A top pick by 3DJ weighing-in in time for your Summer Carnival!
“Dem a pull up, dem are poor like Dot Cotton…”
Reared on a tasty diet of Aswad, The Specials and King Tubby, 90s hip hop, plenty of jungle and hi-life rhythms, the musical influences behind DJ / producer Mr Benn’s sound are vast and wide but always rooted in a passion for the heavy, heavy bass that his home town of Bristol is so renowned for.
His genre-hopping DJ sets and own productions have earned him a loyal following, global gigs, collaborations with the likes of Massive Attack’s Daddy G (whom he plays alongside as part of DJ collective, Bristol Hi-Fi) and legendary UK rapper Blak Twang, and a whole host of remix honours including Horace Andy, Cutty Ranks, Monkey Mafia, Dreadsquad and Joe Driscoll.
Mr Benn’s waist-winding, bassbin-bothering debut album, Shake A Leg, was released in the summer of 2013. A true labour of love, the project took close to four years to complete (the title is a nod to this particular case of West Country tardiness) and is the first album release from party-starting reggae outfit Nice Up! Records.
Bristol’s finest reggae producer meets Doncaster’s number one dancehall MC as Mr Benn & Parly B join forces for an EP chock full of vibes. First up “Gwarn Go Bathe” is a cautionary tale of lacking personal hygene in the dance underpinned by a bubbling dancehall riddim. “Heat Up” is much of the same as things get hotter, whilst “Session Cork” slows things down a little with some more laid back vibes.
Despite working on various remixes together, this is the first time Mr Benn and Parly B have worked in a combination – hopefully the first of many more to come!
Instrumental versions are exclusive to bandcamp and vinyl versions… Officially released August 24, 2018 – pick it up over at Bandcamp.
Out now on the ever brilliant NICE UP!
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