New Dub from the McLennan Asylum
By Stephen Jewell (first published in NZ Musician, July 2002)

As a member of the Hallelujah Picassos in the early to mid '90s, Peter McLennan was part of one of this country's seminal reggae/rock fusion outfits.

Following his departure from the now-defunct Picassos, a desire to work by himself prompted McLennan to adopt computers and sampling technology for his solo project, Dub Asylum. First self-releasing the generously eight track-long 'Dub Never Sleeps' EP in 1999 before knuckling down to work on his debut long player, 'She Dubs Me, She Dubs Me Not', which will be launched in September through Antenna Records.

"I went from the Hallelujah Picassos after going over a few judder bars on the road and a few pot-holes," reminisces McLennan. "When I was in the Picassos, the whole reason I made music was because I was in the Picassos. So when I left them I had to decide whether I still wanted to make music. I actually didn't play music for about six months, although I was still buying records. Then I started making tunes that were made from sampled drum loops with added guitars, because that is what I do.

"The first tune I got to work on was Dick Dale In Outer Space. It then evolved to the extent that I had half a dozen tunes, so I stuck out an EP which did quite well. From the Picassos to Dub Asylum was an evolving path, where I had some samples and dirty drum sounds that I then combined with songwriting, which is what I learnt in the Picassos."

The Hallelujah Picassos re-united briefly a couple of years ago to play some gigs, including 95 bFM's 30th birthday party, which was apparently a memorable experience.

"That was really entertaining" laughs McLennan. "There's a whole lot of people I've got to know since the Picassos who were really surprised to see me on stage with a guitar, but that's what I did for eight years. When we were in our hey-day was also when the live scene for bands in Auckland was in its hey-day. It's now dropped off a bit but there used to be heaps of good bands and venues, who were really into putting on a show. We used to jump on stage and leap around like a bunch of idiots."

McLennan says that his 'Dub Never Sleeps' EP was a useful trial run for the more arduously produced 'She Dubs Me...' They both evolved over time. The album is a bit better produced as I've gotten better at achieving the sound I want. It's also musically a bit more cohesive. I think my songwriting has developed since the EP, in that I've started to get a grasp on what I'm trying to do, mixing up samples and guitars."

So why has it taken McLennan the best part of three years to finish 'She Dubs Me...'?

"It has taken a while to get it finished," he admits. "But one of the good things about working with Trevor Reekie (Antenna label boss) is that he's got a really good ear. I thought I'd finished the album about last August but he told me to go away and work on it some more, which pissed me off something chronic at the time! But he was right and I've since written some more tracks, developed some other songs and overall it's sounding like a much better album."

McLennan's original recordings were made on a Fostex X26 cassette 4-track but he has since upgraded to an Apple Power Mac 7220 with Cubase and Logic Audio. Also used were a Roland Juno 106 keyboard, a Korg piano sound module, Akai SO1 sampler (mono and somewhat erratic) and an Alesis HR16B drum machine - plus a Boss Digital Delay and Reverb and a 1200 Mk2 turntable. Not one to spurn conventional instruments completely, McLennan has also plays a Hofner guitar, a Jansen bass and even a melodica.

"When I first started doing the album a couple of years ago, the only recording device I had was a 4-track recorder," he states. "It's the kind of thing most people sneer at but it's what I had so it's what I used. Even now, I've only got one computer and an old Juno 106 keyboard, which is highly prized because the sounds you get out of it are incredible."

McLennan also called on some good mates to contribute vocals to 'She Dubs Me', including old Picassos sparring partners Bobbylon and John Pain, Sandy Mill (sjd, Subware, etc.) and actor Willa O'Neill, who sings her heart out on You're So Sensible.

"Sandy's got an incredible voice and while she can do some quite smooth stuff, she's also got this crazy experimental side, which is what she used to do with Spacesuit."

"For the first track I did with her, Closedown, she was fiddling about with this delay pedal while she was doing her vocal. She was basically dubbing out her own vocal live while recording it. She's very fluid with her approach. Same with Willa, who comes from an acting background so she's used to taking direction, whereas some pure musicians aren't. We did her vocal in three takes and after we listened to the first, she decided it wasn't quite right and said, 'I need to put more happy into my voice'."

Apart from being a musician, the versatile McLennan is also a seasoned journalist, who has contributed to numerous local publications including New Zealand Musician.

"In a way it's an excuse to go and interview people I'm interested in musically," he concedes. "I'll go and do the journalist bit but also pick their brains about the creative process and how they do what they do."

And it was in a journalistic capacity that he visited Japan in October 2001, courtesy of the Asia 2000 Foundation. Ever the opportunist, he took the chance to film a video for 'She Dubs Me's' first single, R U Ready. "I took my Super 8 film camera and four rolls of film with me," he recalls. "It's very easy to film in a place like Tokyo, where there is just so much visual information flying at you from billboards, giant TV screens and posters. Japan definitely had an impact on my visuals, as the video will show, but musically I'm still trying to figure that one out."

"In Japan, you can find anything you want and not just music. Their vinyl sales are 1-2 % of all music sales, but in $NZ values, that's around $41 million. The sheer scale is hard to take in. It was an eye opener in the sense that I realised that music can connect anywhere. It's just a matter of getting your tunes into the arena."

So does McLennan have high expectations for 'She Dubs Me?' "I'd like to sell a few copies and make another album soon," he declares. "But I don't really know what to expect with the album. I'd like to get it out there, then other people can claim it as their own and I can let go of it. I'm looking forward to hearing what people make of it and what they like. A sense of nervous anticipation hangs over me!"