If you’ve so much as driven past a festival in full swing – let alone attend one – you ought to be well aware of the phenomenon that is the Dr Meaker live band.
A wild nine-piece collective fronted by the band’s principal songwriter and producer Clive Dr Meaker himself, the west country troupe are renowned for smashing out D&B with turbo-charged soul, grit and gusto. They’ve been a staple on UK line-ups for over 20 years and have continued to raise the bar every year with their infamously riotous performances.
Sitting somewhere between Reprazent, The Prodigy and Rudimental in terms of their energy, accessibility and balance between dancefloor weight and traditional songwriting, they vividly showcase just how musical, soulful and dynamic D&B can be in a live environment… And they’re about to do it again with their third album Distorted Sun.
Landing exactly eight years after their album Dirt & Soul (which landed exactly eight years after their debut album A Lesson From The Speaker in 2008), Distorted Sun will eventually land as a full body of work in September/October on Dr Meaker’s label Flightcase Recordings. But don’t worry, we don’t have to wait that long… They’re revealing it track by track across the whole summer with regular singles dropping every three weeks.
It starts right now with first single Try. Fronted by one of the band’s singers Laurent John, it’s a surging, urgent and tender piece of D&B that captures the band’s earnest soulfulness. Stripped back enough for some lovely DJ creativity, but organic enough for a full-on mainstage emotional breakdown, lighters and all, it’s a timeless piece of deep drum & bass that’s packed with feels.
While it marks the start of a long-awaited album campaign (the whole eight year pattern between albums isn’t lost on the band) it’s by no means a return of any sort. Clive has been rolling out D&B bangers on some of the biggest labels in the game every month for years and the band are regulars at all your favourite al fresco events. In fact this summer is their busiest as they’re set to slay at over 20 festivals.
Before the summer and album chaos ensues we caught up with Clive for the Dr Meaker story. Check out Try while you spy…
Eight years between albums! You know the old ‘difficult second album’ cliché where it takes all your feelings and experiences from a whole life to that point to write your debut… Then the second album only taps into a few year’s experience? I guess with eight years between each, you’ve had plenty of evolutions and developments to flex on for inspiration?
That’s true actually. I didn’t feel massively pressured to write Dirt & Soul and it ended up being better than the first album so I totally avoided the difficult second album issue!
And during those particular eight years is when the band truly flourished and developed, right?
It was always there from the start to be fair. But it got a lot better during that time! The whole eight years thing wasn’t lost on me and when I wrote Dirt & Soul. I actually promised myself I wouldn’t leave it so long between albums. Now here we are. Again. I did intend for it to be much sooner but time goes too quickly.
Tell me about it. Any particular tune that triggered the start of this project?
To be honest two of the tracks were actually meant for the album but didn’t make it. So I reworked them and brought them up to date and all the others have been tracks which started four or five years ago or more. I’ve been putting out singles consistently every month on labels like V, Ram,. Born On Road, Souped Up, Bingo.
Some incredibly credible labels within D&B!
Yeah. So they’re dancefloor tracks but the album tracks are much deeper musical journeys. None of these would have made it on those labels because they’re not necessarily for the dancefloor. They will work on the dancefloor but they’re more artful, or musical if that makes sense?
Totally. That’s a really interesting dichotomy for you as a producer who makes dancefloor bangers and as a band leader isn’t it?
Yeah it is. For me it’s in the focus of the song. Is it deep and musical or vocal-focused? Those tracks are more likely to transcend any type of dancefloor trends so I’ll put them in the album folder. They tell a story and don’t have the typical drop-focused structure that dancefloor music requires. They’re often written with vocalist and reflect their story and emotions too. They’re to be experienced in an album context. While the regular singles for DJs are a different type of style that is made with a dancefloor in mind.
Yeah you’re making sure all your music has its right place and the audience seems to understand that, too…
Right yeah. Fans of the band are more broader fans of music full stop. It’s open for all. They’re much more accessible and use more traditional musical elements to draw you in. The songs come first, they just so happen to be drum & bass. Rather than them being made as D&B bangers.
Totally get it. Let’s talk about the first single from the album. Try. Tell us about Laurent John. He’s one of the main singers of the band isn’t he?
He is. I first met him performing at an event called Adhesive which brought many Bristol musicians together to work with a live string section and brass section. Joker, Roni Size, Die, ourselves and some other great artists were all involved.
That sounds amazing
It was a great event run by Jay Wilcox who is one of Bristol’s many inspiring figures behind the scenes who brings people together. And it’s down to that event that I met Celestine and Laurent. They were both in the vocal choir and I was blown away by them. I told them they deserved to be fronting an act and now they’re the two lead singers in the band.
I love connections like that. Other members of the band have been part of Dr Meaker for longer haven’t they?
Yeah Ben the saxophonist. Ben Wood. He’s been a mate of mine for years. We shared a house together years ago in 2002 and he jumped on from the off. Other members have been part of the band since shortly after and there are newer members who’ve joined since. We’re a really tight group and I love how we’ve reached this point and this formation of us.
Wicked. How do you find being a band leader? I imagine there’s quite a big responsibility to communicate and show empathy but also be able to article your vision and make it something that you all share
It’s something I’ve learnt naturally. When I was younger I’d gather my mates to put on free parties just outside of Glastonbury, I’d always be the ring leader. I guess I have a natural aptitude to bring things together, pool resources and make things happen. It can be difficult sometimes depending on personalities, external factors and schedules but I try to create a good balance of working fairly with people, making sure everyone is respected and bringing the best out of everyone.
Yes! What’s it like when you present a new tune to the band?
So when I write a tune I often think ‘how will this translate to a live version?’ Then I’ll share the sketch either in our WhatsApp group or I’ll play it in the rehearsal room. Depending on the response I get from everyone we’ll decide whether to rehearse it or not. If we do rehearse it and we enjoy it, and we’re all vibing, then we work on it for the live show. We all feedback on each other and I’ll ask for a show of hands so it’s as diplomatic as possible. Everyone has to have a say and have an input in the live show.
Fairness is the only way!
I think so. Giving everyone a say on the set, the tunes, how we play and everything else is really important. We’re all open to each other’s feedback without any awkwardness. We also try and make sure everyone gets their own moment in the show. So there might be a pocket for a horn solo or a drum solo for instance.
I’ve noticed that when I’ve seen you play. I guess during the rehearsal process, the tracks develop a life of their own too, right? As it goes from your DAW to a live thing, it becomes a different animal…
Yeah and it needs to be. I love it when the band improvise or suggest different ideas and explore adlibs and different ways to perform it. Actually on a more general note, the performance side is a more recent development for the band.
Like choreography?
In a very loose sense. For years we used to all about complete freedom of expression. That works really well to connect with the crowd in smaller venues because we’re right in front of the crowd and we’re all just vibing with each other.
But in some situations it can look a bit hectic and chaotic. Especially on the bigger stages. So over the years we’ve started to create professional stage dynamics and the singers have started working on some synchronized moves together. It looks so cool and that really inspires me and is cool to see. Like, we’re still getting better even after decades of performing together.
That’s wicked. You’re always evolving and improving. Was there a particular set you all played where you felt it was too chaotic?
It wasn’t a gig of ours, it was being at Glastonbury and watching Janelle Monae a couple about five years ago. Her entire stage show was 100% choreographed and planned to a T. It was amazing and I thought it looked so professional on a big stage.
So now five or six of the 15 tunes we play in a live set the band have worked out these really cool elements of synchronicity and togetherness which look amazing. Then the rest of the set is completely freeform, everyone busting out and expressing themselves how they like. So it’s a balance of controlled chaos and chaotic chaos.
My two favourite chaoses! That Glastonbury you mentioned, I think you all played the Glade stage and absolutely tore the place apart.
Yeah we did. We’ve played there a few times and always have the best time. Biff who runs Glade is so supportive and the whole crew, camping and catering are a big family affair, we love playing for them.
Lush. Let’s chat about festivals. You play around 20-30 a year so your perspective of them is super well-versed. What’s your take on where festivals are at right now? Especially in the UK, it’s so tricky for them.
Festivals are definitely our bread and butter and where we can really showcase what we do because the drum & bass scene doesn’t really make space for live bands. It’s exclusively DJ-orientated.
Yeah it’s a shame, that.
I think so. A massive shame. But as a result festivals have become our market and I’m happy to say we’ve never been busier than we are this summer.
You’re right, though. So many of them aren’t surviving and I started to see this happening a few years ago. The sheer amount of festivals popping up was wild and it saturated the market. There’s just not enough people for that many festivals. It’s just not sustainable. Especially now times are harder and everything is a lot more expensive. There just aren’t enough people to go round for every festival.
That’s the reality!
With costs the way they are, definitely. So while we’re busy this year, I’m always looking ahead at future summers and making in-roads with new promoters and events across Europe and beyond to ensure we stay busy. I’m also the band’s agent so I’ve been reaching out to festivals in Europe because I feel we’d go down really well at festivals over there. I’m actively going out to Europe to meet people, making connections and building relationships in the hope we can perform to many new audiences in the future. It is a really hard time for festivals full stop but I do have hope for the future of the scene.
That’s really interesting to hear. There are two very different types of festival aren’t there… Your massive ones which clearly have some type of financial backing where headliners are just stacked up and up. Or you get the smaller indies which are often more family oriented and more in tune with what festivals were before they became such a huge industry.
I do gravitate towards the more medium sized independent ones for sure. There’s much more of a personal touch like you’re part of something. The bigger mainstream ones feel a lot more soulless because it is all about the money. I always feel like the big corporate ones are just looking at who’s hot right now rather than supporting artists for now and the future, they’re just cherry picking hype acts. They might not support that artist ever again, there’s no relationship.
We’re in this for the long haul, we’re doing this because we truly love it and we are always looking to work with people who are still going to enjoy what we do and book us in years to come.
And actually get what you do!
Yeah that’s right. I guess a good metaphor is aiming for a Radio 1 hit and dedicating your sole purpose of music to that and trying to impress a few people for a short time whereas you can make music and build a solid fanbase who will continue listening to your music regardless of if you’re on Radio1. That’s how we are with our fans – it doesn’t matter how old you are, what colour you are, where you’re from, as long as we can vibe together then we are one. We’re not aiming for any ‘demographic’, we’re just here for music lovers.
Yes I love this! Do you ever go to festivals on your time off? Sounds like you really enjoy them but on a weekend off you’re probably nowhere near one!
Haha yeah totally. I’d rather go to a hotel with a swimming pool and a spa and chill out for a change. Saying that there are always bands I’d love to see and I do love the vibe of certain little events. More like folk or jazz fairs. Village style festivals where you go along and check something in a pub. Like a fringe festival. Things like that.
I’m in such a lucky position, though. I get to visit and contribute to so many festivals across the UK and Europe and that’s where I take my enjoyment from them. If I wasn’t playing at so many of them I would definitely go to festivals, which I think is what you’re asking!
Yeah man. So you’re travelling around these festivals and you just said you’re the agent, too. That’s an interesting juggle!
Yeah I wear many hats. I’m pretty obsessive. I’m also the tour manager, I do the social media, I’m producing the video and art material with collaborative artists, I’m the agent, the band manager, the tour manager and I play analogue synths to mash it up and that’s pretty much it.
But you love it! Clearly!
Yeah I’ve wanted to do this since I was 12. It’s not been a choice to some extent. It’s a compulsion, it drives itself,. I just love putting out art out, it gives my life total fulfilment. That and having a family.
Luuusssshhh. I know that vibe. So Try is out now, what’s next?
Simple Complications featuring Celestine on May 31. Then singles roll out every three weeks until September. Oh and we also have an album tour date in Trinity Bristol on November 2. Join us.
Dr Meaker – Try is out now
Support Dr Meaker: Facebook > Soundcloud > YouTube
