ON the face of it, you would think that a tribute act is the best way for music lovers to pay homage to iconic bands; emulating the original act in sound and look as closely as possible.

Try telling that to Easy Star All-Stars, the American/Jamaican collective who have devoted a career to putting a fresh reggae and dub spin on classic rock albums.

Easy Star record their own original music too, but their reworkings of Pink Floyd (Dub Side of the Moon), The Beatles (Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band) and Radiohead (Radiodread) are the most popular records in their back catalogue. The latter – a dub take on the rock band’s seminal OK Computer – is 10 years old, and Easy Star are embarking on an anniversary tour which calls in at Concorde 2 on July 21.

Drummer Ivan Katz, one of four original members of the band’s ever-revolving cast, says that Radiohead fans have been receptive to his collective’s version of OK Computer.

“You could go hear a Radiohead tribute band, who dress up like the band, but we’re obviously not going for that whatsoever. Me personally, I wouldn’t want to watch a tribute who are trying to be exactly like the original band – I’d rather people try and reinvent the songs. I think that’s why Radiohead fans have been quite open to us.”

Radiohead themselves approve, too: “They’ve given our album the thumbs up.”

Katz uses an unusual analogy to explain Easy Star’s method of songwriting: “It’s like if you’re having a sandwich and you use a different style of bread. The meat is still the same.”

Transferring that to the context of their Radiohead cover, the aim was to “rearrange OK Computer into a reggae style but keep some of the emotional tone. OK Computer is sometimes very dark – the chord progressions are really different from what you would hear in most reggae songs, and that is what makes our music unique.”

Fellow founding member Lem Oppenheimer says of Radiodread: “We had had so much fun with Dub Side that we decided to try our hand on another tribute. It took us a long time to figure out what to tackle next – the short list was OK Computer, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, and CSNY’s Déjà vu – but we eventually settled on Radiohead, which proved to be a great move.

It took the band and the franchise a bit more indie and into stranger territory, while at the same time, Radiohead made good sense following Pink Floyd, as I think the bands have a lot in common in their prog rock, their fanbase, and so on.

“The release really allowed us to show that the ESA story would continue and be as compelling as Dub Side was.”

It was a ‘brainstorming session’ in New York between the members of the Easy Star record label – Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein – that lead to the formation of the band and idea to reggae-fy rock albums. “They are my mates from back home, New York,” says Katz. “There is a big community of reggae musicians there.”

The drummer’s own path to dub music comes as a surprise given the booming New York scene he refers to. A big childhood fan of The Who – and specifically Keith Moon – Katz soon discovered The Police, whose obvious reggae influence lead him to the Jamaican acts Sting and company borrowed from. “I grew up a rock and roller but also a reggae lover,” he says.

This assessment pretty much encapsulates the appeal of Easy Star – the merging of seemingly disparate genres attracts a wide net of music fans. Katz proudly states that “people come to see the band who wouldn’t usually go to a reggae show”.

In a genre so reliant on a steady, often blissful rhythm, the drummer is crucial in a reggae group. Yet, when the ambient – and sometimes brooding – textures of an alternative band such as Radiohead are brought into the equation, Katz’ role is complicated.

“I’m playing a very familiar reggae groove but then you have these really weird chord progressions over the top,” he says. “But part of the goal is to retain the emotional tone of the original music but turn it into a whole different thing.”

The formula certainly seems to be working so far on the band’s UK tour. The Cardiff crowd were “singing all of the songs”, on the night before The Guide spoke to Katz and he hopes for more of the same in Brighton. “We love to see people enjoying themselves to different kinds of music – it’s the most fun aspect of the whole experience.”

Easy Star All-Stars, Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, Thursday, July 21, 7.30, £20, 01273 673311