Dub FX

Dub FX
Dub FX performing at Larimer's Lounge in Denver, CO 6 October 2012
Background information
Birth name	Benjamin Stanford
Born	(1983-06-11) 11 June 1983 (age 41)
Origin	St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia
Genres	Dub, hip hop, dubstep, drum and bass, jungle, Reggae, Ska, Dancehall
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, vocalist, record producer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, beatbox, loop station, effects pedal, guitar
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Convoyun.ltd
Website	dubfx.com

Benjamin Stanford (born 11 June 1983), better known by his stage name Dub FX (stylised as Dub Fx or DubFx), is an Australian musician and worldwide street performer.

Born in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia,^[1] at the start of his career he was singing in a local alternative rock and rapcore band initially known as Twitch, which would later change its name to N.O.N (Never or Now). In 2004 they released a debut and the only album Exeunt Omnes.^[2][3] Soon after he moved to Italy and began a solo career. His trademark is creating rich live music using only his own performance aided by live looping and effects pedals combined with his voice.^[4][5] He creates intricate hip hop, reggae, and drum and bass rhythms.^[4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic Dub FX moved from Victoria, Australia to Lisbon, Portugal with his wife Sahida, and two daughters Sahara and Kalila.^[6]

Stanford used to travel and perform with his former fiancée Shoshana Sadia aka Flower Fairy.^[1][7] Dub FX first met her in Manchester, after which she joined him on his travels around the globe to busk for the public. Flower Fairy would usually be seen selling CDs during Dub FX's performances or on stage alongside Stanford when they perform several tracks together. She is also featured singing on tracks from Everythinks a Ripple, "Wandering Love", "Flow", and "Time Will Tell". To his travels also joined his friend and manager CAde, who is on tracks with Stanford like: "No rest for the wicked", "Supernova Pilot", "Easy", "Fresh" and others...

Two songs from Everythinks a Ripple, "Flow", and "Wandering Love", feature a street saxophonist named Mr. Woodnote, who also uses similar looping techniques as Dub FX, using a saxophone.

After his first summer traveling through Europe in 2006, he came home to Melbourne where he shared a flat with Melbourne-based producer Sirius. Stanford showed Sirius this new style from the UK called dubstep. and by 2010 together they released the album titled Dub FX and Sirius – A Crossworlds. Dub FX does not beatbox on this album.^{[8] [citation needed]}

Dub FX is also part of the dubstep act Kila Mega Giga Tera, the other half being Glade Kettle (Distro)(aka Sirius). To date they have released one song on Aquatic Lab Sessions Volume 1, a CD and limited edition vinyl compilation released in 2009. Kila Mega Giga Tera also released an album, which was released in 2010. This album is called A Crossworlds. ^{[citation needed]}

Dub FX is completely independent, using only live performance, word of mouth, internet social networking, and a number of easily accessible free samples. Dub FX is also the main founder of the label Convoyunltd, which could be described as a co-op label for Dub FX's own work and that of other artists.^[4] To date, artists that have released albums on Convoyunltd are: Flower Fairy, Sirius, Mr. Woodnote, and Dub FX, with additional featured artists on separate songs of each album. Every album released through Convoyunltd has been produced by Dub FX with the exception of Dub FX & Sirius's release, A Crossworlds, a collaboration album released in 2010 which revealed a much darker and instrumental sound.^{[citation needed]}

Dub FX's lyrics address both general world events and contemporary angst, while suggesting individual-based revolution through self-determination and engagement. He also addresses issues of social importance, the most notable example being the song Society's Gates, loosely based on the life of the philosopher Socrates.

The musician publicly supports protests calling for an end to the "genocide of Palestinians" and attended several protest marches with his family. He shared short videos of this events on social media.^[9] When he was asked about the victims of the Re'im music festival massacre in Israel. " [...] or are you okay with killing Israelis, but not okay with killing Palestinians?" he made the following public statement:

"[T]he amount of death destruction and humiliation committed by Israel before October 7th far outweighs what happened on October 7. Hamas was created by Israel and funded by them right up to that attack. They wanted this so they had an excuse to do what they are doing now."^[10]

This led to discussions between commenters and some fans expressed their incomprehension, since he had performed in Israel in September 2022. While he got a lot of support for his political views, some expressed their disappointment about his one-sided statements about the victims and announced that they would unfollow him as a result.^[11]

The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.

• Official website