The band's current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, and bassist Eon Sinclair with Sekou Lumumba on drums. Their debut album, Root Fire, released in 2001 also included djembe player Brett Dunlop. Patrick Pengelly played drums for the band until 2009. The band met while attending Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The band released their second album, Sounding a Mosaic, in 2004. The album's single "When the Night Feels My Song" was the band's breakthrough single on Canadian radio, charting No. 1 on 102.1 The Edge CFNY and gaining airplay on commercial radio stations throughout Canada in the summer of 2005. The band released their follow-up record Street Gospels on August 21, 2007. Often forgotten contributing member to 2004's Sounding a Mosaic is Brendan Rossi. Brendan provided keyboards and effects on several b-sides.

During the recording of Sounding a Mosaic, Bedouin Soundclash formed a close bond with producer Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains, with whom they continue to work today. Despite drastic differences in sound, Bedouin Soundclash and Darryl Jenifer are set to release a collaborative Bad Brains vs. Bedouin Soundclash mash-up.

Bedouin Soundclash takes its name from a dub record by an artist named Badawi, released on ROIR records in 1996. In an early practice, Malinowski exclaimed it sounded like Bedouin Soundclash, and the name was adopted. In 2006 the band began plans for its own imprint 'Pirates Blend' which will release their own side projects and b-sides. The first two projects to be released are set to be a Vernon Maytone solo project, and a Bad Brains mash-up, whose release is yet to be determined.