NATURAL DREAD KILLAZ & RIDDIM BANDITS AT KULTOWA

24 SEPTEMBER 2010

About the album:

Reggae fans in Poland can already circle 24 September in their diaries. That is the day Natural Dread Killaz's latest, long-awaited second album will see the light of day. It will refer back to its predecessor, “Naturalnie”, but the musicians promise much more mature material, lyrically coherent, stylistically varied and highly energetic.

The album cover will feature TUMI, a Peruvian symbol of good fortune and abundance, while the record contains sixteen tracks. Lyrically, the musicians address matters close to their hearts: fighting conformity, the value of words, calls for musical tolerance, everyday problems and debates surrounding marijuana. They also discuss their perception of politics and describe the adventures involved in releasing records. “Respect and understanding are the foundation of life in our crew. More love, less hatred,” say the band members, and this slogan echoes through every track. The video for the album’s promotional single, “Pusta Kiermana”, was released on 30 August.

About the band:

On 23 May 2005, Blend Records returned to the market with the debut “Naturalnie”, one of 2005’s most important releases on Poland’s rapidly developing reggae scene. The musicians approach the genre’s Jamaican traditions with respect and maturity while remaining very open to new influences and sounds, creating fresh, modern music. Reggae has primarily been dance music since its beginnings, and Natural Dread Killaz remember this, heating dance floors to boiling point during concerts. They are renowned for extraordinarily exuberant, energetic performances.

NDK was founded by brothers Mesajah and paXon, involved in music since childhood, who serve as the band’s deejays and producers. They found willing collaborators among friends from their neighbourhood. The excellent reception of their first concerts and the online release of “Obudź w sobie lwa” suddenly brought the band considerable attention. Interest from both reggae and hip-hop circles led to further concerts, including support slots for France’s Soundkail and Poland’s WWO, K.A.S.T.A. Skład, Abradab, DJ Feel X and Indios Bravos, giving the musicians a strong incentive to keep creating.

Natural Dread Killaz’s best-known track is “Biba!”, based on an original rhythm, or riddim, developed by the band. Its power and hit potential were recognised by Wrocław film collective “Grupa 13”, who invited Natural Dread Killaz to take part in the “Raptowne realia” video. The track also appeared on a widely distributed Blend promotional compilation. In keeping with Jamaican tradition, the official release of the debut “Naturalnie” was preceded by a vinyl record featuring twelve versions of the “Biba!” rhythm, with guest performances by reggae heavyweights from across Poland. At the end of May 2005, the video for the aforementioned track appeared, directed by Darek Szermanowicz of Wrocław’s “Grupa 13” in collaboration with Marek “Pro” Gluziński of Blend Records.

2006 showed the band's growing popularity and frequent invitations to major reggae festivals. 2007 began with collaborations with organisations including the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation, Greenpeace and Polish Humanitarian Action.

The roots of Natural Dread Killaz

Mesajah is the highly talented singer with an extraordinary image from Natural Dread Killaz (NDK). He and his brother paXon founded the reggae collective in 2003, taking the roles of deejays and producers. Although they have listened to reggae for many years, their first productions did not draw on Jamaican music. They began with trip-hop and dub, and reggae, always an inspiration, only gradually became the main direction of their work. As they recall: “Meanwhile, we began writing lyrics, which we recorded over the reggae riddims we were creating as we went.”

Their music blends different genres, deftly mixing reggae, dancehall, dub, ragga and hip-hop. They do not confine themselves to Jamaican sounds, as illustrated by the salsa elements heard in “Sample” from the album Naturalnie. They seek new paths and explore new directions without forgetting the genre’s roots. The brothers have always been supported vocally by Yanaz, a deejay who began by rapping in a hip-hop group. Influenced by his bandmates, he quickly broadened his interests to encompass all kinds of Caribbean sounds. This mixture of styles and skills makes Natural Dread Killaz’s work impossible to classify or pigeonhole. Drawing on reggae’s roots, they continue creating new productions in their truly explosive style.

Their debut “Naturalnie”, released by Blend Records in May 2005, was quickly hailed as the year’s event on Poland’s reggae/dancehall scene. Their exuberance and passion gave Jamaican sounds freshness and momentum. It was promoted by the “Biba” video from Wrocław’s Grupa 13, who also invited NDK into “Raptowne realia”. Natty enriched the debut with R&B and soul.

They also made a joint video with Dreadsquad for “Budzisz się rano” at legendary film studio Semafor. The single promotes Dreadsquad’s production album “Dread za dreadem”. At their self-funded Popular Station Studio, the Naturals produced Poland’s first vinyl LP of different songs on one riddim, “Biba! Riddim”, entering Polish reggae history. They invited leading Polish reggae/dancehall artists and international guests to collaborate.

When it comes to vocal production, the young producers learned the most during sessions for “Polski Ogień” with Pionear, who was responsible for SEEED's success. This resulted in two tunes that proved to be hits: “Dancehal” and “Boom Na Babilon”.