Addis Swaby aka Addis Pablo is a reggae instrumentalist, composer, and producer. Addis is a talented melodica and keyboard player. He is the son of the legendary Jamaican melodica King and dub vanguard, Augustus Pablo. Addis was born on August 18th 1989 in Redbank, New Jersey. He was raised in Jamaica at the home of his father. Throughout his childhood Addis become a natural apprentice of his father by observing from an early age the day-to-day activities of his father’s creative process both in the recording studio and on stage performances.
By 2005 Addis began practicing his father’s works and began developing his own musical style on the melodica and keyboards. He learned about digital and analog production from various sources including some of the Original Rockers Crew (Augustus Pablo’s band). Addis began to record and perform in 2010 and released various songs and compilations in the following years including “For the Love of Jah” and “13 Months in Zion” on his production label, Suns of Dub. He also recorded various songs for producer Rory from Stone Love Sound System including “Call of the Righteous” and Jah 9’s “New Name.”
In 2013 Addis was invited to join the legendary Inner Circle for a tribute to Jacob Miller at the Garance Festival in France. Since his festival debut, Addis has performed at many major festivals and venues across Europe and the UK including Rototom Sunsplash, Reggae Jam, Reggae Sun Ska, and The Jazz Cafe in London. Addis also traveled across Asia for festivals in Japan such as the Mount Fiji Festival and shows in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Addis has also been featured on stages in America including California at the “Reggae on the River Festival“ and alongside Queen Ifrica and Alborosie in New York City. His tours have also taken him to Mexico City and Puerto Rico. In 2014 Addis released his debut album “In my Fathers House” featuring guest artists such as Earl 16, Prince Allah, Cheziedek, and Sylford Walker. Addis has worked with many of his new generation contemporaries such as Chronixx and Protoje on the “Selassie Souljahz“ dub version. He has also been featured on various styles of reggae music including the dancehall genre with artists Masicka and Shanique Marie.
In 2016 Addis and Equiknoxx Music collabarated on the Majestic Melodies mixtape which featured various artists including Mr Williamz, Shanique Marie, and Lila Ike. Addis was notably featured on Grammy nominated albums in 2020 including Julian Marley’s, “As I Am” and “Sly and Robbie vs Roots Radics.” Addis has been published in giant media magazines including Vogue’s “Trench Town Rock: Portraits of Reggae’s Rising Stars,” and Supreme’s Hohner Melodica collaboration feature. Addis is currently working on his sophomore album and has recently released EPs and singles including “Singing lion” in October 2020 and “Green Lion Crew Meets Addis Pablo Uptown” released April 2021. Addis Pablo is the co-administrator of his father’s estate alongside his sister, Isis. They recently opened a new location of their fathers “Rockers International Record Shop“ in Brooklyn New York. This shop serves as an outpost for their father Augustus Pablo’s music and other merchandise related products .
