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As we mentioned in our
previous year report, "the
only way is up". And so, we went forward
instead of backward and saw most of our plans
blessed by JAH so that they were factually
established.
But let's recall the start of this year first.
Financial problems were kind of dominating and
they still aren't what they should be. But when
you consider that yours truly had to see a doctor
last summer due to a lack of food and that this
situation is now history, there's a lot to rejoice
over. And: the Dubroom is still here! We were
offline a couple of times, but we did manage to
survive!
Central theme these past months could best be
described as "building". And so we did.
The concept of the website was changed a little
bit, in order to make it more clear just what can
be done in the Dubroom. Four words, all starting
with the letter R, describe the contents:
- Reviews (mp3's, albums, books,
video's, software, and more)
- Research (Babylon Observer, Center
for Research on Christianity)
- Release (music, articles, even books)
- Rest (message boards etc)
A significant amount of effort was put into
facilitating the needs of the truly varied
interests and nature of the Dubroom's daily
visitors. As we gather statistics, like words
people type in search engines before they find the
Dubroom, we can get an idea as to why people
visit. People come to get information on Reggae or
get our music, but there are also many who have an
interest in the contents of our research projects.
And there are also many who have an interest in
just about everything we have. And so, it's kind
of easy to go from one thing to another, but only
if you want.
We've been reviewing free and legal MP3's for a
long, long time now. In fact, mp3.dubroom.org
remains to be a well-visited source for
many as we continue to be rather unique in
this.
A long-time wish was established in 2006 as video.dubroom.org
was introduced. Thanks to websites like
Google Video and You Tube, the online Reggae
massive could now enjoy the sights of historical
and contemporary footage: documentaries, and
musical video's of course. And this wouldn't be
the Dubroom if we wouldn't start reviewing the
best material out there.
Another thing we started in 2006, is DUBROOM
STAR SELECTIONS. It's a webstore and a
net-label which can be accessed at music.dubroom.org.
It just started, but we hope to be able to present
some crucial music in the future. It's the result
of a merger between the Dubroom and a webstore run
by JAH
Mark Ragsdale. He owns a record
label called STAR
Recordings and also this webstore,
but we decided to join hands and strength.
One of the major projects was the production of
two Messian Dread net albums, both of which were
released in December 2006. 31 DUB shots from this
mega-session and one "hardware" CD which
will be available in January 2007. In total,
almost 50 tunes were created and each one was
"vocalized" as well, either with singing
or with some toasting.
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