Essential players on the European underground scene, High Tone has progressively created its own unique musical identity by staying close to their roots and to their core audience. Remaining open to many collaborations, they have built their own universe around the very concept of Dub music in its vast complexity.
Initially labeled « ethno-dub », High Tone’s influences and sound evolved, in diverse ways – using Dubstep elements before the term was even created for instance – and they quickly became one of the main players in the Bass Music scene, a movement reuniting various schools of sound such as drum&bass, dub, glitch hop and other adventurous soundscapes that High Tone was never afraid to explore and dissect.
High Tone, a trend setter in bringing dub music to a live audience, has become a household name on the European underground scene, touring extensively from Canada to China, from Poland to England, and playing small venues or massive festivals indiscriminately. The band continues to evolve through each new album and collaboration, melding influences inherited from hip hop, drum&bass, dubstep, and maintaining its core techno sound, a signature touch since the start. The « High Tone sound » is fluid yet constant, innovative, experimental, but always with a strong psychedelic and hypnotic flavor.
The group came together in 1997 on the slopes of the Croix Rousse district in Lyon, fueled by the concept of a rave-like, punk and independent spirit that still motivates the band to this day. This was soon followed by the Jarring Effects label, which was created around the band, and which they have never left, as they refuse to compromise their artistic integrity.
The Dubtones Sessions, initiated in 2002, showcased many of the values of the band : a musical communion with the audience, a melting pot of solidarity and creativity, allowing the band to forge alliances with other dub or electronic combos, resulting in new touring or recording projects. After Kaly Live Dub kicked off the sessions, it continued with Improvisators Dub, Zenzile, Wang Lei from China, and at last Brain Damage, for an extraordinary groundbreaking album that proves the continuing musical relevance of High Tone through the years.