Irie Way Records Interview (posted on 03/08/05)

How did Irie Way records come about?

The idea for Irie Way Records initially was formed talking with a
few people on Soulseek, in particular Tykal, about the lack of
positive vibes in ragga jungle music. A lot of labels were releasing
quality tracks but the vocals were often of gun talk and batty
killing as well as many tracks having an overall dark sound to
them. DonÍt get me wrong, dark heavy jungle is great but that
is not what we set out to make Irie Way Records.

After deciding what I wanted Irie Way to be I began to look for a
partner to help fund the project as I was unable to do it alone at
the time. I found that a guy I knew by the name of Zambonius was
interested and we collaborated on a B side track for the release as
I already had picked out the A side. After we were happy with both
tunes I began to search out the best place to press up the records
through. During this time Zambonius had to pull out of the project so
I was back to square one.

Unwilling to give up hope I kept promoting the Irie Way mindset through
my tunes and our website until I was able to find another artist interested
in working with me to get this label going. After a few months I met Zebo
from Chicago and found that we had similar beliefs about what is good
positive jungle music. Zebo was interested in contributing to the label and
contributed some funds to get things moving. We reorganized the tunes
lined up for release and hooked up with RCola & JungleX (www.junglex.ca)
for pressing and distribution of the release and got the ball rolling in fall 2004.

What is its current discography and upcoming releases?

Our current discography includes:

IRIE001 (Released November 2004)
Side A1 - Scottfro - I See Green
Side A1 - Scottfro - It Starts
Side AA1 - Zebo - Keep in Mind
Side AA2 -Zebo & Hess - Ditka's Revenge

IRIE002 (Released March 2005)
Side A - Zebo - It Was Written
Side AA - Scottfro - Watching the World Go Bye

We are in the process of deciding what IRIE003 will include but we
plan to bring in a new artist by the name of Sci1ence. He is already
in the crew that I roll with and I think his style will fit nicely on our
roster. We are looking at a release that includes a track from
Sci1ence, Zebo and me (Scottfro), as well as a track of samples
for scratching. We intend to have this release out by fall of 2005.

Artist roster and a brief rundown on each artist.

Scottfro
I've been producing beats since 2002 using a lot of different programs
in the process. My style includes a bit of everything, taking elements
from jungle, hip-hop, trip hop, IDM, breakcore and reggae. I try to form
a unique vibe that will uplift your mind and fill you with positive energy
with an occasional romp in the darkness ;). If you catch me playing out
it will most likely be in the live pa format using a laptop and several MIDI
controllers, playing all original music produced by myself.

Zebo
Zebo has been blending records and experimenting with turntablism since
98 and producing since 03, always trying to find new things to do with
2 decks and a mixer. He tends to lean toward a more classic ragga jungle
sound with a bulk of the tunes played from the mid 90's when ragga was
supreme. His style includes mixing more than just ragga jungle. He
incorporates reggae and hip-hop into the mix as well with a philosophy
of using no way as way. Zebo founded the Chicago based Junglist
Souljah Kru in 2001 with fellow artists whose roster includes: Autobot,
Hess, Mista Mash up, Relic, Angst, and Sensistar. He is continually
organizing events to try to bring the ragga sound to a wider audience
in Chicago and the Midwest.

Hess
A hip-hop head from a very early age, Hess has been immersing himself
in beats, rhymes and hip-hop culture since he was 8 years old! When he
discovered Jungle in 1997 through the Detroit and Chicago rave scene he
found the only genre of music and culture that even came close to rivaling
the passion that he felt for hip-hop. Catching on extremely quickly, he
started to play out in 2000, the same year he purchased his first pair of
decks. Although Hess has some production credits to his name alongside
Zebo, with blazing dubwise riddims such as "Ditka's Revenge", he is mainly
a DJ/Turntablist whose sets are a smooth mixture of new and old ragga-
jungle, breakcore, hip-hop, and plenty of scratching and cutting.

Sci1ence
Coming from a strong hip-hop and turntablist background, influenced by
Mix Master Mike, Buck 65 and DJ Shadow, Sci1ence brings a lot of talent
to the table. His beats range from trip-hop to jungle and even into the
realm of IDM. Vowing to stick to his roots, turntablism is a major influence
in the way he writes his tracks. Sampling tons of records to help fuse
together his final masterpiece you are defiantly in for a treat when you
hear a Sci1ence tune.

What does Irie Way have to offer that other jungle labels don't & why?

Irie Way Records is a very diverse label. We have already included
Ragga Jungle, Hip-hop and IDM on our releases. We intend to continue
releasing a wide variety of styles that are represented in the jungle scene.
While at the same time promoting the upbeat and positive vibe that the
label stands for. With turntablism being a major influence with some of
our artists we also intend to release the occasional record that includes
interesting samples ideal for scratching and beat juggling. We are trying
to be as diverse as possible but still have a goal in mind, bringing quality
positive music to the people.

Plans for the future!

As stated above we are moving towards our third release at the moment
so that is in the near future. We intend to keep growing in size and bring
new artists to our roster as time goes on as well as moving more units of
each release. This summer Sci1ence and I plan to do a European tour,
hitting as many countries as we can while we are there. You can expect
to hear ragga jungle, trip-hop, IDM and reggae in a set combining a computer
live performance with turntablism to give the audience an interesting and
unique experience. More details on that will be coming soon. In Chicago,
Irie Way is hosting a series of events at the Abbey pub which incorporate
live instrumentation with djÍs / producers.

Shouts!

So much thanks and respect to those that have support Irie Way Records
already. It means a lot to see the community grab on to what we are doing.
RCola for doing such a great job with distribution and helping us move from
release to release so quickly! Thanks to Tykal for all the conversations leading
up to and during the first release of Irie way. And of course all the DJs and
Producers that are doing their thing . . . Jahba, Sumone, Archangel, KGBKid,
D.I.S, Baby Demo, Ripclaw, Relic, Angst, InureSect, Inky, Criminal, Souljah Sensi,
Illicit, Amen Assasins, Stada, Debaser, Mayday and everyone else I missed,
I'm sure you know who you are. Thanks to my girlfriend as well for always
supporting what IÍm doing!

Peace and respect!

Interview by Martyn "Souljah Sensi" Pepperell


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