The Dynamics

The Dynamics draw the bedrock of their reggae sound from the deep soul and funk of the 1960s and 1970s. Club DJs, crate-diggers, and longtime reggae collectors first took notice through the band’s reinterpretations, which recast indie-rock, disco, and Northern soul numbers as warm, analog-driven rocksteady and dub. Assembled from five musicians whose paths began in Cameroon, Boston, and Bristol, the group—Mounam on vocals and songwriting, Mr. Day handling vocals, songwriting, and bass, Stevie Levi on vocals, MC duties, and songwriting, Patchworks as producer and multi-instrumentalist, and Flab Master Flab as producer and engineer—formally came together in late 2003 in Lyon’s La Croix-Rousse district. Although reggae remains the common thread, each member also carries experience from earlier solo and collective work in African worldbeat, hip-hop, deep house, dance-pop, gospel, and acid jazz, all of which surface in the ensemble’s earthy recordings and live sets. Their first release, a 7-inch cover of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” surfaced in 2006 on Big Single. Strong early reaction prompted a rapid follow-up campaign of additional 7-inches throughout 2007, among them a dub and post-disco treatment of Madonna’s chart-topping 2000 single “Music.” After signing with Germany’s Groove Attack, the Dynamics closed the year with their debut album, Version Excursions, a collection of soul-funk-reggae reworkings that included “Fever” by the Bee Gees, “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones, and “Land of a 1000 Dances” by Chris Kenner and Fats Domino.