30 October 2020 - 0 Comments

Producer, guitarist and record label owner Oakley Grenell has emerged from his Melbourne studio set to showcase his 15th release in 18 years. The man behind projects such as reggae band Otautahi Allstars, jazz fusionists Departure Lounge, dancehall group Eskimo Squad and Rolling Stone's 4 out 5 star rated album Moving On, has surfaced with the fresh Style Dem Ripe EP. This dance floor geared 6 track selection features vocalists Deadly Hunta, Ishaka, Shottaz, Nutty O, Rubi Du, Wacklaa and Rayjah45.

In a 2018 studio session which took place in Reading UK, Deadly Hunta put pen to paper for the EP’s title track. An upbeat, modern dancehall mash up which harkens back to Grenell’s earlier forays into this genre, he seamlessly lays a bass heavy rhythmical bed for Hunta to spit lyrical fire and warn anyone to not mess with their sound.

During that same trip he reunited with the Eskimo Squad MC’s Ishaka and Wacklaa to ignite their strong musical bond, creating Chant Down Babylon and Oh My God. Since the Shottaz relocated from NZ in Melbourne, they have made a string of tunes together. Grenell’s remix treatment for Chimbambaira features Grammy Nominated Zimbabwe dancehall vocalist Nutty O. Being a fan of Rubi Du since hearing her breakout track Coming Right Thru, Grenell thought it only right to reach out to NZ’s queen of reggae dancehall for the first of many a collab, the result, a hard hitting, synth driven, four on the floor riddim. To close off the EP, Grenell enlisted longtime friend and collaborator Rayjah45 to add his smooth kiwi voice over the forewarned Serious Time.

Style Dem Ripe EP has additional production contributions on track 1 and 6from producer wiz 10A (a former music student of Grenell from Aranui High School).

The EP was mixed by John Clayton at Increase Audio and mastered by Hospital Records don, Dan Gresham / Nu:Tone at NTMastering.

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