Mellow reggae act looks abroad
It was a whole new step in Bedouin Soundclash’s transcontinental dance. In the last half-decade the trio has trotted the globe and yearned to capture every earthly flavour with its sugary punk-ska rhythms. But as band members plugged in for a sound check in Shanghai earlier this fall they realized for the very first time that the world had come to them.
"We… sound checked on the first day on a stage in this square… (and) became somewhat of a spectacle for the people there" says frontman Jay Malinowski of the band’s prep for its World Expo gig in October. "I think by the end of it about 300 people had gathered in front of the stage listening to us try out sounds thinking that it was a show. It made me realize how foreign going to see a live ‘rock’ band must have been. Going to see bands play is something that is a rite of passage where I grew up but it probably doesn’t have the same meaning in China."
The massive international fair was surreal on every level — pavilions from every continent within walking distance designed to stand out and snag overwhelmed visitors seeking to take in the experience all at once. It was a spectacle that cleverly masked much of its superficiality — much like the notion of touring the world in a rock band or in Bedouin Soundclash’s case filtering reggae through a pop lens for an audience that takes the genre’s roots for granted.
“The Canadian pavilion was really well put together” Malinowski says. “I’m not sure I consider a world expo to be representative of the actual world around us… (but) what was most inspiring was the way each exhibit captured the imagination of what could be in the world in a very positive light.”
Exploring that potential has been Bedouin’s mission all along. The trio crosses the boundaries of nations and ideas; its music has been weaving between reggae ska and folk since its breakthrough 2004 album Sounding a Mosaic. Its lead single was the sparsely breezy “When the Night Feels My Song” a fresh eclectic gust that swept across the airwaves becoming one of the year’s signature tunes.
This fall Bedouin released its fourth album Light the Horizon. Rather than trying to recapture the catchy glory of its previous hits the trio instead opted for more sombre subdued tunes like “No One Moves No One Gets Hurt” and the punky reggae flair of “Mountain Top” a bouncing number that comes off like playful rhythmic banter between The Clash and The Police. But the album’s highlight is the blistering yearning of “Fool’s Tattoo.”
“It’s about how we can… make definitive statements about our lives and our choices and what we won’t do again but forget that as humans we are really fluid” Malinowski says. “You can meet a lot of people who have tattoos that they regret.”
And while some of Bedouin’s earnest naiveté may have faded from its rhythms and song titles Malinowski insists the trio isn’t bogged down by cynicism. This despite carrying the daunting lineage that The Police and The Clash started delivering reggae to an audience that can never truly connect with the genre’s tortured spirit.
“We are not Rastas the music is not about religiosity in that sense to me…. Music is a transcendent form of expression” Malinowski says of reggae’s universal nature which he found to be more than apparent as a boy strolling down Toronto’s side streets and burrowing himself in those mellow harmonies.
“Where I live in Toronto those rhythms are played out of the shops everywhere you go. I’ve always loved the sound of reggae because of its pure feel and emotion. It sounds very honest to me. If people have a hang-up with race and the rules behind what people can and can’t do then they will have to go pretty far back in rock and roll to find their purity. I think at this point that sentiment is somewhat over.”
