Lewis Bennett Dub outta Doncaster has released his first LP, which went on sale on the 3rd September. We had a quick catch up with him to discover how he found the world of dub and the story of his new LP.
Please talk us through hownyou discovered dub?
I've always been a fan of Reggae music because of my mum who used to play Reggae in the car when I was growing up. But I'd have to say that going to SubDub in 2015 and seeing Dub Dynasty play through Iration Steppas was what opened my eyes and ears to the amazing world of soundsystem and the heavy Dub side of Roots Reggae music. Bigup to my college mate Andy Horn for persuading me to go!
Did this lead to you creating music or were you already musically inclined?
I've played classical and flamenco guitar, which features in some of my songs such as 'Stand Firm', since a very young age so I've always been pretty musical. In the past I was producing lots of different genres like Gypsy Jazz, Bossa Nova and Hip Hop which I still do when I get the time, but my main genre was dubstep. When I first heard Dub music through a sound system, it was like hearing the original version of the music I had been listening to and producing and ever since then I have just been so enamoured with Roots and Dub music!
Tell us a bit about the LP. What’s the story or the theme?
The featured track with Ras Tinny, Trade Winds, is a reminder of the atrocities committed against our Black brothers and sisters during the slave trade, the incredibly inhumane conditions they were subjected to by the slavers during their crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and how people are quick to forget how complicit our own nations were in these crimes against humanity. The artwork for the record was drawn and painted by Ras Elijah Tafari, a Rastafari artist from the USA. It features a slave ship navigating a stormy sea as Haile Selassie I watches, hand over his face in shock and anguish.
How would you describe the style of production on the LP?
I produce all my Reggae music with sound system in mind, so there is a driving kick drum behind every track, with a heavy sub bass designed to carry the song and also to provide some real low-end power in a dance. On this album I collected a lot of found sound, including several samples from my local woodland that I spend a lot of time in. For instance, there is a recording of a pigeon call running throughout 'Pressure' with Sista Oona and sounds from the river and small birds in the other songs. I also recently acquired a collection of original Tubby's spring reverb impulse responses which I feel has added an extra dimension to my dub mixes on this album.
Got anything else coming up that we can look forward to?
I have indeed! I've been writing lots of new music including some old-school Rub-A-Dub as well as modern Dub and Steppas so I have lots of new music to share with everyone over the next year! I often put up short dubbing clips and how-to videos of my new productions on my Instagram which is @lewisbennettdub so if you follow me there you can get some sneak peaks of the new music. Also, I recently started a new YouTube series called #rootsbus where I link up with another Reggae artist in my VW bus and record a performance with them, so you can expect some new episodes of that very soon!
Grab your vinyl at https://www.soundmag.club/product-page/lewis-bennet-trade-winds-lp