RCola "Worldwide Junglist"

One of the key players in the N.American ragga-jungle revival
is Montreal's very own RCola. With five European tours and 14 vinyl
releases to date, he leads the way for this revamped sound. His
distribution company JungleX Inc. has helped broker numerous
independant labels to over 14 countries and has been instrumental
in exposing these new talents to the global jungle massive.

[Steve Lalla / Hour Magazine]
"What role have you played in the development, specifically,
on Ragga Jungle in Montreal, in Canada, and in N. America,
over the years? and currently?"

[RCola]
"When I first got to Montreal, I got a job working for Julian M. Paige
at Wikkid Records selling Capital J's vinyls into the US. I discovered just
how much work was needed to build a succesful imprint andgot busy
learning everything I could. Paige did the best he could to empty his
head of all he had gleaned from his early days at Island Records onward,
but we hit the glass ceiling and needed some juice."

"The label decided we needed to go to Midem, this monster music conference
in the south of France, and my eyes were opened to the serious music business.
One of the forums I attended was all about the changing climate for distribution
and I was intrigued by the opportunities for the combination of a grassroots work
ethic and the internet, which was exploding at that point."

"Over the next year, I studied the inner workings of manufacturing and distribution
and went deep into the online forum community. It was amazing...all these kids
posting tunes and getting instant feedback from all over the world. I was hooked
of course. Ragga-Jungle.com saved my life!!!"

"The whole time I had been producing my own stuff and started my own record
label: Chopstick Dubplate. The music got noticed pretty quickly and things
really started to roll. After the first two releases, I managed to book a small
European tour for my partner and I and off we went..."

"While in Paris, I dropped off some vinyls to a distro I had found on the internet
back home, and the guy went nuts for our stuff. He suggested I try to rep other
labels as N.American jungle was hard to come by over there so, I started to
offer my services and www.JungleX.ca was born."

"Two years and 5 European tours later later, I now represent over 40
independant labels and sell into 14 different countries all over the world.
I have actually been to most of the cities I sell into in Europe and know
many of the people hustling jungle personally."


"Tell me about your current tour plans? How is the ragga-jungle
scene abroad in comparison to Montreal?"

"Well, this time around I am going solo for a month, and have booked
18 shows in 7 countries. I am going to play in Switzerland, Poland,
and the Czeck Rep. for the first time, and doing some shows in Germany,
and France where I have already built up a respectable following. I have
seen it grow as I sell more and more records into these areas so it's
working out really well now for everyone involved."

"The scenes vary quite a bit from one country to the next. They like it harder
and darker in the north, and are more laid back in the south. The eastern bloc
countries are still economically depressed but they come out in droves and
are really appreciative, so the vibe is great. Europeans have obviously been
doing this kind of thing for a lot longer than we have over here, so there is
really no problem finding crowds that want to hear this music. Even though
there are huge differences culturally, the people are very warm and enthusiastic.
I enjoy travelling to places I have never been before and find the tunes still go
over quite well."

"Nothing can compare to a packed Blue Dog on a Friday night though. Those
entitled hounds got my back, and I feel like I can take all the chances I like.
Overseas, it's a lot of dropped jaws, since they are usually being exposed to
some pretty new stuff by a relatively unknown soldier."


"Tell me about your production plans for the near future.. releases, etc..."

"Things have really moved into high gear over the last 18 months. After succesfully
releasing 6 vinyls and one full-length cd with Chopstick over the last 3 years, I am
now focusing on building my name as a solo artist. My label Royal Crown is coming
with the second 12" vinyl in November and I am taking a prototype of my first full
length album "JungleXpeditions" on the road with me to test out and hype. I have a
few more tunes to finish when I get back and should have the final version ready for
a spring release on Wikkid Records in 2006..."

"The international producer series on JungleXpeditions Records, which I started in early
2004, features Tester from Atlanta, Georgia and Taktik from Christchurch, New Zealand
this month. I've got the next 5 releases sorted out for the first half of the new year and
am still getting demos from all over the world!!! There is so much talent just waiting to be
heard. I feel honored and obliged to help get the music out there. I'm still working closely
with Paige to this day, we have not taken our eyes off the prize!"


"What is it, in your opinion, that has drawn you to this genre?
What do you feel that it offers people?

"Well, jungle has been on the vanguard since day one. The early pioneers like LTJ Bukem,
Remarc, Goldie, Rebel MC and Terry T set the bar high; milking those little boxes for all
they were worth. The internet and the whole digital home studio movement catalysed this
scene into a worldwide underground phenomenon."

"I was blown away when I heard Photek and Source Direct back in the day...I had to know
how they got such warmth from their computers and drum machines. I also love working
with vocals and the early ragga-jungle really got me pumped to ditch my band and get on
with it. I am a samplist at heart and love building tunes around solid vocal hooks. I think
jungle combines the best of the digital and organic realms. I mean, taking a funk break
from the 60's, a reggae accapella from the 70's and warping it all through my G4 just
makes sense to me. Everyone puts things together differently and while many people
use the same tools, they so rarely get the same results."


"Kind of off topic, but what's your take on the "death" of vinyl situation?
especially in DnB it seems that the dubplate culture is very, very quickly
being replaced by a CDR culture... what does this mean for vinyl publishers,
distributors and retailers, and where do you see this trend going in the future?
especially in the ragga jungle field?"

"Whatever...vinylists have survived casettes, cds and mp3's. It's obviously a smaller market
now that the majors have all but dropped the format, but come on...cdjs are convenient but
will never replace the hands on approach so many soldiers in the field swear by. The bass is
in those grooves, you can actually see it!"

"I am not a purist by any means, and have embraced the digital download thing fully.
It doesn't stop me from pressing records though. Ragga-Junglists are pretty broke
in general and cherish their precious hard-earned collections. It's a niche market
for sure, but my business is still growing and people are very happy I am making
and selling records internationally. Long live vinyls!


Interview by Steve Lalla for Hour Magazine.