Bongo Chilli Records Presents…

Bongo 003

ROGUE STATE & BONGO CHILLI – “MY ADDRESS”
+ INSTRUMENTAL & VISIONARY rmx

Bongo Chilli Records returns in style for the first release of 2009. ‘My Address’ deals with the issue of location discrimination dealt to those living in the ghetto. The combination of Bongo Chilli, Rogue State and Visionary has produced a pair of blistering dancefloor tracks.

ROGUE STATE & BONGO CHILLI – “MY ADDRESS”

Rogue State has provided the original riddim for every Bongo Chilli Recs release so far and this one is no different with Rogue delivering a thundering and infectious beat for Chilli’s powerful message. Eastern melodies at the start lead into a pounding kick drum and shattering snare that will have any ragga fan exercising hard. Rogue’s added a digital twist to the Jamaican ragga sound with the addition of super-low subs and some malevolent synth strings. Rogue’s original riddim is also included with Chilli’s vocal version.

ROGUE STATE & BONGO CHILLI – “MY ADDRESS” (VISIONARY RMX)

Canadian DnB duo Visionary have made their mark on the international DnB scene by consistently producing fantastic jungle infused tracks on labels like Digital Sound Boy and Play:Music. In their version of ‘My Address’, old-skool loops are recreated and remastered to create a spine-shaking and driving riddim that’s underpinned with a whirring bassline. Rogue’s eastern sample is used to great effect and Chilli’s vocal sits perfectly in the composition. Ragga style breakdowns add emphasis to the drops which plunge the listener back into a breakneck speed tune.


Distributed by Nu Urban: www.nu-urbanmusic.co.uk / +44 (0) 1635 587 900 | Unit 9, Rivermead, Pipers Way, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 4EP, UK

OUT APRIL 2009

For more info please email: bongochillirecords@hotmail.co.uk or check out: http://www.myspace.com/bongochillirecords

http://www.myspace.com/ukroguestate, http://www.myspace.com/marcusvisionary, http://www.myspace.com/nemesisvisionary

Kush Arora

The Dread Bass Chronicles – April 21, 2009

" Kush Arora…laptop musician extraordinaire who's pioneering the digital bhangra sound and fusing Indian rhythms with dancehall beats and singers" – Pitchfork 

San Francisco, CA – Kush Arora Productions is pleased to announce the new album from label head honcho, producer extraordinaire, and musical visionary Kush Arora, whose fourth studio album (and seventh release), The Dread Bass Chronicles will be available worldwide on April 21^st.  The new album features the biggest MC’s in “futuristic dancehall,” including Warrior Queen (Ninja Tune), Juakali (Dub War/Sub Swara), MC Zulu (Ninja Tune/Project Blowed) and the fast rising Bongo Chilli (R8 Records), N4SA, and Wiseproof.

“Dread Bass” is the sound of a post-dancehall world where MCs are confronted with the latest in cultural-styled electronic riddims.  Kush Arora has seen the “Dread Bass” sound evolve for the past ten years, and has solidified his spot in the dub community, with his signature style of Punjabi roots combined with a curious case for punk and industrial sounds.  Kush started meeting MCs and vocalists from around the world who bring a dangerous, yet insightful feel to his music.  The Dread Bass Chronicles covers timely international topics like the challenges of being an immigrant in “Come From Yard” and “Making Money,” to dealing with authority on “11^th Hour Escape” and “The Truth” to the more straightforward dancefloor smasher “Lose Control.”  These 11 songs will give both the casual and discerning listener a glimpse into the future of cultural sounds.

Recently Kush has received mutual acclaim and shared the stage with the likes of Thievery Corporation, The Bug, Flying Lotus and Bassnectar. Kush’s sound is also being sought after in the remix capacity, most notably by Crammed UK’s Balkan Beat Box, Zion I, and others. The Dread Bass Chronicles will definitely keep Kush Arora as an in demand producer, remixer, and live performer worldwide.

The “Dread Bass” sound can be traced back to the early 90’s when “Dub Club” became a hot spot for dub infused music in Vienna, Austria, while The Rootsman (U.K.) and Dr. Israel (U.S.) were pioneering the style by fusing dub with the furious beats of jungle, African, Arabian and Asian sounds.  Kush Arora is part of the next wave of dub innovators alongside The Bug, Sub Swara, and Deadbeat leading the charge.

About the MCs Featured on The Dread Bass Chronicles:

Warrior Queen (Ninja Tune) - Having recently wrapped up an American arena tour with The Bug and Nine Inch Nails, Warrior Queen took the world by storm with her titles “Poison Dart” and “Almighty Father.” Her musical work spans from the heyday of Jamaican label Penthouse Records, to her modern day Ninja Tune cuts. She is also featured on Heatwave, Klein, and Rephlex Records.

Juakali (Foreign Familiar/Dub War/Sub Swara) - As a musical ambassador of Caribbean culture, Juakali’s travels have taken him throughout Europe, the USA and Asia on several occasions. He has gained stateside popularity as the host MC for NYC’s prestigious “Dub War” and “Sub Swara” club nights. Since exploding onto the scene, as part of a 7-inch vinyl release with reggae great Lutan Fyah, Juakali has been featured on tracks with the likes of Dub Gabriel, Badawi and DJ Pinch’s “Underwater Dancehall”.

MC ZULU (Ninja Tune/Mashit/Staubgold/Revolt Into Style) - The voice of some of the most cutting edge Electro-Reggae collaborations, starring the likes of DJ C, Ghislain Porier and David Last, MC ZULU rose to prominence as a producer and featured artist on Aceyalone’s dancehall excursions. He has turned in recent work for J-Dub’s Soulico, SouthRakkas Crew, Mochipet, Zizek’s Frikstailers, Octapush, and Megasoid.

Bongo Chilli (Sative Records/R8/Bassrunner) - This Yorkshire, UK MC originally hails from Trelawney, Jamaica. He made serious inroads as a featured MC for Jungle/D&B producers, NJC and Innerheart. Chilli has also worked with The Roostman, The Bug, and Jay Dan. Currently his track “The Supply” with DanMan, is featured as the B-Side to Busy Signal’s 7-inch vinyl release “We Na Smile”; as well as on the Urban Ragga 22 compilation alongside Sean Paul, Tok, and Rupee.

N4SA (Jamaica Natural) - Hailing from Montego Bay, the unmistakable dark chanter N4SA has long been featured on Kush Arora Productions, with this special addition of “Crypt Dubplates” highlighting unreleased work from 2004-2007.  Spanning the Jamaican and Bay Area hip hop circuit, his US career started with “Judge /Jury” produced by Rankin’ Scroo, and since then he has shared tracks with Mob Figaz, Bassnectar, Turbulence, as well as Norris Man.

Wiseproof - A new talent from Bay Area has been slaying rhymes from work with the San Francisco Symphony to the host of dubstep producers from the Bay Area.

www.kusharora.com / www.myspace.com/kusharoramusic
 
 

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Distributed by:

www.nu-urbanmusic.co.uk 

Available from:

www.juno.co.uk

www.redeyerecords.co.uk

www.bosstunes.co.uk

www.mirage2000records.co.uk

www.streetwisemusic.co.uk

www.easternblocrecords.co.uk

www.selectadisc.co.uk

www.ohmygosh.co.uk

www.shopping.kelkoo.co.uk

www.imorecords.com

www.rapturerecords.com

www.htfr.com

www.trainspottersmusic.com

www.skylark.com

www.soundquake.com

www.playderecord.com

www.planetdnb.com

www.dogsonacid.com

www.djmr.com

www.humpty-stuttgart.de

www.dubplates.org

www.rockinghorse.net

Bongo chilli records - launch conference and aftershow

On the 19th of November 2005 was the official launch of Bongo Chilli's brand new record label, BongoChilli Records

 The event was held at Bar Amour in Huddersfield city centre and was well attended by local artists, regional promoters, musicians, DJs etc and of course, Chilli's supportive friends and family.

It was a well branded affair with a huge banner on the bar, red, green and black ribbons everywhere and even balloons in the colours of the Jamaican flag.

After a fantastic buffet provided by the in-house chef there was a series of speeches;

            Speeches were made by,

Cheryl Roberts Cregon (Kreative Response diverse arts - Huddersfield);

D Bo General (Huddersfield Artist);

Dan-Man (Huddersfield Artist)

Nicole Jewitt (Sheffield Promoter);

Alex Deadman (Junglist Alliance - Sheffield);

Country Culture (Manchester Artist);

Foxy (Huddersfield Artist).

Cheryl spoke of Chilli's extensive work within the education system. She explained how Chilli is able to earn the respect of even the most rebellious youngsters and can impress upon them his message of non-violence, peace and of course, good manners. Cheryl talked of the way that Chilli gets school children to write lyrics in order to express themselves and shows them what sort of content should be within those lyrics.

            Long time musical partner and good friend, D Bo General spoke next. He talked of the support and encouragement that Chilli had given him and of the various projects that they had worked on together. He expressed how pleased he was to have linked with Chilli, that this Jamaican born man had ended up in his town of Huddersfield, somewhere with a now disproportionately high number of Reggae stars!

            Dan-Man, another local and highly acclaimed artist, was the next to speak. His message was largely similar to D Bos. Chilli is an inspiration to him as a friend and as an artist. They love to perform together and he even spoke of theatrical projects that they had jointly worked on.

            Nicole Jewitt, a Sheffield promoter, spoke of how refreshing it had been to work with an artist of Chillis calibre and how he has exploded on the Mic, time and time again every time he had performed at some of his events.

            Alex Deadman (22) and Tim Walker (19) spoke of the support that Chilli gives to The Junglist Alliance. Alex spoke how both he and his father (Alan Deadman Sheffield Music Promoter and Community Champion) had found great reward in Chili as an artist and as an individual. Alex and Tim agreed that Chilli was a powerful and inspirational figure in their lives as artists and had provided a positive role-model for them to look up to.

            Country Culture spoke very eloquently and explained Chillis work in spiritual terms. Certain people have a gift and chose to use it certain ways, Country was sure that Chilli was using his in the right way.

            After the speeches everyone chatted casually. New acquaintances were made and others were reinforced. Many plans for future northern reggae events and organizations were made. Following this, Chilli took everyone to a local Working Mens Club where a friend was having a party. Im not sure if the club knew what had hit them but they were very accommodating.

            After this was the actual dance, held back at Bar Amour. All the pieces were in position for this to be a Reggae spectacular with the addition of Daddy Freddy, a true veteran and tutor to Chilli himself. Live performances were heard from, Chilli, Dan-Man, D Bo General, Country Culture and the legend Freddy himself. The atmosphere was one of peace and collaboration. Everybody knew each other and was keen to here and support the various acts.

            The night ended with a thank-you from Chilli, much love and respect and a journey home!

Big Up Bongo Chilli records

Alex Deadman 

Bongo Chilli
Let’em know – this is Bongo

Der Senkrechtstarter des Jahres 2005! Nach unzähligen Shows in England mit der Reggae Legende, Daddy Freddy (Schnellste Rapper der Welt), sowie mit Drum’n’Bass Größen wie TopCat oder Tenor Fly ist Bongo Chilli im Mutterland der Musik nun in aller Munde.

Geboren und aufgewachsen in Jamaika, war er –wie sollte es anders sein - schon als Kind von Reggae beeinflusst. Mit 10 Jahren schrieb er bereits seine ersten Lyrics. Stage Shows mit Bounty Killer, General Trees oder Nitty Kutchie folgten. 1995 zog er nach England, wo er ein Studium für Musik Technik absolvierte. Seitdem unterrichtet er an diversen Schulen, kulturellen und sozialen Einrichtungen.

Im Jahr 2001 wurde dann auch Rootsman, -der als Produzent, DJ und Label wohl keine weitere Vorstellung braucht – auf Chilli aufmerksam, und produzierte für das Third Eye Label diverse Tunes mit ihm.

„Action Alone“ und „Read your Bible“ eroberten schnell die europäischen Tanzhallen. Der Mix aus Dancehall, HipHop und Dub, kombiniert mit Bongos „New Style“ Gesang brachten ihm unzählige Dubplate-Aufträge von SoundSystems aus ganz Europa. Sound-Killamuffin!

Viele weitere Produktionen folgten, wobei Bongo ständig neue Styles kombinierte „Summer Time“, eine Dancehall / Bhangra Fusion, Kombinationen mit dem Celt Islam SoundSystem, aber auch diverse Jungle Tunes gehören zu seinem Output. Sein fresher Style machten ihn so zum festen Bestandteil der englischen Musik-Szene. Dieses Jahr performte er live bei MTV, die BBC sendete bereits mehere Interviews und Specials über Bongo aus.

Nun gründete er sein Label „BongoChilli Records“ sowie sein eigenes Management „Get Up“ wo er diverse englisch Künstler wie YT und DanMan betreut. Sein erstes Album „Wanted“ wird Anfang nächsten Jahres erscheinen.

Mit seinen stets sozialkritischen aber auch humorvollen Texten, und seiner Fähigkeit über jeden Riddim zu toasten, ist Bongo nun auch bereit das europäische Festland zu erobern. Im September war er mit seiner energiegeladenen Bühnenshow das erste Mal im Rahmen der PopKomm in Berlin zu sehen.
Watch out: The original Peppaman!

Where were you were born, where did you grow up etc.

I was born and raised in the Parish of Trelawny, Jamaica before moving to the UK in 1995. I first lived in Nottingham where I’ve got lots of relatives and then I moved to Huddersfield about 3yrs ago. However I first started visiting Huddersfield about 7yrs ago and have family and lots of friends in the Yorkshire area.

Why did you get into making music?

I was surrounded by music while growing up in Jamaica; my eldest brother was a strong influence on me as he used to bring home the latest tapes on the Reggae/Dance hall scene.

What kind of music do you make and which artists do you admire or are influenced by?

I’m a dance hall artists but I’m confident in my ability to enhance arguably any rhythm track, matters not the genre of music. I admire Bounty Killer’s style of delivery and some of his lyrical contents. I also have a lot of respect for the guiness book of records fastest speed rapper “Daddy Freddy” as he is definitely on of my inspirations for being versatile as an artist. I started out chatting as a kind of copycat, following what my older brothers were doing. My greatest inspiration in the earliest stage of my career came from Papa San.

What you are trying to achieve – ie what do you aspire to do?  Do you want to produce your own material, start your own label etc etc?

I would like to start making music videos for my tracks or at least some of my tracks and I definitely want my own record label, releasing both mine and other artists’ tracks. I would like to have my own website and promote at least one big event mainly for dance hall fans in the UK, once a year.

What do you think of the term “urban”. Do you think its restrictive? 

Like many other things, music is placed into categories perhaps just for marketing.  Please correct me if I’m wrong for thinking of Cities and Towns whenever the term “urban” is used.  Personally, I don’t think that music has any limit on its potential.

Have you found it difficult to get your music exposed to the right people?  Who are you looking to connect with? 

I was brought up in Jamaica, which fuelled my love for Dance hall music. Ironically, to date I have a total of eight releases, of which only one is undiluted dance hall.  I’m therefore developing into a lyrical entertainer rather than just a dance hall artist. However, I’m deeply concerned about the black youths of today; I think most of them need extra guidance and direction. I need to get my tracks heard in Chris Gold finger’s slot on Radio one, on 1xtra and all the other stations, listened to by a big black audience. I need more support from dancehall fans, it doesn’t matter what color they are.

Are you part of any collective, or does any of your friends make music with you?

I’m a solo artist but I’m also one of the front (MIC) man for Underground Roots and Celt Islam Sound Systems. Abdullah Hamzah from Celt Islam Sound System also produced a few tracks for me. Most recently I hooked up with British/American Producer Blaze Billions to produce my debut album, which is now near completion.

What do you write about?

I write about the realities of life, I would like to be noticed as an artist who helps to demote negativity and promote positive lyrics. I’m not saying that we cannot sing, rap or chat about women and girls but it doesn’t have to be in a downgrading manner. I’ve got news for those MCs who are using a lot of profane languages and also for those who are instigating violence, lyrically.

What inspires you to write?

Ideas for lyrics are all around us; what and who we see, hear, know and imagine can be put together to make a song. I get ideas from listening to other artists also.

Why do you write?

I write in the hope that I can make a difference to society. I also teach a lyrically based program in Schools and at Community based projects around the UK. Lyrics can be used to tackle any particular subject or issue. Last but not least, I write to entertain.

Is your family musical?

My brothers and I used to make up songs together. My mother used to sing Christian songs all day long and my father liked a good MC. Some of my relatives often tell me that I sound like my father whenever I speak.

Have you worked with any other artists/singers/producers?

Collaboration has always been a vital source of survival for me as an artist. I haven’t produced any rhythm track for myself, to date. My first release entitled “Naa De focus” was with Birmingham’s Humal Records, produced by Great African in 2001. Humal also went on to release “Action Alone” (Truly Reggae Compilation CD) and “Let Thy Will be done”, which is my first and only tune to date, released from Jamaica (Courtesy of Humal Records). The Roots Man of Third Eye Music in Bradford also produced and released a few tracks for me including “Read Your Bible” and “Action Alone” - hip hop fusion (New Testament Compilation Album). More recently Nathaniel Clarkson of Sativa Records, Ipswich has produced and released “Gangster’s Life” a Dance hall/Drum & Bass fusion and “Summer Paradise” a Dance hall/Bhangra fusion, featuring fellow UK Dancehall Artist YT and Asian Drummer DSD. My latest release “Sinking Sand”, which was produced by A Hamzah is currently available on Timeless Music Project’s CD Compilation entitled “Sounds from a big town”. I’ve got some collaboration with some other up and coming artists also, produced by Blaze Billions, yet to be released.

Who would you ideally love to work with?

I would love to do a track with Bounty Killer, Lukie D, Black Twang, Jah Marley, Yammy Bolo, Jamelia, Lamar, Maxi Priest, LL Cool j and Nas and more.

Do you think there is a problem with the UK record industry?

I don’t think the UK music industry have been managing black people’s music in particular, properly  over the years. I think us as artist and producers in the UK need to take some examples from America or even Jamaica.

Do you think it’s hard to get your music heard by record labels and other producers/artists?

It’s definitely harder than I thought it would be but then again, no one said that it would be easy so I just accept that the music industry is a hard one to get into. However, I personally think that the lack of good management over the years is to be blamed for me not reaching further as an artist. I’ve signed to Ruffneck Productions nearly a year now and I had to take a different approach ie; getting involved in Film making and performing in both stage and radio dramas. I think we have to be multi-active.

Tell me three interesting facts about you!  Good or bad!  I am trying to create a personal story about you so that we get to know the person behind the music so any interesting facts about your life and how you grew up would be really helpful. 

I was born and raised in Jamaica but I’m now the holder of a British passport, which means unlike before I’m now able to travel  without having to go through the hassle of trying to obtain a visa every time I wish to travel.

I see myself as a social educator.

I’m mindful of the messages in my lyrics.

And, most importantly, what makes you unique?

I’m arguably the only Jamaican born dancehall artist teaching the art of Caribbean Rap in Schools and at community based projects around the UK while still actively performing at Stage Shows and making dub plate specials (voice – overs) for Sound Systems. A lot of MCs try to follow trends but I refuse to promote violence and parents can always count on me to entertain in a humorous and positive way. You won’t see the parental advisory sign “explicit contents” on my records.