Inside Don Letts’ record collection

A journey through sound with The Rebel Dread.

Don Letts has shared a new film called Behind The Records, delving into the parts of his vinyl collection that have shaped his forthcoming Late Night Tales compilation, Version Excursion.

“A disciple of sound system, raised on reggae n’ bass culture, my go to sound was dub. Besides being spacious and sonically adventurous at the same time, its most appealing aspect was the space it left to put yourself ‘in the mix’ underpinned by Jamaica’s gift to the world – bass. But that’s only half the story as the duality of my existence meant I was also checking what the Caucasian crew were up to not to mention the explosion of Black music coming in from the States.

That’s why ‘version excursion’ crosses time space and genre – from The Beach Boys to The Beatles, Nina Simone to Marvin Gaye, The Bee Gees to Kool & The Gang, The Clash to Joy Division, and beyond. You’d think it impossible to draw a line between ’em but not in my world. Fortunately, the ‘cover version’ has played an integral part in the evolution of Jamaican music and dub covers were just a natural extension.”

Behind The Records takes you along with Letts to discover the personal stories behind his selections.

Watch the film in full above, and head here to check out his Late Night Tales compilation.

Photo by Dan Medhurst.