What can you say about the Mad Professor? He is one of the most prolific artists in any genre with over 25 albums to his personal credit, over 150 albums on the Ariwa record label which he created, production credits too numerous to list, remixes for a very diverse cross-section of popular music, and he still finds time to tour. Not bad for someone who doesn't even consider himself a musician.

Neil Fraser was born and raised in Guyana, South America, and earned the nickname "Mad Professor" from his school chums because he spent more time with wires and diodes than footballs and cricket bats. At the age of ten he built a radio from scratch, without even the benefit of a "how-to" book, and from then on he was hooked.

At age 13 the professor moved to London. In 1979 he built himself a mixing board , and accompanied it with a rag-tag collection of tape decks, reverbs, and echos. He set up his home-made studio in the living room of his South London home and named it Ariwa studios, taken from the Nigerian word for sound. Soon after, he started recording bands.

The bands kept coming, and after complaints from the neighbors, Mad Professor decided to move the studio somewhere more permanent. He recorded his first album Dub me Crazy in his South London living room, and mixed it at his new location. The album was released in 1982. Mad Professor continued releasing his own albums, and mixing/recording /producing the work of others, all while adding equipment to his ever-growing studio.

Twenty years later, Mad Professor has created himself one of the most succesful raggae labels in or outside of Jamaica, and has turned what was a mixing board and tape deck in his living room into a veritable bastion of dub reggae. Ariwa's musicians include Lee "scratch" Perry, Kofi, Sandra Cross, The Robotics, Pato Banton, Jah Shaka, Macka B, and of course, himself. Ariwa's catalogue boasts over 150 long players, and a long list of singles.

With a "do something everyday" work ethic, Mad Professor shows no signs of slowing down. His latest album Tricks in the Mix was just released, as was yet another collaborative effort with Lee "scratch" Perry. If that isn't enough going on, he is constantly recording somebody, mixing someone else, and producing yet another artist. Mad Professor has also found himself much in demand to re-mix the work of others, such as Massive Attack, KLF, The Beastie Boys, Rancid, and Jamiroquai. And he still finds time to play the occasional live show, setting up a smaller version of his studio on stage, and literally mixing up a new album every night. With the Mad Professor there is never a dull moment.

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