leafie
  • Articles
  • News
  • Culture
  • CBD Guide
  • Product Reviews
  • CBD FAQs
  • Contact us
  • Complaints
  • Privacy policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Advertising
  • Work With Us
453 Likes
2K Followers
618 Followers
leafie
leafie leafie
  • Articles
  • News
  • Culture
  • CBD Guide
  • Product Reviews
  • CBD FAQs
  • Culture

Interview: Gentlemans Dub Club

  • Lotte Evans
  • March 19, 2021
  • 4 minute read

Born out of Leeds house parties in early 2006, Gentleman’s Dub Club have made a name for themselves as one of the most popular and respected names in dub and reggae music. Best known for their infectiously energetic live performances, gracing festival stages all around the world, and their iconic number ‘High Grade’ which has become an unofficial summer anthem.

We spoke to them ahead of their album release to talk about all things music and cannabis.

Can you introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi, we are Gentleman’s Dub Club, the be-suited dub reggae jump-around band you may have seen at festivals back when they were a thing!

Your music is a mixture of styles and influences all of which have deep connections to cannabis. How would you say that influences the creative process?

Well…. It’s probably different for each member of the band but weed certainly helps many of us get in the zone when creating and performing music. We also find it can be very useful to get a fresh perspective on the intricate details that go into a work in progress track as well. Taking a break and coming back to a song high can be really helpful. I’m sure many music lovers can relate to this – hearing a song high and finding previously hidden depths to it! What’s interesting about the effect of cannabinoids is the subjectivity of reported experiences, for one person a certain dose can induce extreme relaxation where the same dose might create a kind of hyper-awareness in others. It’s also interesting how cultural ideas of what a cannabis experience should be can affect the actual experience itself e.g. in the US weed has long been thought of as more of a party drug that gets you ‘high’ whereas in the UK up until recently the perception is more of it being a small group experience of being ‘stoned’ and maybe more inactive. This could be down to different strains etc. but equally could easily be down to the expectations of the user. Right sorry, I’m rambling… 

The COVID pandemic has affected a lot of people. Could you tell us how it affected you guys as professional musicians?

We owe most of the fact that we are still doing this today to the wonderful crowds that have supported us over the years. So the lack of live music has hit us hard financially, but also this incredible communal experience that we were accustomed to taking part in on a weekly basis just vanished overnight which is hard to process. We did a live stream a few months ago with a full sound system and lights which was amazing. We had a handful of really good friends there as the physical audience and it was amazing how close the feeling of 5 people dancing and enjoying the music live was to a few thousand. That said we are ready to get back in front of proper crowds again! 

You’ve got a new album coming out on the 19th of March, what can you tell us about that?

Our new album, called Down to Earth, continues to celebrate the unique and beautiful form of music that is Reggae. We have some of our favourite artists featuring – Hollie Cook, Gardna, Josh from the Skints and we literally cannot wait to start playing the new tunes out live! 

What’s been your favourite festival to play? 

Very hard question…. But it is hard to beat the experience of playing to a Glasto crowd and then go out afterwards on a high into the festival and enjoy all its musical diversity.

What are your opinions on the legalisation of cannabis? 

It’s a no-brainer. It obviously needs to be done carefully with continued research into the effects on young people and people with genetic pre-dispositions to certain mental illnesses. But putting the trade of a plant that has so many benefits into the hands of organised crime is unbelievably counterproductive. We now have overwhelming evidence of the positive effects of decriminalisation and legalisation from all over the world. We were saddened to see Keir Starmer articulate a totally retrograde and actually non-sensical opinion on this the other day, presumably in an attempt to court some focus-grouped set of voters. His stance was that cannabis has caused enormous harm to society due to organised crime, yeah that’s why it needs to be legalised dum dum! 

You have an impressive range of collaborations with big names. Could you give us an insight into how some of them work when they’re in the studio? 

We’ve been so lucky to have some of the greatest voices of this music bless our albums – from reggae legends like Winston Francis & Bitty McLean to rising stars like Eva Lazarus & Hollie Cook. Everyone we’ve worked with has always been amazing in the studio. These artists have all cut their teeth on the live circuit, so the recording process is just about trying to capture those performances in the studio.

What is the creative process behind making an album?

There’s a core team of writers that work closely with our singer Johnny to get the main ‘hooks’, lyrics and melody together. Then we usually open it up to other members of the band who might add a horn line or guitar melody here and there. The process can be slightly different from track to track, but this is often how things are done.

Gentleman’s Dub Club’s latest album ‘Down to Earth’ is out now.



Total
11
Shares
Share 11
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Lotte Evans
Lotte Evans

Lotte completed her degree in Film and Media Studies at the Manchester School of Art in the summer of 2020, and shortly after started at leafie as a content and social media assistant.

Previous Article
beach in bermuda from above
  • Articles

The British territories making their own cannabis laws

  • Liam O'Dowd
  • March 17, 2021
Read Story
Next Article
  • Articles

Coping with cannabis: three people using weed to get through lockdown

  • Sam Davies
  • March 20, 2021
Read Story
You May Also Like
Black the Ripper in front of street art
Read Story
  • Culture

From Jimi Hendrix to Black the Ripper: 10 of the best musical odes to cannabis

  • Sam Davies
  • February 26, 2021
Josh Faulkner in a music studio
Read Story
  • Culture

Interview: Joshua Faulkner

  • Frank L'Opez
  • February 12, 2021
jimmy cliff in a scene from harder they come
Read Story
  • Articles
  • Culture

Five cannabis movies you need to watch

  • Frank L'Opez
  • November 13, 2020
omaima salem
Read Story
  • Culture

Interview: Omaima Salem – MARFA Style Director

  • Frank L'Opez
  • January 27, 2021
old books stacked on top of each other
Read Story
  • Culture

Five cannabis books you need to read

  • Liam O'Dowd
  • March 16, 2021
wargasm covered in blood
Read Story
  • Culture

Interview: Wargasm

  • Frank L'Opez
  • March 27, 2021
Delphine Dénéréaz standing on topof a car with her artwork
Read Story
  • Culture

Interview: Delphine Dénéréaz

  • Frank L'Opez
  • March 6, 2021
still from Mrs Salzman Goes To Jail
Read Story
  • Articles
  • Culture

Lockdown Cannabis Film Festival – a review

  • Frank L'Opez
  • November 27, 2020
Read Story
  • Culture

The UK music festivals that are still going ahead (for now)

  • Lotte Evans
  • March 25, 2021
Latest News
  • psilocybin mushroom in human hand close-up 1
    Psilocybin found to perform ‘just as well’ as conventional antidepressants
    • April 15, 2021
  • swiss flag 2
    Switzerland to trial legal cannabis market
    • April 14, 2021
  • 3
    52% of Britons support the legalisation of cannabis in the UK
    • April 6, 2021
  • Sadiq Khan Mayor of London 4
    Mayor of London ‘could legalise cannabis’ if re-elected
    • April 6, 2021
  • young black men being stopped and searched by police in london 5
    ‘Decriminalise cannabis’ government race report recommends
    • April 1, 2021
ADVERTISMENT
Popular Articles
  • cannabis being weighed in a shop
    Could Coronavirus lead to legal cannabis in the UK?
    • April 21, 2020
  • indoor legal cannabis farm
    The Great British cannabis con
    • July 9, 2020
  • selection of cannabis in a dispensary
    5 ways the UK could legalise cannabis
    • July 2, 2020
ADVERTISMENT

Sign up to our newsletter to get the best CBD and cannabis articles in your inbox once a week


impress logo
leafie is a ≠ publication
© doesnotequal 2021. All rights reserved

Input your search keywords and press Enter.