Continuing a long history of musical dialogue between the two cities, London's dance scene veterans Tribal Brothers join forces with Bristol's own UK Funky doyen DJ Polo for the 'Link Up' EP on Livity Sound. Sharing interests in the legacy of London's homegrown scenes, and the melting pot of global percussive club music infiltrating the UK, this new EP showcases and encapsulates the energy of a contemporary rhythm centred, outward looking UK club sound.
A longstanding collaboration of artists LR Groove and Razzlerman, Tribal Brothers' trajectories through London's rich history of soundsystem inspired dance music reads like a classic tale, from early productions on Playstation's Music 2000 software to regular pirate radio sets, through Jungle, Garage and UK Funky eras. LR started Djing in the mid-nineties mixing Jungle, making his debut at the legendary Edmonton Roller Express venue. As the garage scene exploded he became a regular on the burgeoning pirate radio circuit playing on Deja Vu FM and securing sets at the Garage Nation club nights. In 2007 as the UK Funky scene emerged, LR felt revitalised by the music's irresistible energy and started producing and dj-ing once again, making links with MA1 and Marcus Nasty. Around the same time, also inspired by Marcus Nasty, Supa D and Footloose, Razzlerman started producing percussion focussed tracks and dj-ing on pirates stations such as Nasty FM and Deja Vu, where they were eventually crossed paths and began to swap tracks, going on to collaborate on what became the original 'Tribal Brothers' EP.
Recently reunited, 2018 saw the release of a Tribal Brothers EP on TSVI and Wallwork's Nervous Horizon label having been inspired once again by a fresh influx of international dance rhythms into the capital, particularly the Gqom OH! Club night and label. Reinvigorated, the pair launched their own imprint, Renk Groove Recordings to showcase their productions influenced by the UK Funky legacy combined with South African House sounds and the wild rhythmatics of footwork and cutting-edge global percussion hybrids.
Whilst cutting his teeth in early Dubstep, the arrival of UK Funky was the catalyst for DJ Polo to refocus his efforts and productions in this new direction. First finding the percussive club sound via crossover releases on labels such as Night Slugs and Numbers in the early 2010's, Polo dived headlong into the underground sound. He co-launched an annual ‘UK Funky party’ in Bristol under club brand ‘Sprung’ inviting the biggest names in the scene and became a champion for the sound in the city where it's popularity never seems to have waned. Hosting regular shows on Rinse and SWU FM, alongside releases on labels such as Roska's legendary Kicks and Snares, More Time Records and Super Kitchen, he's established himself as a leading light in Bristol representing a sound influenced by Gqom, Kuduro, Afrobeat and Funky.