TNT Recordings

TNT Recordings - Established in 2003, TNT is a hybrid of electronica and live instrumentation. TNT Recordings is the three headed love-child of dance, groove, and psychedelia. TNT produces raw grooves that feed upon the emotion and energy of the original creative roots. Initial foundations are established in a live session, captured, and then shaped into their final forms without straying from the earliest framework.

The final tracks are mixed deep for your headphones and soundsystem, and locked tight for the deepest of beat-matching. Place these ingredients for TNT dishes into your blender in equal
parts. The recipe is as follows. King Tubby, The Beatles, Zero-7, LTJ Bukem, Motown, Dr.Dre, Parliment Funkadelic, Boards Of Canada, Bob Marley, Muddy Waters, New Order, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Ninja Tune, Pink Floyd, Curtis Mayfield, DJ Spooky, Jimi Hendrix, Dj Vadim, Basement Jaxx, Massive Attack, The Poets Of Rhythm, Carl Craig, DJ Shadow, Shy FX & T-Power, and Plump DJs. Also throw in copius amounts of soul and passion. TNT is comprised of bassist Tom Dean, guitarist Nigel Watson, and keyboardist Tate North.
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Tnt Track Descriptions...


THE THEME FROM 'YOUR MAMMY' | Futuristic breakbeat down-tempo from the deepest depths of the cosmos . Freaky filtered guitar , funk bass , live drums , percussion-a-plenty , scratches & cuts , and the nastiest drop bass that will make your eardrums bleed , but only leaves you wanting more .


M.A.S.H | Dubby hip-hop with the grooviest in turntable cuts and Rhodes keys. The congos carry the groove into a world of King Tubby - VS - DJ Shadow - no one wins this battle - it's a draw. Re-match?

NA NA | Mid-tempo burner. Acoustic guitars, acidy 303's, saxaphones, swirling pads, strings, beats from a blender - all makes sense to me.

CHILLY | Silky drum & bass complete with 70's wah-wah guitar, horns in a dub style, and keys that help the transition from the half-beat intro into a full sonic assault.

IN BETWEEN BEATINGS | Deep and moody. Mid-tempo experiment into the psyche. The phased keys and the guitar melody join together with the rock solid rhythm section, throw in some massive dub stabs and your 'In Between Beatings'.

DO WHAT YOU WILL | Haunting downbeats on the darker side of funk and dub. strange swells,wah-wah guitar, live drums, echoes, tripped out bass & keyboard melodies.

CURRY GOAT SOUND SYSTEM | Minimal beats that dont step on the layers of sound. The roots stylings of the congos is only matched by the wailing of the dubwise effects. I dare you to challenge the Curry Goat Sound System, and then try to escape form it's dubby clutches.

FUNK FOR YOUR TRUNK | How do you like your house music served up? Mix equal parts bouncy bass-line, massive beats, swells that will blow minds, church style Hammond organ, all wrapped up with smooth transitions into the beyond.

PLUMP | Chilled beats for your pleasure. Grand piano and bass melodies mix with swirling keys, acoustic guitars, and loads of percussion to create a downtempo groove perfect for many occasions. Meet me on the dancefloor, or on the sofa.nge down-tempo and floor-filling housey doings for peak-time at the club, or the silky after-hours due. Downtempo, Hip-Hop, House, Lounge, Dub, Chill, Drum & Bass, Jungle, IDM, Breakbeat - call it what you will - we call it TNT.

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ALBUM REVIEW...


TNT goes BOOM!! album review >>just like music
Category: Music

>>just like music .... album review by Gav

Down-tempo funky electronica. I got home the other day to find a small package on my doorstep - it turned out to be the album TNT by TNT Recordings. As the music was already on an actual physical disc (something rare in my house these days), I decided to first listen to this album in the car. What can I say? The album clearly starts as it means to go on. The first track The Theme From 'Your Mammy' is dark, dirty, and pretty damn catchy. Has a real down-tempo funk feel to it with the melodic guitar riff. Next up is M.A.S.H. - more down-tempo funk, this track has interesting layers and a distinct live feel to it. I can just imagine seeing it being played in a smokey club, just substitute a jazz band for TNT Recordings.

I should probably explain at this point that TNT Recordings are a trio of musicians, very much dedicated to creating music with a raw and live feel that keeps to its roots no matter the incarnation. The trio are; Tom Dean, Nigel Watson, and Tate North. Tom Dean is a bassist, Nigel Watson a guitarist, and Tate North plays the keyboard.

So, where was I? After the initial down-tempo funk tracks, then comes Na-Na, a more breakbeat kind of track. The culmination of instruments and samples is very fluent and the track flows with a great energy. Then we have Chilly, and what an apt name indeed. This is an ultra chilled track, something you could definitely watch the sun come up to. Once again I can really appreciate the live feel to the music. Using guitar and bass guitar on the tracks, as opposed to just using old samples or similar sounds, gives this stuff a real edge. Definitely adds a certain depth to the music.


In Between Beatings has a nice rhythm to it, very laid back, but it also has a kicking beat and hypnotic array of samples. It's a real progressive track, slowly building up the layers and changes in sound. There's something about this one, it's really addictive! Do What You Will brings the funk back with its old skool mix of guitar and bass over deep thumping beats. All still very much on a laid back tip. Then the imaginatively titled Curry Goat Sound System takes us on a dub style psychedelic journey. This is proper chilling music. And thus far the whole album has felt very much like a journey.

Things then take a slightly different turn at Funk For Your Trunk. This one is more like a house tune. It's pretty damn funky as far as house music goes, just not necessarily something I'd usually go for. The album then finishes with Plump, a sort of blend of funk, jazz, and trip-hop. This is a wicked track. An eerie piano sample plays sporadically throughout and the mix of funk and congo style drums works a treat. Not to mention the subtle guitar riff and various other samples that make up further layers of goodness. Definitely a good outro track.

Overall I'd say this is a proper album - and by that I mean there's no filler tracks to pad out one or two decent tracks. The house sounding tune aside, and bear in mind that is purely my personal tastes, it is all solid stuff - either under the guise of electro funk or chilled out breakbeat, but always in a continuous down-tempo style. If you're a fan of electronic music in general, then this is most definitely worth a listen. But specifically it might appeal to fans of chilled out music, stuff like Zero 7, Boards of Canada, although TNT Recordings aren't exactly like anyone I've heard, they've most definitely got their own thing going on, and like I mentioned earlier, I genuinely believe it is to do with the usage of their own instruments. Adds the depth and soul to their creations.

Don't be shy, check out their website and also their MySpace page.