The history of the Swedish reggae band Liondub goes way back in time. Located in the town of Gävle.
The embryo which would become Liondub floated in the womb of slow-burning transition during the era of punk, new wave and ska music. Some youngsters from the north side of town stood sweating in their rehearsal space. And that rehearsal space wasn’t a garage or some spooky basement. No, it was in fact a dressing room, and a real small one. Can you imagine the smell? In those distant days Bob Marley was touring reggae to world domination, and one of those days drummer Mattias Bengtsson stubbornly said: “I refuse to play anything but reggae”.
Given no option the rest of the band switched direction and tuned into the Jamaican flow. Mattias elder brother, Jonas was also involved in the local music scene. He was also a drummer. Apparently the Bengtsson family loves to hit things hard…

However, Jonas being a couple of years older played music with some other guys from the downtown area. Of course there was some playful rivalry between the two groups in the beginning, but mutual respect was always in the air.
Being very hungry ´bout music most of the members of what would become Liondub started various side projects. Jonas Bengtsson and keyboardist Mathias Andersson toured with experimental rock band King Fishermen. They also released a couple of singles and a full-length album; Schizo Cabin.


Slide trombone man, Ralph Benton and saxophone player Joakim Lindgren joined the happy-happy party band Kadesch Kadeng. ( The author of these very words actually once stole some beer backstage at a Kadesch Kadeng gig.) These brass guys have also been hired for sessions numerous times with, for instance, weirdo pop group Ulgebräk, Manitoba Prospect and Zielinski. Joakim is also the only Caucasian member of Latin group Mango.
White men can jump.


www.liondub.com