Victor Axelrod
Victor Axelrod is an American musician, producer, and audio engineer from Brooklyn, New York. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked primarily in the genres of reggae, Afrobeat and soul, recording and producing under his own name and using the alias Ticklah.
Axelrod became a founding member of Antibalas and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings after meeting musicians Martin Perna and Gabe Roth in the late 1990s.
Starting in 1996, Axelrod appeared as a session musician playing keyboards for Easy Star Records, a New York City independent reggae label. This studio relationship eventually resulted in him taking on the role of co-producer and engineer of the label's release Dub Side of the Moon, a 2003 dub reggae reinterpretation of the Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon recorded by the Easy Star All-Stars.
By 2002, both Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and Antibalas had begun touring and were in high demand. Being in both bands was no longer feasible, so Axelrod decided to focus his attention solely on Antibalas. However, he continued to occasionally appear on subsequent recordings playing keyboard and organ for Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Axelrod eventually left Antibalas in 2013.
In 2006, producer Mark Ronson hired Axelrod and other members of the Dap-Kings to play on the Amy Winehouse album Back to Black. This was to be the first of many Ronson productions where he utilized Axelrod and this group of musicians. The collective appeared on three of Ronson's solo albums along with soundtracks, remixes and special projects with artists including Rufus Wainwright, Lady Gaga, Adele, Daniel Merriweather, Lily Allen, Miike Snow and Erykah Badu.
In 2007, Easy Star Records released an Axelrod solo album, Ticklah vs. Axelrod, continuing his relationship with the label. The record was a mixture of instrumental, dub and vocal tracks featuring Vinia Mojica, Rob Symeonn, Tamar-kali, Mayra Vega and Mikey General.
In 2008, Axelrod remixed the popular Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings song "How Long Do I Have to Wait for You” in a rocksteady style. Originally appearing on the Scion sampler compilation Volume 19: Daptone Records Remixed, this track was later released as a single on Daptone Records. Wanting to build on the momentum of its success, Daptone encouraged Axelrod to make more recordings for the label in a similar vein. This instigation would result in a series of singles that would feature such singers as Bob and Gene, Charles Bradley, Leon Dinero, Screechy Dan, and the band The Frightnrs.
Concurrently, in 2008, Axelrod partnered with New York City reggae and jungle DJ Liondub to release singles on his new sublabel Liondub 45. This gave Axelrod another outlet to release various reggae music he was making with both established and up-and-coming artists. Releases included collaborations between Axelrod and Sugar Minott, Judah Eskender Tafari, Jahdan Blakkemoore, Courtney John, and Victor Rice.
In 2009 some of his songs were featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the in-game Ticklah radio station.
In 2011, guitarist/producer Jay Nugent enlisted Axelrod to engineer an EP that he was producing for The Frightnrs, a reggae band from Queens, NY. Following that, Axelrod began to work extensively with the group, serving as the producer and engineer on two acclaimed projects: Inna Lovers Quarrel EP which was released by Diplo’s label Mad Decent label in 2015 and the album Nothing More to Say, released by Daptone Records in 2016.
Despite their resemblance, Victor Axelrod is not related to Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry.
Selected discography
Production (albums)
2003: Easy Star All Stars - Dub Side of the Moon - Easy Star Records2005: Antibalas - - Afrosound Records
2007: Ticklah - - Easy Star Records
2012: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars - Radio Salone - Cumbancha Records
2015: The Frightnrs - - Mad Decent/The Full Hundred
2016: - Daptone Records
Production (singles)
2003 : Antibalas - Daptone Records 12"2007: Ticklah featuring Mikey General - Easy Star Records 7"
2008 Sharon Jones Daptone Records 7"
2009: Ticklah featuring Rob Symeonn Easy Star Records 7"
2009 Jahdan Blakkemoore/Ticklah ft. Victor Rice Liondub 45 7"
2009 Rob Symeonn and Ticklah Concent Records 12"
2012 Bob & Gene Daptone Records 7"
2012 Courtney John Liondub 45 7"
2013 Sluggy Ranks Liondub 45 7"
2013 7"
2014 Names You Can Trust 10"
2015 Daptone Records 7"
2016 The Frightnrs Daptone Records 7"
2016 Bob and Gene featuring the Inversions Daptone Records 7"
2017 Bob and Gene featuring the Inversions Daptone Records 7"
2018 Charles Bradley and the Inversions Daptone Records 7"
2019 Leon Dinero Daptone Records 7"
2019 The Frightnrs Daptone Records 7"
2019 Leon Dinero/Screechy Dan Daptone Records 7"
Appears on
2006 Amy Winehouse - Back to Black - Universal Records2007 Antibalas - - Anti Records
2008 Nas - - Def Jam
2009 Daniel Merriweather - Love & War - J Records
2010 The Like - Release Me - Geffen Records
2010 Mark Ronson and the Business - Record Collection- RCA Records
2011 Amy Winehouse - Lioness: Hidden Treasures - Island Records Group
2011 Ala Modeliste - Erykah Badu and Mark Ronson - Hyundai
2012 Antibalas - -
2012 Rufus Wainwright - Out of the Game - Decca Records
2015 Adele - "Lay Me Down"- XL Recordings
2015 Elvis Costello Vinyl: Music From The HBO Original Series Volume 1.9
2016 Lady Gaga - Joanne - Interscope Records
2016 Charles Bradley - - Daptone Records
2018 Kali Uchis - Isolation - Virgin Records
2018 Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings - RCA Records
2020 James Hunter Six - - Daptone Records
Collaborations
2002 DJ Spinna and Ticklah - Oyster Records2003 DJ Spinna Rapster/BBE
2009 Columbia
2006 DJ Spinna featuring Eric Roberson from album Papa Records
2014 Dustin O’Halloran Sony Music Masterworks
2015 Major Lazer featuring Kali Uchis "Wave" Peace is the Mission - Mad Decent/ Because Records