Bedouin Soundclash

With their melodic fusion of reggae, ska, dub, rock, and punk, Canadian trio Bedouin Soundclash found major success both at home and abroad in the mid-2010s. After taking home a New Group of the Year Juno Award in 2006, they remained a potent creative and commercial force over the next few years, landing another hit with 2007′s Street Gospels. Following the 2010 release of their fourth album, Light the Horizon, Bedouin Soundclash spent much of the next decade on hiatus, becoming active again with a string of singles that culminated in the 2019 release of their fifth album, Mass.
Singer/guitarist Jay Malinowski, bassist Eon Sinclair, and drummer Pat Pengelly met in 2000 at university in Kingston, Ontario, where they discovered a mutual love of dub reggae music. Taking their name from an album by Israeli producer Badawi, Bedouin Soundclash forged the engaging fusion of reggae, ska, dancehall, and alt-rock that marked their self-released 2001 debut, Root Fire. Over the next few years, the band toured Canada, building a national audience and honing material for their next release. Produced by Bad Brains’ Darryl Jenifer and released by SideOneDummy, 2004′s Sounding a Mosaic proved to be the trio’s breakthrough, reaching number nine on Billboard’s Reggae chart and yielding the Canadian hit single “When the Night Feels My Song.”
A stint on the Vans Warped Tour further increased Bedouin Soundclash’s exposure in the U.S., while in the U.K., Sounding a Mosaic hit number one on the BBC 6 chart. Back at home, they set out on a sold-out Canadian tour and later took home a 2006 Juno Award for New Group of the Year. With Jenifer once again in the producer’s chair, the band recorded their third album, 2007′s Street Gospels, which reached number two on the Canadian Albums Chart and contained another hit in the melodic “Walls Fall Down.” Two more Juno nominations followed, as did more international touring and festival appearances alongside acts like Coldplay, No Doubt, Alicia Keys, and Paramore.
In 2009, drummer Pengelly announced his intention to pursue a law degree and left the band. His replacement, Sekou Lumumba, took over on tour and made his Bedouin Soundclash recorded debut on Light the Horizon, in September 2010. Earlier that year, Malinowski released his first solo album, Bright Lights & Bruises, on the band’s newly formed Sony-distributed imprint, Pirates Blend. Following the tour cycle for Light the Horizon, Malinowski returned home to his native Vancouver and Bedouin Soundclash entered a hiatus.
Apart from a 2014 reunion show in Toronto that featured all three original members, they remained inactive until 2016, when Malinowski, Sinclair, and new drummer Chuck Treece began working on new material in New Orleans with producer King Britt (Preservation Hall Jazz Band). Throughout 2017 and 2018, the group issued a string of singles including “Clock Work,” “They Gutted This City,” and “Drive.” Additional singles followed in 2019 in advance of their fifth album, Mass. ~ Timothy Monger & Jason MacNeil