The Arts & Culture Journal

Dub Be Good To Me

Dub: the sound of thunder underground. Invented by the DJs, or ‘toasters’, of the infamous Jamaican sound systems, Dub is the ultimate expression of laid back, bass heavy groove. From innovators like King Tubby to Dubstep producers like Benga, the genre has always ebbed and flowed, taking in new influences and constantly progressing. Now stepping into the arena is that most rare of things: a live dub band, and they’re from Leeds no less.

The Gentleman’s Dub Club formed in early 2006; its members comprised of a number of students from Leeds College of music. Tired of the institution’s, rather staid, jazz scene they set about combining their equal love of live, and studio dub. Setting out with the ethos of putting on “a great show that people will go away from having had a wicked time”, the band started jamming out instrumentals and running them through a couple of punchy speaker-boxes; and quickly discovered that they were gonna need more instruments. After the addition of synth bass, effects and a horn section the band now totals 11 members and have been touting those heavy, heavy monster sounds up and down the country.

The band’s sound combines the finest dub traditions with the club styling of dancehall and raga MC-ing. Tracks like Great White Shark and Party Boy have the urban feel of a band like Sonic Boom Six, mixed with some classic Upsetters era dub. The intricate songs and incredibly tight performances are most likely a result of the band’s experience studying either Jazz or music production; these guys have all the chops of any prog band; but also know when to keep things simple and let the power of just a slinky bass-line and a subtle beat carry them through.

Prolific road dogs; the band have been touring almost constantly since their inception, sharing stages with everyone from Foreign Beggars, Zion Train, The Wailers and Roots Manuva; as well as playing festivals such as Latitude, Secret Garden Party and off course Glastonbury. The band, however, do have a couple of ambitions left; “Groundation and Fat Freddy’s drop would be great to support as they’ve also had a big influence on our music.” As well as wanting to be the northern equivalent of Fat Freddy’s, the band also sight working with Horace Andy as something they’d love to do, calling him “a true dub veteran”.

The band are planning on heading into the studio to record their debut album in autumn of this year and are geared up for another round of touring after that. If you can hear the distant rumble of subterranean bass getting closer, I seriously recommend you get down your local venue and check these boys out, before they hit the big-time.    

Daniel Cadwallader