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 (a.k.a. Bosco Mann) 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 ('' Version'', '' Record Collection'', '' Late Night Feelings'') 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 Records

2005: Antibalas
Government Magic EP
- Afrosound Records

2007: Ticklah -
Ticklah Vs. Axelrod
- Easy Star Records

2012: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars - Radio Salone - Cumbancha Records

2015: The Frightnrs -
Inna Lovers Quarrel
- Mad Decent/The Full Hundred

2016
The FrightnrsNothing More To Say
- Daptone Records

Production (singles)

2003 : Antibalas
"Che Che Cole (Makossa)"
- Daptone Records 12"

2007: Ticklah featuring Mikey General
"Rescue Me/Rockers Salvation"
- Easy Star Records 7"

2008 Sharon Jone
"How Long Do I Have To Wait For You/How Long Do I Have to Dub For You"
Daptone Records 7"

2009: Ticklah featuring Rob Symeon
"Pork Eater/Pork Version"
Easy Star Records 7"

2009 Jahdan Blakkemoore/Ticklah ft. Victor Ric
"The General (remix)/Elimination Game"
Liondub 45 7"

2009 Rob Symeonn and Tickla
"Rob I Land/One Way Road"
Concent Records 12"

2012 Bob & Genebr>"I Can't Stand These Lonely Nights/Rub The Lamp"
Daptone Records 7"

2012 Courtney Joh
"Born To Fly/Born to Dub
Liondub 45 7"

2013 Sluggy Rank
"Nah Bow Down/Wicked Dub"
Liondub 45 7"

201
Brukky"Why Yu Nuh/Why Yu Nuh"Names You Can Trust
7"

201
Ticklah"Ya Llego"
Names You Can Trust 10"

201
The Frightnrs"I'd Rather Go Blind/Version"
Daptone Records 7"

2016 The Frightnr
"Dispute/Version"
Daptone Records 7"

2016 Bob and Gene featuring the Inversions
"I Can Be Cool/Version"
Daptone Records 7"

2017 Bob and Gene featuring the Inversion
"It's Not What You Know It's Who You Know/Version"
Daptone Records 7"

2018 Charles Bradley and the Inversion
"Whatcha Doing (To Me)/Strike Three"
Daptone Records 7"

2019 Leon Diner
"Lover Like Me/Conscience is Heavy"
Daptone Records 7"

2019 The Frightnr
"Never Answer/Questions"
Daptone Records 7"

2019 Leon Dinero/Screechy Da
"If You Ask Me/Bandits"
Daptone Records 7"

Appears on

2006 Amy Winehouse - Back to Black - Universal Records (keyboards and handclaps)

2007 Antibalas
Security
- Anti Records (keyboards)

2008 Nas
"Fried Chicken”
- Def Jam (piano/co-wrote)

2009 Daniel Merriweather - Love & War - J Records (piano)

2010 The Like - Release Me - Geffen Records (organ, piano)

2010 Mark Ronson and the Business - Record Collection- RCA Records (synthesizer)

2011 Amy Winehouse - Lioness: Hidden Treasures - Island Records Group (piano)

2011 Ala Modeliste - Erykah Badu and Mark Ronson
Regeneration
- Hyundai (piano)

2012 Antibalas
Antibalas - Daptone Records
- (organ)

2012 Rufus Wainwright - Out of the Game - Decca Records (piano)

2015 Adele - "Lay Me Down"- XL Recordings (piano)

2015 Elvis Costell
"Point Of No Return"
Vinyl: Music From The HBO Original Series Volume 1.9 (piano)

2016 Lady Gaga - Joanne - Interscope Records (synthesizer/piano)

2016 Charles Bradley
Changes
- Daptone Records (piano, organ)

2018 Kali Uchis - Isolation - Virgin Records (piano)

2018 Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings - RCA Records (synthesizer)

2020 James Hunter Six
Nick Of Time
- Daptone Records (piano)

Collaborations

2002 DJ Spinna and Ticklah
remix "Days Like This" Shaun Escoffery
- Oyster Records (Remix/keyboards) )

2003 DJ Spinn
"Alphonso's Thang"Here To There
Rapster/BBE (Co-Wrote/ keyboards)

200
Miike Snow "Animal"
(Mark Ronson remix) Columbia (organ/mixing)

2006 DJ Spinna featuring Eric Roberso
"Butterfly Girl"
fro
Intergalactic Soul
album Papa Records
(Co-Wrote, Keyboards)

201
Red Hot and Bach
Dustin O’Halloran
"Minim"
Sony Music Masterworks (remix )

2015 Major Lazer featuring Kali Uchis "Wave" Peace is the Mission - Mad Decent/ Because Records (co-wrote, co-producer )

References

https://www.discogs.com/artist/45387-Ticklah

Axelrod on Spotify

Axelrod Productions on DaptoneRecords.com

Don't Trip on Discogs

Don't Trip from Village Voice





Frightnrs from Observer

Ronson from Billboard

Gabe Roth on Grammy.com

Ticklah on Easystar

External links

Wide Hive Records Ticklah Page



Wide Hive Remixed Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Axelrod, Victor
1972 births
Living people
Record producers from New York (state)
Musicians from Brooklyn
State University of New York at Purchase alumni
American reggae musicians
Easy Star Records artists
Jewish American musicians
Midwood High School alumni
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings members
Antibalas members
21st-century American Jews