s full-length album on the horizon, these two numbers signal a start of something genuinely exciting.
***** / ****
The Process - Weapons Of Mass Percussion (2024 Remaster).DAB (David Asher Band) - War Profiteers.Dabtronic ft. Janique James & Mark Stewart - I Blinked.Selecta J-Cut
This one is long overdue, it's been a rather hectic year and I had put writing on the back burner (apologies, David) and things kind of snowballed out of control so I failed to get back to it until now. I figured that I could cover all three David Asher related releases in a year end wrap-up (better late than never, right?)
David had reached out to me several years ago to review his band, The Process's album from 2016, titled Who Is This Mad Band? which was right up my alley and led me to start the CULTCHA Clash Outer National "digital zine." The follow-up dub version of the album, Dub World was subsequently reviewed. David also joined me for the first official Duburbia Podcast (see link below). We have since had a long distance friendship rooted in a mutual fandom of producer Adrian Sherwood (who Asher has worked with on several projects) and the On-U Sound label. (If you haven't already, check out the On-U Sound Sunday Roast hosted monthly by David).\
The Process - Weapons Of Mass Percussion Remaster
Beginning with the remaster of Weapons Of Mass Percussion, which was originally released in 2006. Conceptually, the album deals with the politics of the time (post 9/11), including sound bites and samples of the media, manufacturing consent for the disastrous wars that came as a result of the attacks on that day. Musically, the sound is reminiscent of the futurist funk-dub of Tackhead and at times not too dissimilar from On-U Sound mainstays, Dub Syndicate, at other times dabbling in the electronic territory of drum & bass, such as in the title track. Overall, it's a heavy, dubbed-out, reggae rocker with traces Asher's distinct vocal stylings, peppered with George Bush or other talking heads from the media. It compels the listener to open their eyes and think outside of the establishment's narrative.
The album may have been recorded nearly 20 years ago, but the subject matter is still relevant, and the re-master sounds superb! Check it out at Bandcamp:
https://theprocess77.bandcamp.com/album/weapons-of-mass-percussion-2024-remaster
Review magazine. By Robert Martin.
Listening Party Happening Saturday, January 4th at Audiogazing.
Just released Bandcamp Exclusive: DAB David Asher Band "War Profiteers". New single, vocal and instrumental, speaking against the war based economies around the world, and those who profit from them.
Just reissued, a limited edition CD of 2002's "Blood and Bones", by THE PROCESS. Produced by The Process and Billboard charting Producer Gee Pierce. Roger Steffens of The Beat called the album "A seamless fusion of styles, merging into a coherent whole-The Process fuses a fierce pop-friendly sound with rootical reggae vibes to create an ear-pleasing, soul-satisfying mix."
Pre-released today, full release March 9th: The Process Weapons Of Mass Percussion 2024 Remaster. The digital release includes the nine original Gee Pierce/David Asher mixes, remastered by Christopher Lewis, in keeping with David Asher's original vision for the album.
"There is a heavy, heavy dubwise treatment throughout most of the session, with the best (and most disturbing) war on terror/911 soundbytes yet to be interwoven with music, and though the use of vocals is limited, where they do appear they range from the commanding (in the case of group leader David Asher), to the ethereal, to the shamanic. Middle Eastern percussions and chants. Robotic voices and electronic blips and bleeps. The repeated images of the Rasta soldier and the prophecy of Armageddon. In my mind the heavy, electronic dub (with an organic core) put together by Mr. Asher and The Process on "Weapons of Mass Percussion" sits quite nicely alongside the best, most mutant dub from studios/labels such as On-U Sound, Wordsound, and B.S.I Records. Great stuff.....pointing to a brave new world for The Process... and us all. " Dr. Strange Dub Echo Chamber KFAI-FM.
CULTCHA Clash Outer National Music Review:
DAB (David Asher Band) - Jah Shield
(2023 Bandcamp) by Selecta J-Cut
The first new single since 2021's self-titled DAB LP does not disappoint. From the start of the track one finds themselves immersed with infectious rhythms and positive vibrations.
David's vocal delivery is raw and soulful, lyrical content is righteous. According to Asher... "about the Creator's protection from jealous bad-minded people, vampires and back-biters." The instrumentation sounds fresh, reggae lovers will want to hear this.
Production is high quality, by Mr. Asher and Chris Lewis. the sound is full, rich and crystal clear. Played in a club, this one is sure to get some motion on the dance floor!
Get the digital release, including instrumental version, from Bandcamp.
https://dabdavidasherband.bandcamp.com/album/jah-shield
