Wrongtom

So much has been happening since my last bulletin that I’m not sure I have space to fit it all in but here goes…

Spiky Dread’s been doing really well with copies being snatched up across the globe and praise coming in from the likes of Optimo’s JD Twitch and production legend Demus (yep, there’s a lot of Demus’s, or Demi out there) who made some of my favourite LP’s including “Road To Freedom” by The Young Disciples. We even got a request for a copy for the British Library Sound Archive, which was pretty cool. If you still haven’t picked it up, buy it from here, or have a listen below.

I’m also very excited to announce our next Rongorongo offering will be a re-release of a rare as hen’s teeth jazz LP by saxophonist Ralph Thomas – recorded back in 1981, “Eastern Standard Time” is an intoxicating brew of deep and soulful jazz, standing shoulder to shoulder with freedom sounds luminaries such as Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Gary Bartz Ntu Troop and Sun Ra.

We’ll also be including the even rarer Restless Natives single, which found the core quartet from the EST sessions delving into experimental jazz-punk and reggae territories. And if that’s not enough, i’ll be dubbing a track for good measure. I’ll keep you posted with actual release info but expect it on vinyl, CD and digital, and until then, check out a couple of tracks here, and here.

Despite barely being 2 albums in, I’ve also found time to set up a sub-label strictly for my reggae/dub/dancehall productions. Rongorock will be launching in a couple of months with the debut 7″ from NW London soundsystem stalwart Mark Professor, taking us on a 3 minute lyrical journey armed only with his oyster card. Check him below going toe to toe with Deemas J live on stage in Brixton last month…

Speaking of Deemas, the next Wrongtom Meets Deemas J single is ready to drop on April 1st, some of you might be familiar with our LP track “Superteng” but we’ve got a nice package together featuring an extended mix, a couple of tough remixes from Scoop and Mo’matic, and a massive relick of “Jump + Move + Rock” by Benny Page. If you still don’t have the In East London album, grab it here. And come and catch me and Deemas at the Tru Thoughts session at Koko in Camden on Feb 22nd.

I also have a stack of remixes ready to drop over the next few months for the likes of London Posse, General Levy, and Glasweigen Offbeat soundboy Mirrors. Head over to my LISTEN page to check them out along with a few others which were missing from the ever growing list.

and sleep.

As the Spiky Dread release date looms, a fair few folks have been asking me what it sounds like and how they can get hold of it, and simple answer is you’ll be able to pick it up from all good shops on December 17th but if you can’t wait, you could always order it directly from the Rongorongo shop.

As for how it sounds, well check out the teaser below…

In other news, I just got confirmation from Nice Up towers that my General Levy remix is finally hitting the shops early next year, the instrumental of which has been used on the advert for Nice Up’s NYE hoe down at Big Chill House. And on the subject of new years, don’t forget i’ve joined the lineup at the The Book Club in Shoreditch for a third year running where we’ll be seeing in 2013 with a good old cockney knees up.

Lastly, my Marcia Griffiths remix will be hitting the shops in a week or so so keep em peeled for that too.

I’m rushed off my feet at the moment, drowning in a sea of Spiky Dread CD’s which just showed up from the manufacturer, which means my new label Rongorongo is off the ground with the 1st release hitting the shops on December 17th.

You can read more about this via the ever reliable folks over at CMU who asked me a few questions about the compilation and future plans for the label.

As mentioned above, I’ve already got a sub-label in the works showcasing my throwback dancehall business, and the 1st Rongorock 7″ is almost in the bag thanks to the London transport obsessed Mark Professor but more on that later.

Let’s not forget about the Wrongtom Meets Deemas J album either, recently described in Wire Magazine as “the strongest modern reggae set to emerge from the UK in years” which is something I really can’t complain about.

If you wanna know a little bit more about In East London, I’ve recorded a podcast, discussing some of our influences whilst making it, and chatting about my dad looking like Sean Connery and an old mate who designed My Little Ponys and other important stuff like that, have a listen.

Don’t forget I also put together a couple of mixtapes which are now up on my mixcloud page, go here for Linn Inna Di Dance or follow this link for Dubs So Def which also has a very very very long interview to accompany it.

And if you STILL haven’t bought In East London, for crying out loud, go here immediately!

It’s been a grueling fortnight of late nights and early mornings since the album dropped and I’ve been struggling to find time to keep people updated with current developments, so here’s a quick roundup of what’s been going on…

A short tour peppered with promo saw me and Deemas descending on some of our favourite reggae and dancehall sessions from Brighton to Oxford and back to East London, with an in store at Banquet Records in between. You can peep a few photos taken over the course of the week on the road here.

We also dropped into the Xfm studios to record a live session then stuck around to chat about the album with John Kennedy, the result of which is now online for your aural perusal below…

If you can’t be bothered to listen to all that, you can always go straight in with the freestyle we recorded at the end of the session which I’ve chopped out and upped to soundcloud for your listening convenience…

And if all that isn’t enough to wet your whistle, check out some of the praise for the LP…

“Essential listening” – Mojo

“A set of magnificent dancehall” – Q Magazine

“A heartfelt lament for a raw, eclectic London” – BBC

“A masterpiece” – iTunes

For those still wary of parting with their cash, you can download album track Riot Ting completely FREE, before picking up your Vinyl/CD/MP3 version of the album direct from Tru Thoughts or from all decent record shops.

Whilst all that was going down, I also found out a remix I did for Brixtonian dub lovers The Soothsayers is finally dropping next month, and you can preview it below, so get your teeth into this while I catch up on some sleep…

You’d have to be blind to have not caught me banging on about this album for the past few weeks, either that or you’re still not following me on TWITTER and FACEBOOK.

None the less it’s a very exciting day for me as the Wrongtom Meets Deemas J album “In East London” hits the shops today. It’s brimming over with vintage dancehall, grubby old dub and even a Monkees cover version, and it’s been championed by a whole host of folks including Huey Morgan (BBC 6music), Don Letts (BBC 6music), John Kennedy (Xfm), Steve Lamacq (BBC 6music), Ted Kessler (Q mag) and Eddy TM (Xfm) to name a few.

It’s in all good shops, as they say but if you can’t wait, you can grab it online either on CD, in digital or in a vinyl package which includes a 12″, 7″ and the whole album on CD, and of course the whole thing is wrapped up with the legendary Tony McDermott’s artwork, famous for his classic Scientist and Mad Professor covers, not to mention Duppy Writer (which is still available if you still don’t own a copy).

download your free mp3 of LP track Riot Ting and grab In East London…

Direct from the Tru Thoughts shop

iTunes

Amazon

Suspect Packages

Banquet Records

Juno

And if you wanna know a little more about this release, I had a chat with Andy Malt over at CMU where we discussed how I met Deemas J, the Olympics, Abbie Cornish rapping and all kinds of other unrelated business.

We’ll be on the road in the next few weeks with a handful of gigs to promote the LP, so if you’re in the area come check us out at…

Sep 27th: supporting Dub Colossus @ Islington Academy, London
Sep 28th: with East Park reggae Collective @ Blind Tiger, Brighton
Oct 2nd: instore at Banquet Records, Kingston Upon Thames, 6pm
Oct 2nd: Peace & Dub @ Bacchus, Kingston upon Thames
Oct 5th: Skylarkin Soundsystem @ The Cellar, Oxford
Oct 6th: Bangarang @ Strongrooms, Shoreditch, London
Oct 13th: Old Time New Time Sounds @ The Townhouse, St Peter Port, Guernsey

We’ll also be performing a live set and having a chat with John Kennedy on Xfm 104.9fm on Oct 4th, until then, cough up your readies, I’ve got rent to pay!