George Ward
Freelance journalist and online editor for CLUNK. Can be found out and about in Bristol, finding cheap records or having a pint on King Street.
Ahead of the release of their new album ‘Godspeed’ on Friday, we chatted with Ben Woods from The Golden Dregs
London 6-piece The Golden Dregs are all set to release their fourth studio album ‘Godspeed’ on this Friday 25th April.
The Golden Dregs started in Cornwall as a solo project for multi-instrumentalist Ben Woods. Since then, the project has grown and grown, evolving into a 6-piece ensemble in London, supporting Ezra Furman and Future Islands and working closely with End Of The Road Records, the festival’s record label.
Now, with their own label Joy Of Life International, the band will be dropping their new album ‘Godspeed’. Ahead of the release this Friday, we chatted with Ben about London’s place in the record, creating an artist-first record label and the ever-expanding collaboration of The Golden Dregs.
Your last album ‘On Grace & Dignity’ came out in 2023. What have you been up to since then?
We toured a lot in 2023 – USA, Europe and UK in the Spring and then a summer of European festivals. Really racked up the air miles. When that all wound down I got to writing the new record – I worked on it pretty much full time from September through to November. Then in mid-November we went into the studio for 5 weeks. We also got dropped by our label 4AD a couple days before we started recording.
So once the record was finished in early 2024 I had to go and find a job again, and spent months trying to find a label for the new record. Once it became apparent that this wasn’t going to happen, I went about setting up my own label, Joy of Life International, with the support of End Of The Road.
I also moved into a new recording studio on the outskirts of London, and have been producing and writing music with some great artists (some of which will be coming out this year on the label). I’ve almost finished my first soundtrack too! So, ups and downs, but it’s been busy that’s for sure.
Moving from a solo-project to a 6-person band is a big move. How has it been opening up the creative process to others?
There have always been elements of collaboration in The Golden Dregs. The first album ‘Lafayette‘ was recorded live with a band in Falmouth. I’d written the songs but everyone was contributing their parts. The next two records, ‘Hope Is For The Hopeless‘ and ‘On Grace & Dignity‘ were more solitary recording experiences, not necessarily out of choice.
But when taken to a live audience, they were re-interpreted by a band. The Golden Dregs has had a consistent lineup since 2019 now, and we have shared a lot of big moments together. Each member of the group brings their own thing and it just felt right to have them do that for the album.
The writing process was again solitary, but in the studio, I brought each of them in to make their own mark on the record; Matt on drums and percussion, Mike on guitars, Ted on keys and strings, Davy on synths and samples and Issie on vocals. This also allowed me the freedom to really get stuck in with the production of the record.
How was the recording process? Were the songs ready and fully cooked before hitting the studio, or was there room to play around with them?
I’d say the bare bones of the songs were perhaps 80 percent done before we went into the studio. I had most of the structures, lyrics and key melodies mapped out in demo form before we started. But that said, those demo’s are miles away from the recordings that emerged from the time in the studio. I think we started with 23 songs.
Some of them fell off pretty fast as they just weren’t working. But we finished maybe 18, with the intention of whittling that down to a concise 10 track album. I actually wrote 2 more songs on my cassette 4-track between recording and mixing that I felt completed the record, so that pushed it up to 12.
Ben, you come from Cornwall, but the band is now based in London, as far as I’m aware. What effect has this massive change in location had on your songwriting?
I’ve lived in London now for 8 years, but this is the first record I’ve actually written lyrics for here. I think allowing myself the time to be a writer here is hard, there are a lot of distractions, it’s an expensive place to live and to do that whilst trying to navigate the music industry can be tough. Between work at the studio and work at a coffee shop, I’ve had one day off this month, and I’m using that to catch up on admin. I’ve maybe written one song since I finished writing the album.
But I love being here. I’m inspired by people, and there are plenty of them here. That’s kinda what informed the lyrics of this new record. London has also been good to me. Whilst at this moment in time I feel like I’ve very much lost my footing with it, London allowed me to achieve things with music that I never thought possible, because there is, or can be, an incredible network of people working in and supporting music.
Have you found any inspiration from the vast amount of new music around you in the city?
I’m not sure the best way to answer that. There’s some really incredible music here but I have to say I struggle to keep up with a lot of what’s considered new or current. I guess I’ve been doing this for 10 or so years now without ever really being part of a scene, so if anything, the vast amount of new music just makes me feel old and out of touch.
And so much has been reduced to quantitative data – venue capacities, streaming numbers, social media engagement. It does take the fun out of it. Maybe that’s just me. But, I am endlessly inspired by my friends, they make the best music, and that’s not just specific to London. Everyone in The Golden Dregs has their own projects too – Mike with Lichen, Davy with Vogues, Ted with Sculpture Park, Matt with Junk Male, and Issie’s working on a new project.
Maybe that could be a scene? I don’t know. I think what inspires me most isn’t necessarily the vastness of new music but the people I know who are making it for the right reasons, finding ways to do it on their own terms.
Last year, the band supported Future Islands and Ezra Furman. Did you learn any lessons from performing alongside these artists?
Absolutely. Both Future Islands and Ezra Furman are such captivating performers, and we were so honoured to be asked to support them. With Ezra, there’s this rawness and honesty in her songs and the way she performs them that really stuck with me. And Future Islands have this incredible way of making every audience feel like the most important one they’ve played to, which is something I really admire. Their energy is relentless, but it’s also deeply sincere – it never feels like they’re just going through the motions.
Watching how both artists connect with their audiences made me think a lot about what it means to hold people’s attention, how much of that comes down to generosity, giving yourself over to the performance completely. It reinforced the idea that a live show isn’t just about playing the songs well, it’s about creating a space where people feel something real.
You’re putting out this new record on your own label Joy Of Life International, a collaboration with End Of The Road Records. Can you speak a little about your relationship with End Of The Road and how Joy Of Life came about?
End Of The Road has been really supportive of The Golden Dregs for a long time. Playing the festival over the years has always felt like a bit of a homecoming – it’s a place where people really care about music, and that ethos carries through to the label as well. When I started thinking about putting ‘Godspeed‘ out myself, they were the first people I spoke to, and it quickly became clear that we were aligned in what we wanted to do.
Joy of Life International came about as a response to the way so many artists are treated – even by independent labels. I wanted to create something that felt more artist-friendly, where the focus is on making records that last rather than chasing trends. The idea isn’t just to release my own music but to build something that can support other artists in a way that feels fair and sustainable. End Of The Road believed in that vision from the start, and their support has been invaluable in getting this off the ground.
So far, we’ve been treated to three singles: ‘Linoleum’, ‘Big Ideas’ and ‘The Company Of Strangers’. What was it about these tracks that you felt summed up the album?
Each of these songs reflects a different side of ‘Godspeed‘ and the themes that run through it. ‘Big Ideas‘ leans into the playfulness of the album, ‘The Company of Strangers‘ is more introspective, and I think it highlights the loneliness that sits at the heart of a lot of these songs. ‘Linoleum‘ has a restless energy, a push-and-pull between stasis and movement, which felt like an important introduction to the record.
Together, they felt like a good way to open the door to the album. They’re also the three that we thought might have the best chance at getting some support from the likes of Spotify (ha) and the radio.
‘Godspeed’ sees other voices appearing under The Golden Dregs name, like that of Issie Armstrong. What does this contrast in voices add to the storytelling of the album?
All of the previous records have incorporated other voices in some way, but this is the first time they’ve been used as more of a narrative device. ‘Godspeed‘ plays with shifting perspectives – there’s a lot of internal conflict in these songs, a sense of trying to rationalize things or escape from them and having other voices allows for that contrast. Issie’s voice in particular adds another dimension to the storytelling. Sometimes it feels like an internal monologue, sometimes like an outside force pushing back against the narrator.
You’ve spoken about this album not being introspective, and instead being more collective with ‘open arms’. Have your live gig experiences and relationships with your fans had an impact on this decision?
Definitely. Playing live over the years has made me more aware of how these songs exist beyond just me – how they’re shaped by the people listening and the band playing them. With ‘Godspeed‘, I wanted to lean into that more, to make something that felt less insular and more open. That’s part of why the record is more collaborative, both in the way it was made and in the voices you hear on it.
It’s still a personal record, but it’s not just about my perspective – it’s about movement, about stepping outside of yourself. The way people respond to songs live has made me realize how much of that already exists in the music, so it felt natural to embrace it more fully on this album.
Thanks for the questions!
The new album ‘Godspeed’ is out on Friday via Joy Of Life International and End Of The Road Records.
Listen to the singles here: