Thu, 07 Mar 2013 / Post a comment"35 years ago, punk rock and reggae met at London's legendary punk venue, The Roxy Club. Wildlife! revisits the kinship spawned from this brief but influential moment of music history, transferring it to his own era and sound for Roxy Reboot"
35 years ago, punk rock and reggae met at London's legendary punk venue, The Roxy. The resultant influence started by DJ Don Letts introducing each to the other, soon appeared on defining records of the era from The Clash, Bob Marley, The Slits and a wide range of bands associated with UK’s first punk wave of the late 70’s. Wildlife! revisits the kinship spawned from this brief but influential moment of music history, transferring it to his own era and sound for his debut album Roxy Reboot.
He tracked down legendary figures from the UK’s first punk rock movement to reinterpret their favourite reggae classics, while simlutaneously collaborating with the forefront of Jamaica's dancehall avant-garde, to reinterpret influential punk classics and forgotten gems. The album’s genre-defying sound refuses to linger on historical memories. Rather, Wildlife! pushed each contributing artist to leave their respective natural habitats and face a raw and stripped down sound as the backdrop to record to. His insistence while collaborating was not to bask in nostalgia but rather attempt to capture a truly original and contemporary musical snapshot.
Wildlife! then reached out to legendary photographer and designer Dennis Morris who contributed the iconic photo of “Big Youth and Johnny Rotten†shot in the back of Big Youth's record shop in Kingston, 1978. It was Morris -an iconic figure in his own right- who suggested to Richard Branson that Johnny Rotten join the now infamous Kingston trip of ’78 as a kind of A&R, and his presence influenced the discovery and release of a significant body of work from the island at the time, spawning the creation of Virgin’s classic Frontline catalogue.
"The alliance between punk and reggae was a genuine and a real one. Reggae was the music of rebellion and punk was the music of rebellion, so it was black and white working class culture showing some solidarity with each other." - Linton Kwesi Johnson
TRACKLISTING:
01. Armagideon Time ft. Knox (The Vibrators)
02. Kingdom Rise Kingdom Fall ft. TV Smith (The Adverts)
03. Police & Thieves ft. Charlie Harper (UK Subs)
04. Night Nurse ft. Duncan Reid & Honest John Plain (The Boys) 05. No Future ft. Ward 21
06. Should I Stay Or Should I Go ft. Natalie Storm
07. Pissheadsville ft. Serocee
08. Oh Bondage Up Yours ft. Terry Lynn
Mon, 07 May 2012 / Post a commentOut May 11th, exclusively available on JunoDownload from today, more details later this week...
http://www.junodownload.com/products/pastiche-ep/1954207-02/
"An all-star outing for WILDLIFE! on the ever-reliable Man Recordings, featuring contributions from Daniel Haasman, J-Wow and, most impressively, Sheffield bass mogul Toddla T. The latter's collaboration, "Hear Dat", is arguably the EP's stand out moment. Kicking off with a smacked-out low-end buld, it quickly transforms into a rush of Juke-tempo percussion, dancehall bass and ear-piercing sirens. The Haaskman collab, "Paragon", is almost as impressive, offering a rolling blend of UK funky-goes-tropical drums and cut-up vocal wails. Elsewhere, the dubwise "Clapperz" impresses with its stoned blend of head-nodding drums and vintage Sheffield bleeps." (via Juno Download)
Fri, 10 Feb 2012 / Post a comment“In between wrapping up the final tracks for his 2012 debut full length album, crashing together British punk rock legends and Jamaica's dancehall avant-garde, WILDLIFE! chose his favourite picks from the Man Rec back catalogue with. Naturally, they´re on the bass side of tings, featuring tracks by Ku Bo, Seiji, Big Dope P’s block rocking remix of Bert On Beats or WILDLIFE!´s very own classic rework of “Pororoca” by Beware + Motorpitch plus many more.” (via MAN Recordings)
