Conch Records
UPCOMING: Congo Natty - Jungle Revolution (BIG DADA)
Due out June 2013 on 2LP & CD, to pre-order contact us at info@conch.co.nz
Big Dada are proud and pleased to announce that they will release the album Jungle Revolution by Congo Natty on June 17th 2013. Congo Natty aka Rebel MC has a career dating back to his early hit with Double Trouble, "Street Tuff," but is probably most respected as one of the pioneers of Jungle - perhaps the first uniquely UK-born bass music.Jungle Revolution features the whole of the extended Congo Natty family and was mixed with Adrian Sherwood. Clearly showing this Rasta's belief that Jungle is a re-boot of roots reggae for a new century, the record is full of blood and fire, the sternum-buzz of sub-bass, rapid fire drum breaks, sweet hooks, righteous anger and professions of religious fervour. It’s the kind of passionate, committed, raw and spiritual, beautiful record that doesn’t come along every day.
To celebrate this release, we are giving away the track "UK Allstars," which features a who's who of British soundsystem culture. This is the first time ever that this line up have all appeared on one track together and so also marks a historic coming together of a scene which lies at the roots of so much of what we now take for granted in UK music, from dubstep to grime to drum & bass and beyond.
Roots Manuva Meets Wrongtom - Duppy Writer (Big Dada)
Available on CD here & 2LP here
Mini Mix via PopMattersTracklisting:
1. Butterfly Crab Walk 2. Chin Up 3. Duppy Writer (Skit) 4. Worl’ A Mine 5. Big Tings Redone 6. Jah Warriors 7. Proper Tings Juggled 8. Dutty Rut 9. Dub Decay 10. Lick Up Ya Foot 11. Rebuff 12. Son of Bodda 13. Motion 82
Fire up the barbecue, crack a Dragon Stout, mix up yer Guinness punch, carry out whatever cliched act of Caribbeanism you can think of, because it’s summer at last and a new Roots Manuva album is here! And with artwork from the legendary Tony McDermott (who was responsible for the illustrations on Greensleeves classics by the likes of Scientist, Mad Professor and the famous “Carnival of Reggae†12†sleeve) it’s a thing of beauty.
Okay, let’s clarify that ‘new’ a little. What you hold in your hands is in fact largely a series of re-works by a talented producer who, for reasons best known to himself, goes by the moniker Wrong Tom. Big Dada first came across Wrong Tom a few months before the releaase of Roots Manuva’s album, “Slime & Reasonâ€. The DJ and producer (whose previous credits includes work for Lynval Golding’s Pama International, Trojan Records and his Staines homeboys Hard Fi) got in touch asking if he could bash out a dub version of the lead single for that campaign, “Buff Nuffâ€. As it wasn’t costing and we’re cheap like that we said he could have a go on spec. When we heard the result we immediately commissioned a series of mixes which, turned round in about a fortnight, became the bonus disc for the limited edition version of “Slime & Reasonâ€. The responses we received were pretty ecstatic so we asked Tom if he would be up for expanding the work into a full album.
Two years on and Tom, with moral support from Mr Manuva, has turned in an album which covers all four of Roots Manuva’s main albums, plus tracks from “Dub Come Save Me†and “Alternately Deep†and a brand new collaboration with Mr Manuva and Ricky Ranking on lead single “Jah Warriorsâ€. Tom decided to re-imagine each track as if his re-work was in fact the orignal version of the tune from a previous decade. Hence “Motion 5000†becomes classic roots groove “Motion ’82,†whereas something like “Rebuff†sees “Buff Nuff†return as vintage digi-dub. The project is approached with such conviction and skill that many of the tunes become hard to place in their orignal context, so it really does feel as if these funky, skanking, shuffling little numbers are in fact the ground zero of the Manuva experience.
And while this album is, in effect, a bit of summer fun to keep us all satisfied until Roots comes through with a whole new batch of material, the re-works are so well done, and lock so tight with Rodney’s vox that they actually achieve more than anyone could hope for. Often when people are dealing with Mr Rodney Smith they’re so concerned with his ground-breaking productions, his convoluted back story and his Genuine UK Maverick status that it’s easy to forget just what a good MC he is, how clever with words, how funny and insightful, how relaxed and easy and plain beautiful he sounds on the beat. It’s all here, one of the best UK lyricists and voices of the last decade as you’ve never quite heard him before, but probably secretly always wanted to. Sit back and enjoy while the sun still shines…
Duppy Cast by Banana KlanRoots Manuva - Do Nah Bodda Mi 12" (Big Dada)
Roots Manuva - Do Nah Bodda Mi 12" (Big Dada)
Tracklisting: 01. Do Nah Bodda Mi (original) 02. Do Bodda Mi (Roots Manuva vs Wrongtom) 03. Do Nah Bodda Mi(Xrabit Remix) 04. Do Nah Bodda Mi(Red Light Remix)Mr Manuva returns with one of the standout tunes from last year's superb "Slime & Reason." "Do Nah Bodda Mi" was produced by man-of-the-moment Toddla T and, in true Rootical style, Rodney Smith used this bouncy piece of electro-dancehall to tell people to leave him alone! Packing in the hooks in amongst his switchback turns of phrase, it's a superlative performance from an MC absolutely at the top of his game and having all the fun he can squeeze into three minutes of rhythm. And that's before the remixes get going… On "Do Bodda Mi," Wrong Tom takes the original and turns it into classic eighties digi-dub, the spirit on "Sleng Teng" snapping with the lyrics so perfectly it's hard to tell which is the original. Xrabit then turns in another of his dayglo, cartoon-bright productions, a little like Mr Scruff bogling, but less beardy. The package is completed by Red Light's club stomper, a straight-to-the-floor cruncher that's already being caned by the DJs. Roots Manuva himself is currently working on material for his new album as well as liasing with Wrong Tom, whose reggae version-excursions will see the light of day later in the year on the full length Manuva retrospective "Slime & Version".
Get It here @ Conch
More Info: Big Dada Website Roots Manuva MySpace Roots Manuva Website
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