Bedouin Soundclash

Bedouin Soundclash have become one of Canada’s grooviest bands by blending reggae rhythms and hallmarks with decidedly pop-oriented arrangements. Formed in 2000 at Kingston, Ontario’s Queen’s University, the group took their name from the producer Badawi’s debut album. Their own 2001 debut, Root Fire, established a diverse sound influenced by dub, rock, punk, and ska, while their 2004 follow-up, Sounding a Mosaic—produced by Bad Brains’ Darryl Jenifer and featuring the massive single “When the Night Feels My Song”—was a Canadian chart success. It also paved the way for international tours and energized their 2007 album, Street Gospels, which took a deeper dive into their poppy melange on tracks like “Walls Fall Down.” They branched out into a lusher sound (including the Coeur De Pirate collab “Brutal Hearts”) on 2010’s Light the Horizon, and then stayed mostly quiet for nearly a decade. During this time, they established their own imprint, Pirates Blend, and singer/guitarist Jay Malinowski worked on solo records. But in 2019 they returned with Mass, expanding their oeuvre with elements of soul, R&B, and soca.