How did Reality Shock get started?

reality shock got started after id been building riddims for a couple of years & became good friends with some great artists living locally like prince livijah, mikey murka & deadly hunta.. to me at the time it was as good as linking with anthony b, luciano & bouny killer..was finally producing tracks that sounded of a worthy quality & couldnt understand why these artists werent all famous!! with no knowledge of the music industry whatsoever, it seemed so logical that an artists talent & the quality of their music should be proportinate to their success...  i had a lot to learn lol 

artists soon followed artists & the family grew.. also started using the internet & linking with some producers & reggae people from all over europe & america.. reuben addis of unitone soundimentional (who to this day ive only ever spoken to online) introduced me to instant messenger which became an important tool.  gradually the vibes just built up & we had a good little camp of artists..was a big boost to become good friends & work closely with artists like Afrikan Simba & Errol Bellot whos records id been buying years earlier. The natural progression then was to take steps toward launching reality shock as a label & putting out a first record. everything just fell in to place from then..all the right people turned up at the right times & the rate of progress has been amazing really.

What’s Reality Shock been up to so far that people might have missed, or who have you been working with up to now?

so far weve released five singles on 7" & 10" vinyl, which all did quite well..the most propular was probably afrikan simba's 'free herbs' 10" released in 2007. Our first cd album, mikey murka's 'in the name of love' soon followed. we also did a few mixtapes to promote the artists as a collective under the banner of reality shock. apart from pushing the label, the agenda was always to promote the artists however possible so we spent a lot of time recording stuff for release on various other labels, recording dubplates for sounds, jingles for radios, getting artists bookings & tours etc.. a lot of the artists have been touring regularly across Europe, in Africa, America & the Carribean, spreading the word about reality shock. we also did a few home-made videos, some of which became quite popular & got some good feedback like the 'shock-umentary's which was a mini-documentary series trying to capture some of the vibes around the studio..will be many more of those to come in the future.

So how do you go about building a new riddim?

havent really got a formula as such..sometimes start with drums or bass, othertimes start with a accapella & build around it.. usually try to get a basic foundation first & then add some live instruments on top, before making an arrangment.

Then when its as good as i can get it in my humble studio, i usually take the parts elsewhere to get mixed.. namely by disciples russ d :)

What instruments do you play?

been messing around with guitars from age 7 (i should be a lot better lol), also play bit of bass, percussion..just about get by on keys..

Did you have any professional musical training?

Still cant read music.. I did an HND in music technology, but probably learned more from just buying a PC & messing around with it to be honest.

What artists are you working with at the moment, or what projects have you got in the pipeline?

To many to list! but mainly working with the artists featured on Reality Shock Vol 1 at the moment.. looking to make this compilation in to a series & a platform to represent some of the Uk's most talented artists & musicians. In the immediate future we have a couple more 10"s ready & planned for release early 2009. Also got albums with Errol Bellot, Solo Banton & Aqua Livi due next year. Besides the releases we've been working with the Upper Cut Band rehursing a Reality Shock showcase which is ready to hit the road (first show 20th nov at xensations in reading). Otherwise the main focus for the rest of this year is to officially launch & promote our artist booking agency & dubplate service.. we're just in the process of rebuilding the website with the help of good friend Dub Soljah from Cultural Warriors/Upfront Roots network in Switzerland, so watch this space..

Are you looking for new artists to work with?

To be honest, on the productions front im already working with more artists then i can handle! but if they help pay the bills then yes please..

If you could work with any artist who would it be?

thats a tough one..theres so many big artists out there that itd be nice to have tunes with..but until you meet someone its hard to say if itd be a pleasure to work with them. For the moment im more then happy working with the artists around me beause were all good friends & on the same wavelength..so the vibes is right & it all happens naturally.

What’s the vision for Reality Shock in the future?

The vision is just to keep progressing in all aspects really..to grow as a family & keep spreading the vibes far & wide. Obviously looking to continue releasing music & building up the catalogue, but also planning to start promoting reality shock as a booking agency/dubplates service as well as a record label, in the hope that it generates a some more work for the artists.