Dennis Bovell – Live At BBC 6 Music Festival, Bristol 2016 – Past Daily Soundbooth: Festival Edition

Dennis Bovell – live at BBC 6 Music Festival, Bristol – Feb. 12, 2016 – BBC 6 Music –

Dennis Bovell may not be a familiar name to a lot of Americans, but he’s practically a household name in the UK. Legendary, not only for his Dubs, but as an in-demand producer for a number of artists from the 80s onward.

For this Festival, Bovell does a showcase – mixing materials he’s either produced or remixed, adding a spin of his own to the proceedings.

Further evidence this festival is all over the map, musically. And the wide range of music and styles has been the modus operandi since Friday.

Dennis Bovell has been one of the mainstays of Dub/Reggae in the UK since his initial involvement with the band Matumbi in 1978. With over 13 albums to his credit and numerous compilation albums, not to mention his producing work for such bands as The Thompson Twins, I-Roy, Bananarama, The Slits, Orange Juice, Madness and the list goes on. In addition, he has had a long-time collaboration with poet Linton Kwesi Johnson.

All this by way of saying Dennis Bovell is man of much talent, and his turn at being a DJ, weaving in his own productions, is abundant evidence of that.

You may not be familiar with who Dennis Bovell is – but you certainly know many of the productions he’s worked on over the past few years.

As with everything during this festival, it takes place in one of the many venues taking part in the three-day event.

But here is one more reason why the BBC Music Festival in Bristol has been such a success this weekend. There’s a lot of honest, compelling music filling the air – and whether it’s Reggae/rap/dub or its Indie/Alternative/Pop – it points up to the wonderful diversity that has always been Popular Music.

Just a shade under an hour, there’s a lot to absord, and it probably requires a few playings to get the full impact.

But suffice to say, Dennis Bovell is a distinctive voice in the current world of Pop and has an impressive number of collaborations and albums to his credit. If you’re familiar with him, there’s no need for an introduction. But if you are new and are just coming to this, crank it up and take your shoes off.

Dennis Bovell wants to share a few notes with you.

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