Michael Goldwasser

Early life and education

Michael Goldwasser was born in West Virginia, moving to New York City at the age of seven. Both his parents were active in Judaism, with his father a Rabbi, and Goldwasser recollects they helped inspire his early interest in "social justice issues," as well as diverse musical genres such as jazz. Goldwasser's parents claim "he began writing songs soon after he learned to talk," and he began learning guitar informally around age thirteen. He became focused on reggae around age fourteen, and a year later was performing in clubs in New York City with his band The Feds. His father would frequently drove him to shows when he couldn't take his guitar on the subway. After graduating from Hunter College High School in New York City, Goldwasser began working as a freelance musician, songwriter, and record producer in 1989. In college at Columbia University he majored in urban studies, focusing on topics such as sociology and urban planning. He also spent two years hosting a Columbia University radio show on WKCR, and formed the R&B group Special Request.

1990s: Easy Star Records

Goldwasser graduated from Columbia University in 1993, continuing to work as a musician and hold a clerical job at Metropolitan Hospital in East Harlem. He quit his job at the hospital to co-found the reggae label Easy Star Records in 1996. Formed with several friends also based in New York City, the founders all shared an interest in live dancehall and Jamaican reggae. Explained Goldwasser, "everything that was coming out of Jamaica at the time was really computerised, all the stuff coming out of the US was just copies of Bob Marley. We were sitting around decrying the state of reggae music and we just thought ‘why don’t we do it ourselves’.” He and the cofounders pooled most of their savings (equating to about $5,000 per person), to get the label started.

Goldwasser then brought together a number of musicians to work on original songs he'd been writing. The New York reggae and dub collective Easy Star All-Stars was formed by the label co-founders in 1997. With a rotating roster of musicians, the band originally functioned as a studio band for the label's earliest recordings, and only began touring in earnest in 2003. Goldwasser serves as the group's original composer and "unofficial creative director," playing various instruments on their releases and writing the adaptations before the band goes on tour. The first album by the label was the January 1998 compilation Easy Star Volume One, which included Goldwasser's original compositions performed by the Easy Star All-Stars and guest artists. Allmusic gave Easy Star Volume One 4/5 stars and a positive review, writing that "The prime mover behind this album is producer Michael G, who provides all the rhythms and a virtuosic touch at the mixing board."

2003-12: Easy Star All-Stars albums

On February 18, 2003, the Easy Star All-Stars released Dub Side of the Moon, a reggae reinterpretation of Pink Floyd's classic The Dark Side of the Moon, co-produced by Goldwasser. Dub Side of the Moon remained on the Billboard Reggae Charts for several years after its release in 2003. August 2006 saw the studio album Radiodread by the Easy Star All-Stars, a song-by-song cover of Radiohead's OK Computer produced and arranged by Goldwasser. Goldwasser also contributed guitar, keys, "melodica," percussion, and mixing. The album peaked at No. 5 on the Top Reggae Albums chart, also reaching 44 on Top Heatseekers and 43 on Top Independent Albums.

In 2008 the Easy Star All-Stars released the original EP Until that Day, with Goldwasser again as producer and contributing guitar, percussion, and mixing. In 2009, he again produced another cover album by the Easy Star All-Stars, titled Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band. It reached No. 1 on the reggae chart, also reaching 117 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top Heatseekers chart. Goldwasser has produced the band's following albums as well, with Dubber Side of the Moon (2010) reaching No. 2 Top Reggae Albums, and Easy Star's Thrillah (2012) reaching the top of the reggae chart.

2007-14: Production and songwriting

Beyond the Easy Star All-Stars, Goldwasser has worked with musicians signed to Easy Star Records and other labels. In 2007 he produced the self-titled debut album by the Israeli reggae band Hatikva 6, also providing guitar and percussion to the recording. In 2011, he was executive producer for Ways & Means by Hawaiian band The Green, which peaked at No. 1 on the Top Reggae Albums, and was named Best Reggae Album of 2011 at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

He remixed the album Peace of Mind Dub by Rebelution in 2012, which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200. He executive produced three albums in 2013 that peaked at No. 1 on the reggae charts, including releases by John Brown's Body, The Green , and Passafire. He also contributed production to an album by Cas Haley.

In 2014, he was executive producer on three albums, including Steady by Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Count Me In by Rebelution, both of which peaked at #1 on Top Reggae Albums. Original productions and composotions by Goldwasser have appeared in films such as Failure To Launch (2006), Cassandra's Dream (2008), Humboldt County (2008), Goodbye Solo (2009), and The Gambler (2014) .

2015: Goldswagger

In January 2015, Goldwasser announced he'd completed production on his upcoming album Goldswagger, described as "a collection of his original R&B/soul/funk compositions." All original compositions are by Goldwasser, and lyrics cover topics such as "life, love, and staying positive." Goldwasser handled guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion, and vocals, and guest lead vocalists included Maya Azucena, Honey Larochelle, Lisala Beatty, Sophia Ramos, Robbie Rosen, Greg Vilfranc, and Melaku. Other guest musicians include John "JR" Robinson, Manny Laine, and Ivan Katz on drums, Bill Holloman on horns, Uri Kleinman on bass, Shaul Eshet on keys, Gordon "Nappy G" Clay of Groove Collective and Chauncey Yearwood on percussion, and backing vocals from Joanne Williams and Kirsty Rock.

Musical style and influences

Through primarily known for his reggae and dub music, Goldwasser has cited diverse genres such as jazz, R&B, and reggae as influences on his sound. He is known for using vintage recording gear and tape machines in his production, and for incorporating the vocals of guest singers from the United States and Caribbean.

Personal life

As of 2010 Goldwasser and his family were living between New York City and a kibbutz north of Tel Aviv, Israel. As of 2012 he was based in New York City.

With Easy Star All-Stars

Production credits