Dub Pistols returned to the main stage @ The amazing beat-herder festival last week after a four year absence, they played just before the Happy Mondays on sunday evening, the crowd loved every minute of it as did the band.
The Dub Pistols have announced the release date of their new album “Return of The Pistoleros” and UK tour dates, The new album is due out on the 9th of October on Sunday Best Recordings.
They’re back! Although they’ve never really been away. Barry Ashworth’s evergreen bunch of dubwise vagabonds have been rocking practically every festival in existence all summer, and yet have still found time to squeeze out a new album — their sixth. And it’s another corker.
‘The Return Of The Pistoleros’ makes them sound like a Latin prison gang, extras in a spaghetti western, a marauding mob of Tequila-swigging mobsters, or a Mexican drug cartel. Some of which have a grain of truth to them. Joking aside, though, it’s been a long road to get to where they are — one of the most popular and best-loved acts on the circuit — but it’s testimony to their perseverance and staying power that their popularity still keeps increasing.
The Dubs have been dubbed ‘The Pistoleros’ in recent times by their army of fans — so it seemed only natural to adopt the tag for their latest album on Rob Da Bank’s Sunday Best imprint. El Pistolero is also the nickname of Uruguay talisman Luiz Suarez, who knocked England out of the 2014 World Cup. But as Barry is a Liverpool fan, he’s happy to still have this association. Just.
The Dub Pistols coalesced in the mid-’90s and initially surfed the big beat wave along with acts like the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim. They had some minor chart hits like ‘Cyclone’ and ‘There’s Gonna Be A Riot’ on Concrete Records, remixed the likes of Moby and Limp Bizkit, and made dramatic inroads into America. Their debut album in 1998, ‘Point Blank’, cemented their position as party-rockers extraordinaire, and by the time it came to their second album around the Millennium — ‘Six Million Ways To Live’, with guest vocals by reggae great Horace Andy and lead singer of The Specials, Terry Hall — they were more concerned with some of the world’s problems.
The album was due to come out just before September 11th 2001 — the date of the Twin Towers terrorist attack in New York — and so had to be postponed. It was the start of the now-familiar Dub Pistols self-deprecating mantra: what could possibly go wrong?
As the noughties progressed, they signed to Sunday Best and went a bit more poppy for ‘Speakers & Tweeters’, which included cover versions of ‘Rapture’ by Blondie, ‘Peaches’ by The Stranglers and ‘Gangsters’ by The Specials – a track they had been making their own live. After guesting on their second album with ‘Problem Is’, estranged Specials singer Terry Hall started singing live with them, and the warm reaction he received from music fans was instrumental in him agreeing to reform his infamous 2-Tone band a few years later.
Next Dubs album ‘Rum & Coke’, so named after some infamous recording sessions in Barbados, introduced more guest vocalists such as former Freak Power man Ashley Slater and Beats International gal Lindy Layton, and with last long-player ‘Worshipping The Dollar’ in 2012 they consolidated their position as one of the foremost festival-rockers in Europe.
The Dubs toured with Neville Staple from The Specials at the start of 2014, and this led to the toaster guesting on ‘Real Gangster’ on the new ‘Pistoleros’ album. On the album, ‘Our Life’ is a free-spirited dub cut featuring long-term Dubs vocalists Lindy Layton and TK Lawrence. Languid beats song ‘Say Goodbye’ features the deep jazzual tones of Ashley Slater, ‘Report’ showcases major new hip-hop talent Genesis Elijah freeflowing over some lilting Dan Bowskill verses, and ‘Kill Your Sound’ has great reggae vocalist Seanie Tee all over it.
‘Roll & Come In’ sees the legendary Earl 16 (Leftfield etc) return to add sweet words to this spacious dub cut, and regular MC Darrison guests on dubwise drum & bass party track ‘Ride With It’. And there’s plenty more where that came from — it is, indeed, another corker.
Like their incendiary live shows, this new long-player is a riotous mix of dub, drum & bass, hip-hop, punk and ska. They’ll be heading out on tour this autumn in support of the new ‘Pistoleros’ release, so watch out! The gun-slinging outlaws are back in town — and this time, they’re swigging Tequila.
Full Dates
2nd October The Boilerrooms ……………. Guildford
3rd October The Crauford Arms ………… Milton Keynes
4th October The Factory ……………. Weymouth
10th October The Hat factory……………….Luton
11th October Grannys………………………..Lowestoft
17th October Sound Control…………………Manchester
25th October FunkDub……………….. …….Chester
31st October The Donkey…………………….Leicester
7th November Pavilions ……………………..Falmouth
8th November Phoenix……………………….Exeter
14th November Garage…………………………Swanage
19th November Jazz Cafe ………………………London
20thNovember ……………………………………Whitstable
21st November Maddnes Party………………..Minehead
28th November Concorde 2……………………Brighton
This thursday 17th July the Dub Pistols will warm up for the weekends festival shows by playing a one off show @ The Owl Sanctuary in Norwich, 25 Cattle Market Street, NR1 3DY Norwich, Norfolk
support comes from Rebel Lion tickets are £12 available from http://www.theowlsanctuary.net/product/dub-pistols-plus-support-17-07-14.
https://www.facebook.com/events/521115738010379/
The Dub Pistols have once again been added to line up of one of the greatest festivals in the world BESTIVAL
The Pistols will playing the amazing Desert Island Disco on Sunday the 7th September
We’re deep in the heart of festival season and as our Desert Island Disco comes into sight, we’re turning up the heat at Bestival with a gargantuan wave of castaways who’ll be washing up on Robin Hill’s shores this September 4th- 7th. Joining the throngs of incredible acts spread across more than 20 stages in 10 fields of wonderment with mega soundsystems, non-stop parties and joyous, 24-hour escapism, we’re adding even more live acts, DJs, oddities and even a brand new area to drink and dance, so there’s a little something for everyone!
Rob da Bank says: “From pop to metal, rockabilly to raging techno Bestivalites have no boundaries when it comes to what they wanna watch, so I book it all! I’m totally chuffed to have La Roux returning to the Big Top once again, the traditional Saturday mosh pit should be in evidence for Skindred, amazing songstress Jenny Lewis will be warming it up for Beck and Bipolar Sunshine and Catfish and The Bottlemen are two of the hottest acts of 2014. Hot Since 82 and Jimmy Edgar are electronic royalty, and I’m delighted to have The Cuban Brothers and Kitty, Daisy & Lewis back for the umpteenth year running. Update your clash finder!”
Returning synth-pop nightingale La Roux is first ashore, finding no trouble in our particular paradise, and leading a charge that includes alt-ragga-metal behemothSkindred, virtuoso, not to mention stylish, rock n rollers Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Bestival’s own prodigal sons and funk machine extraordinaire, The Cuban Brothers, pop chanteuse Sophie Ellis-Bextor, erstwhile Rilo Kiley, and Jenny & Johnny front-woman Jenny Lewis, whose latest single “Just One of the Guys” was produced by fellow castaway Beck, top skank masters Dub Pistols, former Kid British vocalist Bipolar Sunshine, indie rockers Catfish and the Bottlemen, and Sheffield’s finest Reverend and the Makers. There will also be live action from connoisseur of life Howard Marks, and Nimmo and the Gauntletts, Bad Rabbits, Bob Moses, Reeps One, The Wolf and Arthur Beatrice.
full Line up and ticket info http://2014.bestival.net
Tune in to the award winning radio show from Lady Waks on Radio Record on Tues 24th June to hear an exclusive new mix from Barry Ashworth — with Alexandra Waks.
Free Download alert
Dub Pistols front man Barry Ashworth drops a bass heavy DJ set for you to download for free
grab your copy here
https://soundcloud.com/dubpistol/dub-pistols-breaks-mix-11-6-2014
Chaka Khan (UK exclusive),The Dub Pistols The Brand New Heavies, The Cuban Brothers + for Norman Jay’s Good Times In The ParkPosted on Wed 11th June 2014
inc David Rodigan, Goldie, Jazzie B, Ms Dynamite & more
Norman Jay MBE and The Good Times’ Collective have announced that joining the line-up is Chaka Khan as a (UK exclusive). Also cinfirmed are The Brand New Heavies, The Cuban Brothers, David Rodigan, Dub Pistols, Goldie, Jazzie B, Ms Dynamite, Secretsundaze (guest DJs TBA), Terry Farley and many more acts to be revealed soon.
Taking place over Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September, Good Times In The Park will be the biggest and best Good Times party ever held, set over three stages. Norman has handpicked the lineup, featuring iconic music pioneers from club and festival culture.
Norman says: “I am really excited with the names we can announce now, and there are lots of amazing artists to be revealed soon, who will make this an incredible festival. The response to Good Times In The Park has already been overwhelming, with messages of support from all over the world, and I feel genuinely humbled by this incredible show of support for what we are creating. Trust me, what we have got planned is going to really amaze everyone, there are some heavyweight names to come.
“We are creating something which will take Good Times to the next level. The festival will feature live stage entertainment, club deejays and will support exciting young British talent – everything we and our loyal fans would clearlyembrace and enjoy at a Good Times event. We look forward to welcoming you all to our biggest adventure yet in the land of music!”
Chaka says: “I am thrilled to be performing at Good Times In The Park with Norman Jay at his new festival. I love London and the UK and can’t wait to be a part of this event!”
Part of the festival’s emphasis is also focusing on supporting new talent with the Good Times seal of approval. Jamal Edwards’ of SBTV will be hosting the Spotlight Arena over the weekend.
Norman has enlisted Street Feast, the nomadic street food circus, to provide the food experience across the festival. Street Feast has taken London by storm since launching two years ago. They have raised the bar for food traders with a pioneering format of amazing food, good vibes and beautiful stalls.
Norman will be inviting Carnival Troupes to join the party across the weekend. Any troupes wishing to come and enjoy the festival and take part both dancing on the stages and across site should contact erform@goodtimesinthepark.com
All proceeds from the festival will go to four key charities Norman supports; Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Damilola Taylor Trust, Prostate Cancer UK and CoppaFeel!
Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September Wormwood Scrubs Park, London W12 0DF Tickets: Standard day £45 and £80 weekend, click here for tickets
Take’s place on the stunning Yorkshire Moors between 15th and 17th August 2014.
Fieldtrip is a debut, Music & Arts Festival set to take place on the stunning Yorkshire Moors between 15th and 17th August 2014. The wholly cosy and independent affair will offer lots of local goodness in a lush green site, with panoramic views of the moors, but just a short drive from Leeds City centre.
This compact and bijou affair focuses on fun & participation, taking inspiration from the promoters world festival travels, and distils them into one beautifully boutique weekend. There will be cider stalls, a hand-picked selection of amazing street food, live comedy and kamikaze karaoke, mud wrestling and unique little habitats to play in, craft stalls and acrobats as well as rap battles, a secret cinema and oodles of local real ales from Yorkshire breweries.
Fieldtrip will be an intimate, 1500 capacity camping soiree, with the emphasis firmly on attention to detail, with a wide variety of live & electronic music, spread across 7 specially designed arenas, each one having its own themed environment, to make it a much more inclusive and magical experience. There will be plenty of participatory games, performance artists, no expense spared production and myriad other little flourishes to ensure Fieldtrip really is a feel good weekend that harks back to a simpler, more fun and engaging time before the cooperate world took over.
As well as a lovingly hand picked selection of local musicians, brands, DJs & performers, there will be a smattering of international talent to really finish the festival in style. The music ethos is about quality, not what’s hot at the minute. We want people to leave the festival with a new favourite band, or DJ.
Weekend camping tickets start at £75 on sale here.
DUB PISTOLS head honcho interview ahead of the bands return to Electric Castle
The West London party-rockers, pioneers that successfully combined Dub, Ska, Hip Hop and Big Beat (Electronica), have given us a bit of their time for an email interview prior to arriving at the sophomore edition of the Electric Castle Festival (@ Bonțida, in Transylvania, Romania).
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Barry Ashworth is a big fan of the multi-racial 2-Tone ska band The Specials (being quite instrumental in reuniting them during the past decade).
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Never takes a day off, loves to try local food when traveling abroad, and visited the World Trade Towers the day before 9/11… here is the ClickZoomBytes interview with Barry Ashworth of the Dub Pistols.
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RiCo for CZB: When did you discover your passion for music and when did you first get the idea of combining ska and reggae with hip hop and electronic beats?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): I’ve always had a passion for music ever since I can remember, but I never believed I could make a career from it. It was the beginning of theacid house scene in 1987 and going to Ibiza that I started to get involved in running clubs from there; I started to promote bands and DJ’s… From there I thought maybe I should start my own band, so that’s what I did.
I always had a love for reggae music and electronic music as well as punk so the idea of fusing the 2 styles just seemed a natural thing to do.
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RiCo for CZB: How did you meet and team up with Jason O’Bryan?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): Jason was working with a DJ called Derek Da Large on theWall of Sound label, doing a project called Ceasefire. They had just made a track I loved called Trickshot, so I tracked Jason down, phoned him up, said I love your last track, dude – let’s make some music together, and that’s how it all started.
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CZB: You’ve gotten to work personally with Terry Hall and more recently with Neville Staple. Was working with The Specials what you expected?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): I never expected to be a musician, let alone get to work with my heroes and that’s what the Specials were to me – my heroes. They were my favourite band when I was growing up – so no, I never expected it – but it’s been an amazing journey and an honour to have worked with Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staples who now features on our new album.
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CZB: This year you’ve been to India, Dubai, Thailand with your music… How much sightseeing to you get to do while on the road promoting your music?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): It really depends how long we are in the country for, sometimes it’s just fly in – do a show – then fly out, but places like India, Thailand etc… the journeys are long, so we always get a few days off and try to see as much as we can – we try to hang out with the local people and always try the local food.
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CZB: Do you enjoy playing on your birthday or do you usually take the day off to celebrate with friends?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): I never really have a day off, so playing on my birthday is just normal – but in the last 2 years I’ve been lucky enough to have shows in London @ The Jazz Cafe on my birthday so I’ve been able to work and celebrate with my friends at the same time.
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CZB: How important is the socio-political message for you in your music?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): It’s very hard to combine music and politics but sometimes you have to say something rather than stand on the sidelines – if you feel strongly about something.
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CZB: You’ve mentioned in an interview that you especially liked playing in Ucraine; how do you feel about the Russian takeover of Crimea?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): I’m never happy when one nation invades another; I have many friends in The Ukraine and it saddens me to see their country on the verge of another civil war.
It’s more worrying that
the rest of the world has just stood by and let it happen.
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CZB: You were in the States during the 9/11 incident? What were you doing when you find out about the tragedy and how did you feel about the situation?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): I was on top of the World Trade Towers the day before the attacks took place… I then flew to L.A. to start a two-month tour to promote our new albumSix Million Ways to Live.
I was watching the TV in L.A. when the attacks started.
I, like the rest of the world, just stared at the television and could not believe what I was seeing.
I was shocked and saddened at what was happening – but I knew even then as I was listening to the US commentary – that nothing good would come out of this.
The US used it as and excuse to invade and topple Saddam (Hussein of Iraq) but it’s only made the situation in the Middle East worse and it cost thousands of lives.
There are no winners in war.
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CZB: Why did you name your most recent album Worshipping the Dollar?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): It was around the time of the global banking crisis, when the greed of the Bankers had once again brought the world to its knees. No Bankers lost their jobs but many working class people lost their homes, jobs and everyone has had to pay through Taxes and service cuts to bail out the banks. It’s their Worshipping of the Dollarthat has caused all this suffering so that’s what I was thinking of when I came up with the title.
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CZB: I read that you’ve been working on a band autobiography, What Could Possibly Go Wrong? …when will this be released?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): It’s being turned into a documentary which we have been filming over the last 3 years… I think another year and it should be finished.
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CZB: How did you enjoy the pilot edition of the Electric Castle festival and in what sense was it better than other festivals you’ve played at?
Barry Ashworth (Dub Pistols): The Electric Castle festival had one of the best atmospheres i’ve ever experienced at a festival anywhere in the world, the crowd was just amazing. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever played; I can’t express just how special it was, we have been lucky enough to be invited back again this year and I just can’t wait to walk out on that stage again. Romania should be very proud of what they have achieved. This festival could grow to be one of the best festivals in the world
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Interview conceived by: RiCo for CZB.ro
Thanks going out to Barry Ashworth, the Dub Pistols
and Edmond Lenarth and Andi Vanca from the Electric Castle festival
for their time and cooperation.
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