Way back In January 1995, Ollie Teeba and Jake Wherry AKA The Herbaliser, a sample- based beatmaking duo from Twickenham, South West London, released their debut 12” single ‘The Real Killer’ on UK label Ninja Tune. The pair were deeply immersed in Hip Hop culture and heavily into digging around in dusty record bins looking for funky samples. As well as jazz and soul records, they had a particular taste in old movie soundtracks, which would become a particular characteristic of their production sound.
They soon followed up with their first LP, ‘Remedies’ Establishing themselves as one of the main features of the Ninja Tune crew, as they expanded their roster of eclectic artists and DJs. The following year, as they were recording their second full length release, ‘Blow Your Headphones’, they extended their output to include an 8 piece live band and debuted June 1996 at George IV in Brixton. The Herbaliser Band continued on, touring internationally, to great reception, from diverse audiences and would become regulars at a multitude of electronic, dance, dub and jazz festivals, worldwide, for the next 2 decades or so.
Finally, in 2020, the relationship, of the production duo that this all began with, came to a conclusion. In 2021 Jake Wherry solely declared The Herbaliser finished with a very simple statement across the internet that read “The Herbaliser played their last official show in 2021. Thanks for your support over the years.”
Now, in 2024, after something of a hiatus, The Herbaliser Band have reformed with original members Ralph Lamb (trumpet/flugelhorn), Andrew Ross (tenor/baritone sax- flute), (Micah Moody (drums), Patrick Dawes (percussion) with James Morton (Alto Sax)Oliver Parfitt (keyboards), Conor Cotterill (bass) & of course DJ Ollie Teeba on the turntables.
