Don Letts is a living legend: as DJ at London's The Roxy he introduced punks to dub reggae, and as a filmmaker he documented that scene in The Punk Rock Movie, which led to a successful career as a music video director. He was also a founding member of Big Audio Dynamite alongside The Clash's Mick Jones, and has continued to make films, DJ, and this year released his memoir, There and Black Again.
One thing he's never done, though, is make a solo album. That will change in 2023, though, as he'll release his debut, Outta Sync, on April 28 via Cooking Vinyl. He started the album with help from Killing Joke's Youth, but most it it was made with dub producer Gaudi and features contributions from Terry Hall (Specials, Fun Boy Three), The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, Hollie Cook, Zoe Devlin Love (ex Alabama 3) and his daughter, Honor Letts.
The album's first single is the title track and it's out now. Over a breezy hook that cribs a little from "Low Rider," Don muses about his place in the world: "I've finally come to realise, I might not be so old and wise / when your outta time n’ outta sync / forever might not be as long as you think."
"For better or worse this is me, although I ain't saying I've got it down, as the lyrics in the single’s chorus readily acknowledges," says Don. "Ultimately the album’s a soundtrack to my mind with some cool bass lines, mirroring the sum total of my cultural journey and reflecting the duality of my existence, which is Black and British.” Watch the video below.
If you're not familiar with Don, get acquainted via terrific new documentary Rebel Dread, which is available to stream now.
don letts album outta sync
OUTTA SYNC: A1 Outta Sync A2 Something Coming Off (feat. Hollie Cook) A3 The Universe Knows What You've Done (ft. Terry Hall) A4 Crooked Face A5 Yes A6 Situationist (ft. Zoe Devlin Love)
B1 The Doorman (ft. Terry Hall) B2 No Fooling Me (ft. Hollie Cook) B3 Wrong B4 Civilization (ft. Honor Letts) B5 Present Dilemmas (ft. Wayne Coyne)
