Deepgrooves - Mighty Asterix

Mighty Asterix had been on the reggae scene in Auckland for a while, performing regularly at Twelve Tribes of Israel gigs, alongside his DJ partner, Oblex Brown, and with various Twelve Tribes bands, before linking up with Deepgrooves.

Asterix began singing in Palmerston North in 1977, moving to Auckland in 1982. He became a member of the Rastafarian faith, and played in various bands associated with the Twelve Tribes of Israel in Auckland. He also performed regularly with DJ's Stinky Jim and DLT. He joined up with Oblex Brown in 1985. (Source: Biography, Asterix's Myspace)

This tune came out on Deepgrooves in 1992, covering the Scritti Politti song Sweetest Girl. There were four versions on the single. I've uploaded the very mellow Radio Dub and the magnificent Toughest Dub, which showcases Asterix's mean ragga vocals. The song was programmed, arranged, mixed and produced by Rhythm and Business (Daniel Barnes and George Hubbard) at Lab Studio, with Victor Grbic engineering, and edited at 601 Digital by Jon Cooper. Backing vocals from Leeza Corban and Matty J.

In 1996 Asterix featured on DLT's groundbreaking album The True School, still one of the greatest albums to ever come out of this country (and notable for Chains, the number one song for 6 weeks at a time when NZ hiphop was still way underground). Asterix was also part of the touring crew for the album's release. There's some great jungle tunes on that album with his vocals front and centre.

In 1999 he relocated to Wellington, working with the reggae selectors in that city, such as Sounds Almighty, Dancehall Dons, Roots Foundation, Vital Sounds, Newtown Sound and others. Asterix is currently based in Australia (he moved there a few years back), but has worked regularly with Stinky Jim and Unitone Hifi, and with Salmonella Dub on their latest release. Oblex still plays around AK, and on KFM. Read his bio on JahLoveSounz.

Coming up next... Dubhead lays down a sound foundation with Danny D from Dam Native....