Reggae and hip-hop crew Laid Blak pride themselves on their teamwork, Tim Hughes Hughes finds out in a chat with the band's DJ Bunjy

For DJ Bunjy, running a band is very much like captaining a football team. But with up to eight players on the side, keeping Bristol hip-hop and reggae crew Laid Blak in order can be more like herding cats.

“We are all into football, and treat it like a team sport,” he laughs.

“I am the captain of the band and am a perfectionist, but am blessed to be around these ridiculously talented guys. We all do it for the music, after all.”

Since being set up by producer Bunjy and friend, MC, and fellow footballer Joe Peng more than a decade ago, Laid Blak have conquered dancefloors and festivals with an irresistibly smooth urban sound which crosses genres, appealing to lovers of dancehall, garage, drum and bass — or anything else with a killer tune and fat beat.

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“It has grown organically,” says Bunjy, speaking to me from while taking a break from Christmas shopping at Bristol’s Cribbs Causeway. As well as Bunjy (who is half-Jamaican) and Joe (who is half Afro-Caribbean and half-traveller), the side now also includes vocalist Flex (probably the only black man in a band to wear a kilt), bass man ‘Lupo’ Lewi, drummer Stacy, Neil Solman on keys, Tim Waddington on lead guitar and, occasionally, guitarist James ‘Bar’ Barlow. Together, they have electrified venues way beyond their native West Country; tracks such as Red — a tune about the smoking of intoxicat- ing herb (“it’s about where we come from, in the ghetto” he says), and Bristol Love — a musical tribute to the grittier side of their home town, striking a chord with audiences and leading to rousing sing-alongs. “We do play reggae but we don’t see ourselves as a reggae band,” says Bunjy. “That is the common thread that runs through our music though.”

So how did it begin? “Me and Joe have always been on the drum and bass scene,” says Bunjy. “But after years of going around Europe and America we decided to put together a band.

“It started off as an idea to record a few tracks. I had some beats and the two of us recorded a tune called Cool Dude. We got a few session players together and met James Barlow, who still plays guitar for us.”

They did not, however, release the tune. Debut honours instead fell to 2002’s Scream & Shout. That was followed by Red, in 2007 and last year’s, Crazy and Woah. Then, earlier this year, they got round to releasing their groove-laden 13 song-debut album Red & Blak. The year also saw them building support and gigging up to four times a week. Highpoints included playing two sets at Glastonbury and supporting the likes of Lee Scratch Perry, Easy Star Allstars and Ed Sheeran, who sings a cover of their song Red.

They have previously shared stages with Damian and Julian Marley, The Wailers, Desmond Dekker, Horace Andy, John Legend, Massive Attack, Tricky and Basement Jaxx.

On Christmas Eve they pitch up at the O2 Academy Oxford to play ‘Count’ Aidan Skylarkin’s Reggae Christmas. Bunjy and Joe will also join Aidan on the decks.

“We have gone from purely DJ-produced tracks with no instrumentation to being a proper band,” says an excited Bunjy, who admits he can’t wait to get back to Cowley Road.

“We have grown through word of mouth.”

Many of the musicians were also footballing acquaintances. Joe was actually a semi-professional player, while others played for local Bristol sides.

And the name? “That was me just tripping over my words,” he laughs. “Joe was late for something and I tried to tell him he was too laid back, and it kind of came out wrong! We realised it was a great name for a band, though, and we haven’t looked back.”

“Laid Blak is a pot of flavours,” he goes on. “We are like the United Colours of Benetton and our music reflects each member’s talents and backgrounds — whether that be in bands, clubs, soundsystems (specifically Bristol’s City Rockers) or, in the case of Lupo, a soul and church music background. Flex, meanwhile is from Birmingham and was deep into the reggae scene there.

“And while we don’t make songs for the radio, it’s great when people sing our songs back at us when we put the mic into the crowd. But then, you get what you give, and we do play hundreds of gigs — and ‘big’ people up!

“What we do is make music for people,” he adds. “And, like Joe says, we make music our families would be proud of. We don’t play to a formula though. We have other bands copying us, but if you do that, you just become a one-hit wonder and are gone. We just do what we do with integrity and honesty.”

And while they make a great sound together, Bunjy admits one of his biggest achievements is just keeping the whole thing on the road. Though things have gone wrong. “Once we left Lupo at a service station on the M4 when we were driving back to Bristol after a gig,” he laughs. “It was another 40 miles before anyone realised — and he couldn’t call us because he’d left his phone on the bus.”

“It’s a lot easier being on your own,” he confesses. “I’m still in charge though. Everyone has got a life, but I need to make sure people turn up for two band practices a week, to recording sessions and to shows.

“I’m a bit blunt, but you can’t be shy if you want your band to stick together. It’s about the music and not the members.

“If the ‘strikers’ at the front, or the ‘defenders’ at the back don’t deliver, I’ll tell them. We’ve all got those skills and have to ‘man up’.

“After all, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best football players in the world — but even he had the hairdryer treatment from Fergie when he was at Manchester United.

“I want us to be the best on stage we can be. And, like I said, it’s a pleasure and an honour just to be in a band with these guys.”

Laid Blak play A Reggae Christmas
O2 Academy Oxford
Christmas Eve, 9pm-3am
Tickets £5 from ticketweb.co.uk or £6 on the door