Exclusive: Interview With BackBeat SoundSystem

Yes people...the wait is over, the time has come! After months of hard work & sleepless nights, BackBeat return with their 2nd studio release 'Navigate The Motivator'....and you will not be dissapointed! Six Tracks of funky reggae bangers that see the BBSS sound grow and twist into yet more tunes that won't be leaving your system in a hurry.

We caught up with Dean from BackBeatSoundSystem for a bit of light hearted Q and A...

How long has 'Navigate the motivator' been in the making?

It's been a little while now...I started putting some idea's down in the studio late last year, we then laid everything down as rough demos.  Once we had all the structures & parts how we wanted them, we then went and re recorded everything proper.  We actually only really totally finished the e.p a couple of weeks ago!!  We were still recording vocals the week before we got it mastered!! hah...Nothing like a bit of pressure to get the most out of ya!

Where can i get hold of a copy of 'Navigate The Motivator'?

It will be on sale at the launch party at The Eden Project on the 6th Aug, and will also be available to download direct from www.backbeatsoundsystem.com. For people that prefer a physical copy, we'll be posting them out from the website aswell.

What are you upto for the rest of the year?

Well, our good friends HongKongPingPong shall be featuring the tracks from the E.P on their NSB show 'Beating the crates' on Monday 2nd Aug...there's gona be a cd giveaway on there aswell so come check that out, then we're busy touring the e.p throughout August.  We've got some shows we're all pretty excited about...We've got the E.P launch party coming up at The Eden Project on the 6th Aug, then we're supporting Reverend Soundsystem at The Boardmasters Beach sessions on the 8th; 5 shows supporting the Easy Star All Star's including Falmouth, Cardiff & Brighton; Greenman, Boomtown Fair & Aeon Festivals, shooting a video with CrashBurn Productions & lots lots more!!  Goodtimes!

What festivals have you played this year? any highlights? favourite festival?

So far this year we've done Sunrise, Beach Break Live, Small World, NASS & Goldcoast aswell as a few other litle shindigs.  I think our favourite festy this year so far has gota be Sunrise.  Such a friendly, lovely, warm vibe there...plus you get the Amazing Chai Wallah tent as the main stage.  The quality of acts that grace that stage is mind blowing...seriously the only place to be at any festy!!

Not sure about highlight, but definitely the most memorable moment was when we lost Symons our bass player for about 16 hours at Sunrise.  He finally arrived at camp BackBeat an hour before our set topless, eyes glazed, looking like he'd been dragged through a bush backwards, god only knows what happened to him that night.  im not sure i want to know!  Whatever happened he rocked it out on stage!!

Where is the launch party for 'Navigate the Motivator'?

The release party shall be held at The Eden Project in the 'Tunnel of Funk' (Core building) on Friday 6th August in some of the most unique and beautiful surroundings in the country.  Entry is £7 plus you get a free drink if you book in advance! (www.edenbookings.com / 01726 811972) We're all really chuffed Eden are holding the party.  It's such a special place, you can't help but feel happy when your there, a perfect complement to some funky reggae!!

Where do you draw your influences from, has anything in particular influenced the new ?

I think the fact that we all come different musical backgrounds has a big impact on the sound.  Personally, i'm always listening to guys like Steel pulse, Katchafire, Fat Freddy's Drop, Tower of power, Micheal Jackson, so i think some of that probably rubs off onto the sound.  As far as the new cd goes, we wanted to create something more uptempo, more driving with bigger horns and bigger melodies.  I think we've achieved what we wanted.  For us, music is a journey, and you'll always want that little bit more, but if you didn't, what would be the point?  Complacent is never a good thing to be.

Where did the idea for the artwork come from, it's pretty strange!

I think i was having a cup of tea with our guitarist Sam outside a cafe one day, and the image just sort of appeared in my head.  I wanted the image to be totally surreal, but using real photography in the real world.  I also wanted it to be a kind of homage to the Pink Floyd covers, which have always been a personal favorite of mine....hopefully we pulled it off, i think we did!  Also big thanks to Adam Pedley our photographer, he's very patient and did a great job of capturing the idea!

Where did the name 'Navigate the motivator' come from, that's pretty strange as well!

I think the name actually came from my girlfriend, who at the time, was i think discussing my utter lack of navigational skills.  I like to think of the name as trying to work out why someone is motivating someone to do something...what are the reasons? Are there ulterior motives? is there something more beyond the surface?...but that's just me!  The great thing about words and music, is that they mean different thing to different people based on there experiences, that's why they touch people in such a unique personal way.

Where would you like to be next year?

I think we'll just keep on doing what we're doing, and see where it takes us.  Obviously playing bigger and better venues to more and more people, continue to spread the love...and maybe get paid for it! hah...I'd also really like to tour Europe, which hopefully might be on the cards for next year.  Who knows, all i know is that we'll be doing this until the wheels fall off!

Cheers Guys, All the best in the future, we'll be keeping a close eye!

BackBeat have kindly given us an insight into what to expect with this teaser, simply click on the link below and enjoy!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1585552/BackBeat%20SoundSystem%20-%20Navigate%20...

Additional Links

http://twitter.com/back_beat_

http://www.backbeatsoundsystem.com

http://www.myspace.com/backbeatsoundsystem

http://www.facebook.com/backbeatsoundsystem

"Back Beat Sound System are a nine-piece band based in the UK’s sunny South West, who play “traditional reggae music slapped upside the head with a party stick”. And they’re bloody good!  Their two-track demo CD is a short but sweet showcase of music that doubtless goes down incredibly well on stage. I’d even recommend booking them on the strength of these two tracks." - Sound On Sound (Europe's biggest selling Sound Engineering Magazine)

"I always get into trouble when reviewing South West roots-reggae bands because they're usually, quite literally, pale imitations of the real deal. BACKBEATSOUNDSYSTEM, on the other hand, are a substantially superior propostition. This is because a) they don't sound like middle class hippies playing at being 'streetsmart' b) they sing about survival not smoking weed or 'peace' and 3) they have fucking great tunes that honour the lineage of reggae rather than shame it. Stellar stuff" - 24/7 Magazine (The South West's leading lifestyle/Music Magazine)