Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and consisting of vocalist and guitarist

Jay Malinowski Jay Malinowski (born 1982) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, visual artist and writer. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known as the vocalist and guitarist for reggae group Bedouin Soundclas ...

, bass player Eon Sinclair, and various session musicians. Their sound has been described as a combination of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

. Bedouin Soundclash was formed in 2001 and has released six studio albums, most recently in 2022.

History

The band members met while attending Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. The name Bedouin Soundclash is from a dub record by Badawi, released on ROIR records in 1996. They released their first album, ''Root Fire'' in 2001, and their second album, ''

Sounding a Mosaic ''Sounding a Mosaic'' is the second album from the Canadian rock band Bedouin Soundclash. The album was released on September 7, 2004. Recorded in Montreal and produced by Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains, the album spawned the hit single "When the ...

'', in 2004. During the recording of ''Sounding a Mosaic'', Bedouin Soundclash formed a close bond with producer

Darryl Jenifer Darryl Jenifer (born October 22, 1960) is an American musician, widely known as the bassist for the hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that origin ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...

, with whom they continue to work today. The album's

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

" When the Night Feels My Song" was the band's breakthrough single on Canadian radio, charting at No. 1 on 102.1 The Edge CFNY and gaining airplay on commercial radio stations throughout Canada in the summer of 2005. It was the No. 2 most played track on Canadian Radio, competing with

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Hanna, Alberta. Throughout its history, it has consisted of lead guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan ...

's "Photograph" and

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

's "Wake Me Up When September Ends". The song was used in a commercial for

Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce ...

, and was the theme for

Kids' CBC ''CBC Kids'' is a Canadian children's block on CBC Television. The block was launched as Hodge Podge Lodge in 1987 and contains programming targeted at children. The block airs on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Saturdays from ...

from 2007 to 2013. It was used in a 2006

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...

ad in the UK, and in the

Teton Gravity Research Teton Gravity Research (TGR) is an Extreme skiing, extreme sports media and apparel company based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The company was founded in 1996 by brothers Steve and Todd Jones, as well as friends Dirk Collins, Rick Armstrong, and Cor ...

ski film, ''Anomaly''.

2005–2006

In 2005, Bedouin Soundclash appeared on the

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...

, then embarked on a 31-date tour of Canada. They had significant chart success in the UK, where ''Sounding a Mosaic'' reached No. 1 on the

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

charts; the single "When the Night Feels My Song" spent 21 weeks in the Top 40 and peaked at No. 24. In 2006, they toured the UK with reggae legend Vernon Buckley from the 1970s

duo

The Maytones The Maytones (sometimes known as The Mighty Maytones) are a Jamaican reggae vocal duo who were active between the late 1960s and until 1980. History The Maytones formed in the late 1960s, and comprised Vernon Buckley and Gladstone Grant, both of ...

. They also played with a variety of performers including

Ben Harper Benjamin Charles Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music, and he is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, liv ...

Damian Marley Damian Robert Nesta “Jr. Gong” Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican reggae musician. The second youngest child of Bob Marley, he is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Marley is the youngest son of leg ...

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...

Burning Spear Winston Rodney Order of Distinction, OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist, and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian movement, Rastafarian and one of the ...

and The Junction, among others, and embarked on a sold-out tour (37 dates) across Canada, then another UK tour. Malinowski was ill during the band's concert at the

Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

in 2006. The set finished with "When the Night Feels My Song", which was sung entirely by the crowd, and once the band had left the stage, sung again by the crowd as a "thank you" to Jay for singing when he was unwell. The band came back on to listen, then Jay invited everyone to come see them again when they come back to Britain in the autumn, saying "We owe you one." They were the main performance at the September 17, 2006 Toronto rally calling for Canadian intervention in the

Darfur crisis The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups b ...

. Also in 2006, the band founded its own imprint, ''Pirates Blend'', to release their own side projects and b-sides, and sign other artists. At the

Juno Awards of 2006 The Juno Awards of 2006 were held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on the weekend of 31 March to 2 April 2006. These ceremonies honour music industry achievements in Canada during the previous year. The primary ceremonies were hosted by Pamela A ...

, Bedouin Soundclash won the award for New Group of the Year; "When the Night Feels My Song" was nominated for Song of the Year. The band also performed at the gala ceremony.

2007–2009

Bedouin Soundclash released their follow-up record '' Street Gospels'' on August 21, 2007. Their single "St. Andrews" became a No. 1 on major market rock station Edge 102's Top 30 Countdown. The song "12:59 Lullaby" was featured in an episode of

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

, "Where the Boys Are" (Season 3, seventh episode). The band appeared on the September/October 2007 cover of ''

Canadian Musician ''Canadian Musician'' was a Canadian magazine that was published bi-monthly by Norris-Whitney Communications Inc. The magazine closed in 2023. History and profile ''Canadian Musician'' was launched by Jim Norris in Toronto in 1979. The premier i ...

'' magazine. In June 2007 they co-headlined Rogers Picnic with

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

and

. On September 10, 2007, they played at

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

's Turret Nightclub. The crowd repeatedly asked the band to play "Santa Monica" off the ''Root Fire'' album. Despite the band's annoyance, and referring to the audience as "rude" to be yelling out requests, they played it as an encore, stating that it would most likely be the last time they ever played it live. They have yet to play it again, although Jay played a solo acoustic version at a Vancouver benefit concert for Insite on December 6, 2008, and at the 102.1 The Edge Casby Awards on October 22, 2009. The band also performed at the 2007

V Festival V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...

in Chelmsford, Great Britain. They played several songs, including " When the Night Feels My Song" in the "Virgin Mobile Union" area. That year their video for "Walls Fall Down" jumped to No. 1 on MuchMusic countdown. At the

Juno Awards of 2008 The Juno Awards of 2008 were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on the weekend ending 6 April 2008. These ceremonies honoured music industry achievements in Canada in the latter part of 2006 and in most of 2007. Country performer and multiple Juno ...

, Bedouin Soundclash received two nominations: the video for "Walls Fall Down" for Video of the Year, ''Street Gospels'' for Pop Album of the Year. They performed Japan's

Summer Sonic Festival is an annual music festival held on one weekend in August simultaneously in both Chiba and Osaka, Japan. The festival features revolving lineups performing one day in Osaka then performing the next day in Chiba and vice-versa. The lineup often ...

in 2008, with

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

and

The Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Sim ...

. In 2009, Bedouin Soundclash tour with

Paramore Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...

as the opening act for Grammy Award-winning artists

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. For most of its career, the band has consisted of vocalist and founding member Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young. Keyboar ...

2009 Summer Tour The 2009 Summer Tour was the fifth concert tour by American rock group No Doubt. Background On December 3, 2008, the band announced on their official website plans of a tour and a new album. They stated, "As most of you saw from our little iCh ...

. They also went to do multiple performances at the 2009 Australian

Soundwave Soundwave or Sound Wave may refer to: * Sound, a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave * Acoustic wave, the wave which carries sound Festivals * Soundwave (Australian music festival), an annual music festival 2007–2016 * Soundwave Fe ...

Festival. On March 6, 2009, the band premiered their new music video for the song "Hearts in the Night" on the website of the

David Suzuki Foundation The David Suzuki Foundation is a science-based non-profit environmental organization headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Montreal and Toronto. It was established as a federally registered Canadian charity on Jan ...

. In August 2009, they were chosen as the Headliner at Roots and Blues Festival in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. Also this year, the band signed to

Dine Alone Records Dine Alone Records is a Canadian and American record label, founded in St. Catharines and Toronto by Joel Carriere. The label is now based in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles. History Dine Alone was born out of founder Joel Carriere's home ...

and released the EP ''Where Have All The Songs Played Gone To?''. On January 7, 2009, drummer Pat Pengelly announced that he would be leaving Bedouin Soundclash to attend Queen's University Law School. He was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2013.

2010

In January 2010, the band and their management officially launched their label, Pirates Blend Records, with a distribution deal with Sony Music Canada. Their first official release was

's solo effort "Bright Lights and Bruises". In February 2010,

Sekou Lumumba Sekou Lumumba is a Canadian musician, based in Toronto,Nazareth, Errol (April 1999). "Solo effort sparks fresh inspiration for Ivana Santilli", ''Words & Music'' 6 (4): 7. who has been drummer for such artists and groups as Ben Kenney, The Illegal ...

became the official drummer of the band, starting off by joining them in Vancouver for the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

performances. After the "Bright Lights and Bruises tour" with

Michael Rault Michael Rault (born 22 January 1989) is a Canadian producer, engineer, singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Edmonton, Alberta. Career Rault released ''Living Daylight'' in 2015. The album received a rating of 7.3 on Pitchfork. The sin ...

and

Kinnie Starr Alida Kinnie Starr (born 1970) is a Canadian multidisciplinary singer and rapper. Early life Starr was born and raised in Calgary, where she attended Western Canada High School. Her ancestry is French, German, Irish. She is trilingual ( Englis ...

, Pirates Blend Records announced that

King Britt King Britt (born 1968) is an American record producer, composer, performer, educator, and DJ and record producer from Philadelphia. Britt is known for his eclectic mix of electronic, house, disco, techno, rave, experimental music, and other gen ...

was confirmed to produce the next Bedouin Soundclash album at the studio of Larry Gold in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. On June 18, the band headlined the 2010 Mississauga Waterfront Festival. In October, the band played

Expo 2010 Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China. In July 2010, the band played at the Apple store in Montreal; the result was the digital album ''iTunes Live From Montreal''. On September 28, 2010, the band released their fourth studio album, '' Light the Horizon'', featuring the singles "Mountain Top", "Elongo" and "Brutal Hearts" featuring

Cœur de pirate Béatrice Mireille Martin (; born 22 September 1989), better known by her stage name Cœur de pirate (; French for ''Pirate's Heart''), is a Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist. A francophone from Montreal, she sings mostly in French and has ...

2014–2017

On May 10, 2014, the band's original line up reunited for a performance at the

Horseshoe Tavern The Horseshoe Tavern (known as The Horseshoe, The 'Shoe', The 'Toronto Tavern' and The 'Triple T' to Toronto locals) is a concert venue at 370 Queen Street West (northeast corner of Queen at Spadina) in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and h ...

in Toronto. The show was a

Cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

fundraiser held in memory of the band's friend and agent, Paul Gourlie. In 2016, the band started working on a new album in New Orleans with the

Preservation Hall Jazz Band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a ...

and

as producer. By now, Lumumba had left the band and been replaced by drummer

Chuck Treece Chuck Treece (born May 30, 1964) is an American musician and professional skateboarder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1984, he became famous for being the first African-American skateboarder to be featured on the cover of ''Thrasher'' maga ...

. In 2017, the band released "Clock Work", their first single in seven years.

2018

In 2018, the band released six different singles: "Salt Water", "They Gutted This City", "When We're Gone", "Born Into Bad Times", "Drive", and "Holy". In 2019, they released the album ''Mass''.

2022–present

On June 2, 2022, they released their double single "Shine On" featuring Marcia Richards of

the Skints The Skints are an English reggae punk band from London, described by Clash Music as "the torchbearers for modern British reggae music." The Skints mix reggae, ska, dub, punk rock, dancehall, soul, and rap, touring extensively across the UK, ...

and "Something Lost + Something Found."

Discography

Albums * ''

Root Fire ''Root Fire'' is the debut album from the Canadian rock band Bedouin Soundclash, made while the members of the band were still in school at Queen's University. Track listing All songs were written by Bedouin Soundclash. #"Rodigan State Addr ...

'' (2001), Independent * ''

'' (2004), Stomp Records * '' Street Gospels'' (2007),

* '' Light the Horizon'' (2010), Pirates Blend Records * ''iTunes Live From Montreal'' (2010), Pirates Blend Records * ''Mass'' (2019), Mr Bongo,

Easy Star Records Easy Star Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996. Based in New York City, the label primarily produces and releases albums in the genres of reggae and Dub music, dub. The label has had multiple albums chart at No. 1 on t ...

* ''We Will Meet in a Hurricane'' (2022),

EP * ''Where Have All The Songs Played Gone To?'' (2009), Dine Alone Records Singles * "When the Night Feels My Song" / "Rude Boy Abroad" (2004) * "New Year's Day" (2005) * "12:59 Lullaby" / "One Way" (2006) * "Walls Fall Down" / "Gunships" (2007) * "St. Andrews" (2007) * "Mountain Top" (2010) * "Elongo" (2011) * "Here I Am" (2011) * "Brutal Hearts" (2014) * "Clock Work" (2017) * "Born Into Bad Times" (2018) * "They Gutted This City" (2018) * "Salt Water" (2018) * "Holy" (2018) * "When We're Gone" (2018) * "Drive" (2018) * "Shine On" / "Something Lost + Something Found" (2022) Compilation appearances * ''Juno Awards 2006'' (2006), Sony BMG * ''Juno Awards 08'' (2008), Sony BMG

References

External links

* * *
Pirates Blend Records
official site

Pat Pengelly as an attorney
{{Authority control 2001 establishments in Ontario Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups from Kingston, Ontario Musical groups from Toronto Canadian indie rock groups Canadian reggae musical groups Canadian ska groups Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year winners Canadian reggae rock groups Easy Star Records artists