Dub Me Good To Me: Gentleman's Dub Club Interview

Gentleman's Dub Club on touring, dub's resurgence and on-stage antics.

Fans of the short-lived 80s ska and reggae resurgence rejoice: Leeds-based ragamuffins Gentleman's Dub Club offer up Specials-style grooves, brass and bongos to sate your appetite and are bringing their high-octane show to Sheffield later this month.

Their genre-bending outputs have been making the rounds for years on YouTube and Soundcloud with a loyal fanbase in tow. Following the resounding success of recently singles 'Bad Girl' and 'See Them', taken from new album The Big Smoke, expect mosh pits and oddly dapper attire from their live shows.

They're set to bring dub and reggae to the masses after a string after a brilliant stint on the European festival circuit got the attention of club organisers and roots music kingpin Natty, whom they collaborated with on November's 'One Night Only'.

Lead singer Jonathan Scratchley gives Erin Doyle the lowdown on the band's upcoming 02 Academy slot.

How does the creative process work with so many members? There must be a lot of egos to juggle.

It' a pretty well-oiled machine, actually. Everyone chips in and does their bit. It gives us complete control over the music that way and makes it more enjoyable. There's about three or four main writers but anyone can bring ideas to the table. We spend about a week developing the structure and songwriting.

How did you get into dub, reggae and the whole soundsystem culture?

A few of our mates had a massive house in Hyde Park in Leeds. Harry [Devenish], who's now our sound engineer, set up a huge sound system when we had parties there. It started with just a few selections of dub and grew and grew and grew. It was the first time most of us had experienced killer dubs. Subdub, a dub and reggae club night in Leeds, really introduced us to the music too. We're always trying to recreate those first house parties. Half of us were at music college doing jazz, the others doing various courses around Leeds and it started from there. We got a booking at Leeds Uni which set things off and then after that did loads of gigging and rehearsals.

"The Subdub club night in Leeds was the first time most of us had experienced killer dubs. We're always trying to recreate those first house parties.”

Is there much of a thirst for it in Sheffield?

Sheffield has more of an indie scene but we always make sure to go to Tuesday Club when we're here - they put on great programmes. It's a student night and it's just great that there's an affordable bass-driven night being held there regularly.

It still seems to be a pretty underground scene. Are you happy for it to stay that way or do you want to bring it to the mainstream?

Of course we wanna make it mainstream, yeah. We want as many people to be a part of it as possible. In the last couple of years UK reggae and dub has grown into a really varied sound. There's more growth towards being technically good. People are tired of being drip-fed shit. If you look at pop music, even, that's becoming more technically intricate. The UK has a strong dub scene now - it's evolved from its beginnings in Jamaica, and since mass immigration to the UK it's developed its own sound, like with any bass music. Rudimental are a good example of that. They've brought drum'n'bass to the foreground.

“People are tired of being drip-fed shit.”

You've performed at tons of European festivals like Outlook and Ostroda Reggae Festival. Do you prep differently for each?

If we have a shorter time slot we just play the bangers. We're resuming our Big Smoke tour and we tend to play a few new songs just to road test them with the crowd. It's good for the audience to hear new stuff but we always keep the same vibe.

You said a few members did jazz at college, and some are also metal fans. Does this influence your sound? Are there any similarities between them?

There are definitely parallels between bassline and metal in terms of the bass and drop. The audience knows the structure when they're watching, and they know what's coming. Also there's a lot of low-end frequency involved. Music is a big part of both scenes obviously, but it's also about the lifestyle too.

Your shows are renowned for getting pretty rowdy. What can we expect from your upcoming gig?

Big, BIG stinking basslines and new tunes. We've really improved our harmonies and songwriting too. It's probably not what you would usually associate with dub music, but we've come a really long way!

By Erin Doyle for Exposed Magazine