Mar 31, 2023
"Rivers" by Think Tonk, DJ Fresh, Jamie McCool, Liam Bailey https://ift.tt/PZHDz34
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"Rivers" by Think Tonk, DJ Fresh, Jamie McCool, Liam Bailey https://ift.tt/PZHDz34
Think Tonk - Coastal Service by Drum&BassArena https://ift.tt/w4bFjA1
Think Tonk - How We Do It Tonight (Command Strange Remix) by Drum&BassArena https://ift.tt/2yXy0YZ
Jamaican Bass According To.. Think Tonk
For many decades, in different cycles, Manchester has been a hotbed of musical talent offering the world some of the biggest and most innovative musical creators ever known. Currently Manchester is confidently celebrating another potent wave of creative and boundary pushing artists with names like Dub Phizix, Chimpo, Levelz, Swing Ting, Red Eye HiFi etc and one such name thats been on the lips of those in the know is the mighty THINK TONK. Expertly utilising their time-crafted Drum & Bass production techniques to build dancehall riddims, THINK TONK has instantly elevated the sound and in doing so has caught the well-tuned ear of some of the most credible ambassadors in the global scene, evidenced by already having signed and released two projects on the legendary ‘V-Recordings’ imprint as well as having showcase mixes broadcasted by Toddla T, DJ Target, Smutlee, Planet V etc. We’re super blessed to have secured some time in their busy schedule where they’ve kindly provided an exclusive ‘journey’ mix of musical influences past/present/future for our ‘Jamaican Bass According To..’ mix series. We also managed to get a few words:
Tell us a bit about your background in music?
I followed a winding path though Hip-Hop, House, Techno, Acid House, Rave Jungle, Dnb, to Reggae, Dancehall, Bashment, Garage, Grime, Trap and all things bassy. I made my first tunes on a Commodore Amiga with a Korg M1, Boss drum machine and Emu sampler in 1993. My first record was sequenced using the Amiga. I've had records out under various names over the years working with various labels such as Essential Platinum, Formation, Urban Takeover etc. Think Tonk is definitely a great place to arrive at after that journey. Its 90% vocal. so I write riddims. Then the other half of Tonk (a well loved and talented Manchester MC and singer) will pen and record lyrics. Or I will send riddims to the other Mc's/vocalists we work with such as Fox, Spyda, etc. I'm always looking for new vocalists to work with, ones with a dancehall style in particular. I think with the vocal element its more like a proper musical piece than ever before.
Highest moments of your career/music journey so far?
There's a few over the years but I predict the best ones are yet to come. The first times I heard my tunes in raves and saw a reaction was defo a landmark. I still get hyped when i catch other people playing my tracks out in a club and see them bring a vibe. John Peel played my music a few times over the year's which was definitely a privilege. The first of two more recent ones, was Dub Phizix played one of my tracks and General Levy was doing a rendition of incredible over a very dark track of mine haha. Sensational. and finally one of the latest little accolades i've enjoyed was having Seani Bee playing our music on the BBC 1xtra dancehall show. I was really hyped on this, as the last four years of music i’ve been heavily looking at dancehall for inspiration and ideas.
Hows the ‘Jamaican Bass’ scene in your city/country and how do you see it pushing forward?
Ok, I will diverge a little to say I like the term Jamaican Bass. its not too specific so can encompass different BPM’s and styles. Definitely reflects what Think Tonk is. Manchester is a great place for music and clubbing. Theres a lot of great nights. Swing Ting I would definitely name check, Red Eye HiFi have some great events popping off with Jus Now, Serocee, Stylo G. Jack and those guys are putting in good work. the DnB side of things has defo died down a bit manchester.
Any future projects/events we should know about?
Well Think Tonks being going for about 4 years now and we've talked about an album project in the future. V-Recordings have been great for us and really got the music out there and exposed on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 1xtra, so more releases with them for sure. And in turn we've opened their eyes and ears to a new take on Jungle, Dancehall, Bashment music. I’ve worked on a couple of wicked remixes this summer. Charly Black and a new artist called Cosima, both for Universal Records. watch out for those
Your all time top 5 tunes?
Shit this is tough! I'll do a top 5 of tunes relevant to Think Tonk and JBM (even that took me a while). Otherwise I'll still be pondering that come doomsday. OK! 5. Alex Reece - Pulp Fiction 4. Rolando Alphonso - Jah Shakey 3. Studio 2 - Dirty Games 2. Sizzla & Anthony B - Haunted And Nervous / 2 Strong 1. Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved
Bob at the top of course.
Favourite food and/or recipe?
Well Ive been veggie for a while but! Steak haha! Daaayam.. peppercorn sauce and mushrooms.
You can keep up with/catch more from THINK TONK in the following spots:
https://www.facebook.com/thinktonkmusic/
https://soundcloud.com/think-tonk
"Think Tonk - For The Fallen [V Recordings]" by V RECORDINGS
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