Gentleman’s Dub Club sign with Easy Star Records

Music News | Aug 26th, 2015

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UK reggae act Gentleman’s Dub Club is set to release their second full-length album, The Big Smoke, partnering with Easy Star Records, on November 13th 2015. Gentleman’s Dub Club will be touring in October in the UK but not sure if they will venture over in the US.

GDC’s debut album, FOURtyFOUR, drew upon the city of Leeds – the birthplace of the band – as inspiration for a collection of songs that reflected on their initial development period. A few years later the Gents can all be found in and around the capital, and it was this shift of location, and the band’s experiences within the big city, that inspired the new record. Using London as a backdrop, The Big Smoke explores everything from the personal to the philosophical and is peppered with the trademark GDC sense of fun and vitality. A return to a more raw roots sound is evident, along with a markedly upfront writing style, underpinned by the band’s familiar monstrous horn riffs and cavernous bass lines. This is immediately palpable in the romper-stomping opener “Music Is The Girl I Love,” a record already championed by the legendary David “RamJam” Rodigan: “This new song from GDC is outstanding and I am hooked big time! Please hail up the gents for me!”

The Big Smoke takes listeners on a well-paced and diverse musical journey, with guest appearances by major UK reggae talent and “Bedroom Eyes” writer Natty (on “One Night Only”) and tenor sax star Josh Arcoleo (best known for his work with the legendary Pee Wee Ellis as well as Joss Stone, Katy B, and many others). Up-tempo tunes (the catchy single “Bad Girl,” “Pressure”) mix with dubbier tracks that veer closer to Fat Freddy’s Drop’s style (“Earthquake”, “Extraordinary”) and instrumentals (like “Enter The Chamber,” which fans will recognize as often being the band’s live show opener).

Working with Easy Star Records on the release will give GDC more opportunity to continue their push to become a worldwide phenomenon and not just a UK favorite. This past summer the band traveled to the US for the first time and plan to follow with more shows in 2016, as well as trips to continental Europe along what expects to be a busy touring and festival year in their home country. Easy Star has been releasing reggae for nearly two decades, and in recent years has been at the forefront of a burgeoning US reggae scene, while helping to cultivate a fast growing UK scene that includes label mates The Skints and Backbeat Soundsystem. Gentleman’s Dub Club now joins a family that includes those acts, as well as Easy Star All-Stars, The Black Seeds, Rebelution, The Expanders, New Kingston, John Brown’s Body, Cas Haley, The Green, and more.

The Big Smoke comes out November 13, but pre-orders for digital and physical (including on vinyl) will launch September 25 (more info on that to come soon). The Gents just finished shooting a music video for “Bad Girl,” which will premiere in October close to the band’s upcoming tour.

TOUR DATES

2015
02 SEP – OUTLOOK FESTIVAL – PULA, HR
21 SEP – ANTWERP MANSION – MANCHESTER, UK
25 SEP – PARTY IN THE VALLEY – KESWICK, UK
26 SEP – FOOLS PARADISE FESTIVAL – LEEDS, UK
09 OCT – ENGINE ROOMS – SOUTHAMPTON, UK
10 OCT – THE GLOBE – CARDIFF, UK
16 OCT – BRIXTON ELECTRIC – LONDON, UK
17 OCT – BULLINGDON ARMS, OXFORD
23 OCT – EPIC STUDIOS – NORWICH, UK
24 OCT – ARTS CLUB – LIVERPOOL, UK
13 NOV – M11 – MILTON KEYNES, UK
20 NOV – MR KYPS – POOLE, UK
21 NOV – MADNESS HOUSE OF FUN – BUTLINS, UK

2016
12 FEB – MOTION – BRISTOL, UK
13 FEB – PRINCESS PAVILION, FALMOUTH, UK
16 MAR – HORIZON FESTIVAL – BANSKO, BGR

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