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Description

South London genre-blending story tellers Alabama 3 are set to further add to their rich musical heritage with a new single Whacked, available April 30th via Submarine Cat Records, with an album to follow later in August.

Whacked is the first taste of fresh Alabama 3 material since the tragic passing of their beloved and unconventional frontman and songwriter Jake Black, aka The Very Reverend D. Wayne Love, in May of 2019. Jake had Addisons disease and passed away several days after falling ill during a show at the Highest Point Festival in Lancashire at only 59 years old.

Then, with the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown upon the world, the band got creative and submerged themselves in their music, teaming up with producer Cam Blackwood (George Ezra, Jack Savoretti, Tom Walker, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes) to focus their minds on something vital, new and fresh. This can clearly be heard in Whacked, a song which pays respect to the late co-writer of the song, Pete Dunne.

A product of old skool Brixton, the legendary Seven Kevins Pete Dunne threatened us with this song prior to his untimely death, explains founding member Larry Love. Despite the heavy manners we are proud to declare we rose to the challenge.

Whacked was made in the early weeks of the first UK lockdown in March 2020, remembers producer Cam Blackwood. I think the hedonistic spirit of the song was amplified a million times by the fact we were making the record remotely with the musicians in the band recording their parts at home, sending them all to me to collate and arrange then I would send the instrumental track to Larry to record vocals on. The energy was pretty insane we were like caged animals desperate to get out.

We managed to find time three months later (when the first lockdown ended in July 2020) to get together and put the finishing touches to the song, continues Cam. Being in the studio with a few beers seemed like a fitting way to finalise the tune and put the last 1% of energy into the recording. This song feels like classic Alabama 3 to me. Its a banger!

Indeed it is. A low-slung groove propelled by frontman Larry Loves infamous throat rattle, with the addictive chorus refrain everybodys getting whacked on something, something that makes them feel good, Whacked will loop around your brain like a recurring dream you cant wake from. These are hedonistic conscious unconscious times.

You can praise the Lord, you can pass the ammunition, you can be woke you can be wicked you can have the wisdom of Solomon but unless you are ready to get whacked with Alabama 3 theres no point in dreaming, states Larry. Rearrange the rubble, paint your bomb shelters and make sure everybody in the neighbourhood feels good cos we feel like getting stooped and you need to get whacked.

Alabama 3 are very much back. Time to get whacked.