UK’ finest dub/ska crew Gentleman’s Dub Club announced their long anticipated return with brand new track ‘Castle in the Sky‘ premiering this Friday 20 November via Easy Star Records. The single will mark almost two full years since they last released original material, following their latest record Lost in Space from January 2019. In support of the new song the band is hosting an exclusive 1 hour full band live stream ‘Live from London’ on 27 November from 7pm, with tickets on a “pay what you want” basis and already available on their official website.
Gentleman’s Dub Club are well known across the UK bass scene with their energetic blend of dub, ska, reggae and electronics, boasting an extensive discography and frequent live shows at iconic venues and major festivals, as well as earning the support of leading industry tastemakers and underground media representatives and hosts. Following their formation in 2006 in Leeds and the two critically acclaimed EPs Members Only (2009) and Open Your Eyes (2012), they released their debut FOURtyFOUR in 2013 via Ranking Records. The initial momentum lead to the band supporting established artists such as Roots Manuva, The Wailers, The Streets, Busy Signals and many more across the stages at Glastonbury, Bestival, Goa and Outlook Festival.
In 2015 Gentleman’s Dub Club signed to the renowned New York independant reggae/dub label Easy Star Records, forming a strong partnership that allowed them to further develop musically and compositionally on their following albums The Big Smoke (2015), Dubtopia (2017) and Lost In Space (2019). Aside for remaining at the very top of the UKs dub/ska scene in recent years, the band have established a reputation for having some of the most energetic and reinvigorating live shows – something that was defitinely missed throughout 2020. Their upcoming stream next week will mark 8 months since their last performance and is the lockdown party you should not miss.
After 8 months of no live performances, we are doing an exclusive full band live stream on 27th November at 7pm GMT to promote our brand new single – CASTLE IN THE SKY. We will be playing a full 1 hour live show for you. TICKETS —> https://t.co/y6wUp0g0Uf pic.twitter.com/ilR7CJu3wK — Gentleman’s Dub Club #blacklivesmatter (@Gentlemansdub) November 18, 2020
The band’s last album Lost In Space from two years ago saw a predominantly positive reception from fans and critics, with Easy Star Records praising their “incredible ability to fuse sounds together until they feel like they’ve always belonged” best shown in the lead single ‘Stardust‘. The label press release page also highlights the unified response of major genre media outlets, with Mixmag giving the record 8/10 for its “triumphant, powerful beats from Gentleman’s Dub Club, an act who continue to push sound-system music way above and beyond”, Clash Magazine hailing “their revolutionary skank spiralling out into outer dimensions of bass exploration” and Reggae Steady Ska pointing out the “genre-crossing, mind-bending sonic adventures, blending reggae, dub, jazz and jam-band aesthetics, creating a sound that’s somehow both rooted and futuristic”.
In 2018 Gentleman’s Dub Club released the killer collaboration album Pound for Pound with UK production duo Nextmen that featured the absolute banger ‘Rudeboy‘ with guest vocals from Gardna. Most recently, the band shared an exlusive remix of Reggae Roast and Mr. Williamz’ track ‘Never B4‘ for Trojan Reloaded. In case you have been sleeping on Gentlemen’s Dub Club until now, check out their most popular single ‘High Grade‘ taken from the 2012 Open Your Eyes EP, boasting 2 million views on YouTube and almost 6 million streams on Spotify and perfectly showcasing the band’s signature genre blending and infectious live energy.
Gentleman’s Dub Club’s current studio and stage line-up consists of Jonathan Scratchley (vocals), Tommy Evans (drums), Kola Bello (keyboards), Nick Tyson (guitar), Toby Davies (bass, synths), Niall Lavelle (percussion), Matt Roberts (trumpet), Kieren Gallagher (sax) and Harry Devenish (sound engineering).
