Bedouin Soundclash have become somewhat of a perma-celebrity at Queen’s. Yet even after years of dominating the indie music scene they still manage to stay relevant with recent changes to their l
ine-up, a bright new album and their very own record label. In light of their upcoming visit, bassist Eon Sinclair spoke to the Journal about the exciting changes to the band and hopes for the future.
You recently started a new label, why did you decide to do this?
“It was something we’ve been talking about for a long time and we came to a juncture in our careers where we had an opportunity to handle certain relationships, certain labels and things like that and we thought that it may be a good opportunity to try our hand at being a label. The main reason for that is, it’s just one more element of control over your own career and representation that we’d be in charge of … it also gives us an opportunity to maybe shine the light on some other artists that are having some problems getting out of the dark or that, we are looking for a particular kind of cultural style that a lot of other labels maybe aren’t offering, so that gives us a control thing where we get to release music as we want when we want to and then we get to help other artists out that we enjoy.”
How is your new album Light the Horizon different from ones you’ve recorded in the past?
“I mean there’s a lot of things … we used a different producer than we have over … the previous two records … He brought in fresh sound as a producer/DJ and more technical elements so he made it a sonically really nice sounding album.
I think that the tone of the album is a little bit more mellower, I mean for lack of a better word, darker, than some of our previous efforts which … for a lot of people conjure up images of the sun and summertime and beaches and that kind of stuff. This record I think feels more like an autumn record or something where it’s not really cold and dark but it’s not bright and sunny either.”
How have the recent changes to the band line-up affected the music?
“It’s been great, it’s something new and different … based on the kind of writing that we’re doing and the kind of sound we want to produce as Bedouin Soundclash I think Sekou is a really great extension of that. He also contributed a lot to the writing process on this latest album and I think that you know his style of drumming really comes through clearly and also … he’s a really great guy, we share a lot of the same interests and look at music in much the same way, so it’s a really nice fit.”
When was the last time you were in Kingston?
“We played Kingston… at the Ale House, if I’m not mistaken. And you know I was up there in August actually with my brother. I drove up there and spent some time on the campus and everything. It’s been a while since I’ve had an opportunity to drive on campus, there’s a lot of changes and it was interesting to see the new student centre and all that kind of stuff.”
What do you think the upcoming concert at Ale will be like?
“I think it’ll be great! I mean we always have great shows in Kingston, I think people will be intrigued and excited by the new line-up that we have. We also have some new production to accompany the songs and I think people will enjoy that as well … It’ll be a great show and a great night filled with music … it’s exciting.”
Do you have a favourite show you’ve played?
“When we first played the Renning Festival in England that was a really great show. It was our first time playing in England, more or less, or headlining in England … it was packed and everyone was singing the words.”
How was it being a part of the Vancouver Olympics?
“The Olympics were great … it was a very busy time but it was an amazing opportunity, we got to play in front of a lot of people and we played a few new songs that we’re working on. It was also Sekou’s first opportunity to play with the band really so it was kind of like a fast introduction to being in Bedouin Soundclash to, you know, the 10,000 people in Richmond … it was cool to be in Vancouver when it was as alive as it was.”
If you could describe your career in three words they would be…
“Spiritual … aggressive and any word that means a considerable amount of work. It’s a combination of all of that.”
Dream collaboration?
“My dream collaboration is with Sam Cooke but he’s no longer with us. People that are still around … I mean I think it’d be really cool to work with David Albarn. He’s a pretty talented guy that has a lot of, has diverse enough musical interests to compliment our tastes as well.”
What are your hopes for the future?
“To continue to be relevant in whatever it is I decide to do, whether it’s this band or this music, whether it’s teaching, whether it’s running a store on the corner. Just basically making sure that me and my friends and my family stay relevant. And also that people can work together towards a bit of a greener existence and a less violent existence as well.”
Bedouin Soundclash play The Ale House with Charlie Winston on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $20.
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