Download: Deadbeat “Huey Lewis Dub”
Political dub.
Ahead of the US election, Deadbeat, real name Scott Monteith, has shared a new digital single, available via Bandcamp now.
The lead track, which we’re offering for free download to full XLR8R+ members (instead of the pay-what-you-want download on Deadbeat’s Bandcamp), draws its name from the Huey, a helicopter that revolutionized the Vietnam war, and the late Senator John Lewis, whose voice, encouraging us to vote, appears over a Deadbeat dub groove.
“The vote is precious, it’s almost sacred,” Lewis says. “It’s the most powerful, non-violent instrumental tool we have in our democratic society. We should make it easy and simple for everybody to participate.”
In the first years of the Vietnam war, the United States military first weaponized the Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, popularly known as the Huey. It revolutionized every aspect of warfare at the time, saving the lives of countless American soldiers and ending the lives of their countless Vietnamese counterparts.
“Though we have thankfully not reached the point in the current conflict where our exchanges are via bayonets and bullets, in far too many cases the wounds cut just as deeply, and take just as long, if not longer, to heal,” Monteith tells XLR8R. “Words, and the knowledge they covey, are the weapons of the future.”
And though he has passed on, the late Senator John Lewis was one of the greatest weavers of words America has ever known, Monteith continues. “As such, it seems only fitting, in these crucial last days, dark though they may seem, to listen once again, and be empowered by his sage advice.”
The single comes accompanied with a “Move Your Feet” edit.
Full XLR8R+ Members can download the track in wav. format below.
For those unfamiliar, XLR8R+ is a member-supported music community and curated music experience. Every month, you will get at least three exclusive tracks—sometimes more—by a wealth of amazing artists that XLR8R has supported over the years, as well as access to the member’s area where you can submit tracks and DJ mixes to be showcased in this feature series and to the XLR8R+ community, as well as exclusive editorial content, mixes, FREE passes to music festivals and events, playlists, weekly downloads such as these, and more. You can find out more here.