I like to keep my introductions short and sweet: I've known Tomas for almost five years from when he approached me about writing for the blog I had at the time and since then he's leapfrogged me onto many bigger projects. Coyote Records is the nucleus of his attention now and below we delve into a range of topics including past and future releases, the rave scene, a changing Grime sound plus more. Cliché opener finished, read on...
It's been three-and-a-bit years since we last done any sort of interview and back then you had just released Coyote's first record. How has the label kept since then?
Yeah, I still sometimes reference that interview to remind myself how far I've come in the time since - pretty mad to think it was 3 and a half years ago now. It's gone really well since to be honest, maybe not financially but definitely creatively. It's given me a purpose and a direction and I've made some really good friends along the way, all of which has contributed to where we're at now. I still need to get DJing and put myself forward a bit more, but that aside, I think we're doing some really interesting stuff.
Back then you mentioned being passionate about physical products and if I've read correctly vinyl sales have boomed every year since you've been putting records out, does that passion remain the same?
Yeah the passion is definitely the same and I've noticed a definite rise in sales our end, but that's probably more to do with us growing in stature and people discovering the back catalogue for the first time, as opposed to solid evidence of a wider boom. I still really enjoy the whole process and I think the artists do too, particularly if it's their first. Spokes said it was his dream to have a record out on wax, so to be a big part of making records happen for people is pretty humbling.
Has Coyote benefited from the vinyl "resurgence"? (grime buzzword klaxon).
We've not benefited massively like I said before, but vinyl has always been something I've considered important, regardless of whether more people are buying it or not. It's a physical reference point, something you can hold up and be proud of. It's a bit of a romanticised view, but as my friend Sam Elsewhere (label head at Liminal Sounds) says, the whole process of pressing records is an 'inexplicable compulsion', which is a really good way to put it.
I remember that mad phase where literally any Tom, Dick or Harry reckoned they were a superstar Grime DJ, how are you going to approach that task in terms of what equipment you'll use and how you'll promote yourself?
I'll just keep it fairly low-key to be honest, but it'll be nice to be able to play my own parties and contribute to radio, which is one area the label is lacking a bit at the moment. I've been mixing at home for the last four years, it's just been a confidence issue with me - I'm not used to the idea of being the face of anything.
I remember we were talking about tape packs, going back as far as our style of music began and even long prior to that, they were the sort of collectibles alongside vinyl for listeners. Talking as someone who not only sources new music to release but would naturally survey the way your music is consumed, what would you say is the modern day equivalent to that?
Quite a few independent labels have started releasing tapes and CDs again, which is great for people of our generation because they still mean something to us but I'm not sure there is an equivalent now. Everything is driven by the internet and social media to be honest - working in music as a day job, you really see just how much is doctored.
Expand on the term "doctored" if you will, are you referring to figures or something else?
Not figures no, but just social media, sales, stats - it's become like a science. Room for creativity and trying new things is disappearing all the time.
What are the little pockets of space to sneak into do you reckon, like, how do you capitalise on the internet resources available?
It's a tricky one really. The best idea we've had of late was to run the white label series and title it "COYWHT" - it's a simple piece of branding and a very simple concept, but when music is so readily available to consume, sometimes it's best to go back to basics. It proves that the appetite for a physical product is still very much apparent too, which ties into what we were talking about earlier in relation to wax being an important part of Coyote's identity as a label.
I love that you've put White Labels out and you've commented on the influence of internet to releases but even still I think that the white label is a real mysterious vinyl, it's a real collectors item and means something special to the collector. Can you give us some examples of records from your own or perhaps even one of your producers collections that influences your releases?
Cheers - they've been a really good addition to the release remit. To be honest, the whole idea came about through sitting on remixes from OH91 and Chemist that were far too good to not release. OH91's in particular used to cause all out madness in the clubs and I thought it'd be a great idea to just experiment with limited press white labels. We sold 100 records in six days, which is a testament to like you say, the mystery and exclusivity surrounding white labels, but also to the strength of the two tracks.
https://soundcloud.com/coyoterecordsuk/sets/coywht001-oh91-vs-chemist
Do you think the internet should be held responsible for the throwaway nature of music these days or should the onus be on the team behind releases to step up to the plate consistently? What's the pressure like under that onus?
I don't think anyone needs to be held responsible because it's not a problem necessarily, it's just indicative of a shift towards the digital future we'll all inherit. Everything is instant now - food, travel, the whole concept of day-to-day life experiences - and music has become just another part of that wider culture. There's not much pressure associated from my point of view, because it's not like Coyote is different - it's the same for every label out there - but it gives us more license to be creative, definitely. I think that's part of the reason I've let things grow organically, rather than force Coyote down people's throats. It's a long-suffering model, but it makes the successes feel that much better.
That organic attitude, or letting the music do the talking is admirable as there is certainly a lot of over complication in many areas of dance music, have you encountered problems with that stance?
Ah plenty of problems, the main one being I'm not trying to force it or make too much noise, so in the short term we always suffer a bit. The organic, let the music do the talking model has done well for us though and it means that all the interest in Coyote is genuine, rather than superficial or hype-driven. We've developed a pretty strong core fan base as well - I need to shout out a guy called Marco from Venice, who has bought every single record we've ever released without fail. If you ever come to London mate, I'll get you a few drinks.
I think it's very interesting that you mention the interest amassed by the label is a natural occurrence. Using the term "hype-driven" is very accurate as from my point of view, being away for the length of time I have, there's been many new emcees and producers come through and originally I only knew about them because I was constantly seeing there names online but when I eventually got round to listening to them for myself I was so underwhelmed and in some respects disappointed that there were so many bandwagon riders around. Mentioning that sometimes the financial aspect isn't great but then saying this is practically your day job, how difficult is it to maintain the honest approach?
You just keep doing it to be honest. There are days where nothing seems to go right and you can get disheartened and feel a bit sorry for yourself, but then there are days that make everything seem worth it. If you believe in what you're doing - and with me, I only answer to myself which makes it easier - then you've already won to be honest, the rest is just making sure that you make the best of whatever vision or dream you have. I'd like to think that the artists on the label buy into that to an extent and likewise, I hope that translates in the records we put out.
I'm listening to the Tom E Vercetti's remix of Last Japan's "Harca", I think this is off of your second White Label release, this is by far my favorite release on Coyote albeit I might be missing one or two bits and to be honest much in the same way I hadn't heard of Mella Dee when we spoke about your first release, Coyote also introduced me to Vercetti and many more producers. I wondered if this was feedback you get often, do you pride yourself on finding new talents?
Ah thank you man, Tom E is one of the best producers I've ever had the pleasure of working with so it's no surprise you say that. Everyone on board brings something different to the table, but music seems to come so naturally to both him and Chemist - the pair of them are honestly brilliant. As I've said before in interviews, the majority of artists I've signed are often new or undiscovered - as is the case with our first album project from a guy called Letta in LA - which adds a bit of extra pressure to deliver, particularly on a financial front, but I enjoy the challenge of making their records as well received as possible. I take a very hands-on approach too, so giving artists the opportunity to play club nights and advising on everything from bookings to travel to remix work and helping out with press and radio, is all part of it. It's nice to see them all develop too - I'm very proud of them all.
Because a small portion of the guys you work with are only known in smaller circles is there a difficulty trying to get their music out to the bigger DJs in the scene?
Yeah, to a point although it's got a lot easier since people realised we weren't just a flash in the pan. The majority of DJs are really receptive and open with feedback which is great and I think people trust that if something is coming on Coyote, it's generally worth listening to. That's not to say everything we release is met with amazing feedback, but DJs are a good test of your own faith in the music you're releasing.
I never ever thought for a second that this would be a disposable project for you and I've used the word "your" a few times now in reference to releases etc. It's not a question that frequently gets asked, perhaps because asking it sounds so ridiculously obvious but how personally attached do you feel to the label?
Massively. It's just me making the decisions and running it day-to-day, so it's become a big part of my life.
Of many areas the one Coyote is greatly effective in is the extraordinary broad spectrum of, not genres as such but just the sheer amount of sounds alone it covers, when people ask you to define Coyote's sound, how do you go about it?
That's up to the people listening really. I think pre-Chemist, we were quite broad-ranging in terms of styles but since we released 'Defiance' last summer, the music has become a lot more focused. Cold is probably a good term to describe a lot of it, although Spokes' EP was pretty melody-intense so again, I'm not really sure how best to describe it. It's just Coyote!
Cold is very accurate, I was actually going to say also it's very "dark" in places, but the fact remains that diversity is a winner and a lot of labels have come and gone because they tried too hard to stick a very basic and boring blueprint. What is the long-term vision for Coyote Records?
The long-term vision is to build it properly as both a platform and brand - it'd be nice to incorporate a label, events and management arm one day but that'll be a long way off. I effectively manage the majority of the artists on the label anyway, so it's just about expanding to the point where we can start taking the brand all over the world, rather than relying on promoters to book us for a show every few months. It'll be difficult but I'm confident.
I think there's a lot to be said positively in your methods of recruiting talent and signing tracks, I mean you don't sign something or someone just because they are that person, or they have x amount of clout against their name. Would you prepare a release package differently though depending on the notoriety of that individual i.e Last Japan is well known in comparison to say Letta as a newcomer, how would you market their releases differently if at all?
It's going to be a bit of a different challenge because aside from Last Japan's 'Harca' white label, I've never released anything from an already established artist. That said, I've worked closely with Marco (Last Japan) for over a year now, so we both know how each other works and what we expect from the work we put in. The aim with Marco is to build on what he's already achieved and get him the shine he deserves - he's a brilliant DJ for one, but the way he approaches everything he does has really rubbed off on some of the younger guys like Chemist, Tom E Vercetti, OH91 and even Spokes. He's a real asset to have on the label. With Letta, it's more a case of making an impact with an incredible record. He's not had it easy, so I really want to help him make the most of his music and hopefully give him a bit of a platform to move forward and get things moving for himself in LA.
As discussed I've been dis-attached from any sort of "scene" for the best part of a few years and as the two of us have seen from the offset of our respective writing journeys sometimes even a fortnight could be considered a long time. From your perspective as not only someone who puts music into the market but a similar figure to myself: someone who consumes music in order to review, analyse and even dissect to some extent what we're listening too, what if anything has changed enormously in that period of time, in terms of how a. music is purchased and b. the way in which music is accessed by listeners?
In terms of purchasing, streaming has obviously become a big force within the wider music world - Spotify now contributes to official chart placings in the UK which is incredible really - but everything is still predominantly driven online. Access wise, Soundcloud has become a big part of independent music discovery but it's running into a lot of problems at the moment due to copyright issues - all driven by majors - so I think things are forecast to change over the next 12 months. Internet radio is doing really well too!
You would definitely benefit from a radio show of sorts even if it isn't you personally playing, the amount of internet stations that are around at the moment is staggering so it would be a great opportunity like you said. I know that feeling so well of when you hear something on the radio or even in a rave and sometimes it might take you months to find that song, have your sourced any tracks this way? It would be interesting to know the criteria you look for when signing a track.
Not really to be honest, it's usually through picking up on tracks I'm sent - I'll know within a few listens whether or not it's got potential to fit into what I'm doing with Coyote. That said, the next in the white label series is a record from T_A_M that I'd heard Slackk batter on NTS and just loved, so I guess radio can inform my release policy sometimes. It's a fairly fluid process.
Ok so tell us about Letta and what we can expect from your forthcoming project.
Ah man, where to start. It's been about nine months work all in all and a massively rewarding process. Letta is a producer from LA who first sent me some tracks off the bat last October and I couldn't stop playing two of them. The more we spoke, the more I realised we could do something pretty incredible with his work - particularly given the nature of his backstory - and we decided that we'd go back and forth on an album. He made the tracks over a period of about two months I'd say - he was going through a shitty period in his life after maintaining sobriety in one of LA's poorest neighbourhoods, Skid Row - and everything he was sending was so emotionally powerful and immaculately produced, that it just made sense to channel it all into a cohesive body of tracks. He originally produced under the name 'Scummlife' but I came up with 'Letta' as it referenced the last part of his surname and over time, we built the aesthetic, the design & ideas between us. It was a very organic and natural working relationship and one he entrusted me to have complete control over, which makes it feel as personal to me as it does to him, although in a different way. We're both incredibly proud of the final product.
That's quite deep, you don't stumble on stories like that too often. I guess that highlights your personal commitment to the label even further.
Yeah, it's a pretty amazing story - we're flying him over here for the first time in September. He's never left the US before, so it'll be a big deal for us both
Obviously we've discussed the laid back approach but how manic is it really in the time period from signing a track to the actual release?
I wouldn't say it's ever really that manic, unless something goes wrong. The whole process - from signing a record to mastering to going to press to release, as well as artwork delivery - can take anything from 2-4 months depending on various factors, so it actually feels quite drawn out. That said, it allows me to build good press, radio and event support around each release, which always plays a big part in the success of a record. I've got a great team around me helping too, from label distribution manager Parris at Cargo to Elliot, our art designer and Oli Grant who writes our press releases. I used to write the press releases myself but found it hard to disconnect my own feelings towards the records, so Oli's stepped in and done a great job.
I completely understand where you're coming from with that, on the flip side when I done some press bits for people before and I absolutely hated the music I was describing I simply couldn't carry on with it, I admire the people who write that sort of content with skill. What gets you excited about a forthcoming release?
Yeah, I have to do it all day at work too so I know what a skill it is - and the patience you need to get things right. I think for me, it's the full package that gets me into a record. It's all good having great music, but if it doesn't make sense in terms of how it's packaged or released, then it lessens the impact. If you look at some of the special records of the last few years - Logos' 'Cold Mission', Yamaneko's tape on Local Action, even the latest Flying Lotus album - not only was the music great, but the whole aesthetic for each was carefully planned and executed. From artwork to conceptualisation, even to ways they were communicated in the media, they were all records I wanted to listen to before even hearing a preview of the tracks - that's the level I'd like to get to with Coyote.
Writer, label owner, possible future DJ but also since I've known you: rave curator. How's that going?
Yeah, good! I actually really enjoy curating line-ups, but because there's only one of me - matched by the fact I've never been a great self-promoter - makes the execution a bit hit and miss. We've had some great nights over the years and a few awful ones, but it's something I'm trying to get better at year on year.
It wasn't that long ago obviously, but I came to the last night you put on and I found the best sets to come from the acts I didn't really know. Do you find it difficult trying to pull a big crowd to a night when there are many lesser known names on the bill?
To be honest, in my experience it's all about timing it right. Sometimes, you can have a great location but the line-up doesn't quite fit or vice versa - it rests on a fine balance. You came to the third birthday, which people were saying was one of the best line-ups they'd seen in London this year, and yet it was nowhere near as busy as it should have been. It was a good party, but issues with security and the fact that there was four parties going on in various rooms of the club that night, impacted on how our party panned out. By contrast, we took Last Japan, Chemist & Tom E Vercetti to play Bristol with OH91 in a 100-cap venue and it was the best party we've ever thrown - it was rammed and the energy was just so on point, we loved it. Shouts to Scott at Psychotherapy Sessions for getting us involved with that one - can't wait to get back in January.
I think for a young Grime listener who's just coming onto the rave scene it could be an exciting time, when I was legally going to raves I'd be lucky if there was a decent one every fortnight, now some MCs are booked for 3 raves in one night. I mean we were going to raves together before you'd started Coyote, we went to some of the Shoreditch places and also Cable. These places are vanishing almost as quickly as pubs which is a big concern however. Has this/will this effect Coyote?
It's a concern yeah, but not just for grime. I touched on politics before, but there is something cold and ruthless about the way the creative industries are being targeted, especially in London. It doesn't surprise me at all either, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating - there's very little dialogue between governments and the people they're supposed to represent full stop but when it comes to anything vaguely creative, particularly nightlife, it's virtually non-existent. As a small independent, I've been lucky in the sense that smaller, 100-cap style venues have managed to survive, but I feel for the bigger clubbing spaces (like Cable) that are being made to feel the full force of austerity. Cable was such a great venue for grime too, they were one of the few spaces of that size to fully embrace it back in 2011/12 - it was massive blow to lose it.
With that the music has changed though, a rave really is a proper dance and the energy comes from the beats directly not just from the MC. Now the sound is a broad as it is do you think MCs have to prove there abilities more?
Not necessarily, but I see where you're coming from. However good instrumental grime is, there's always something an MC can bring to the table and I think that's a balance that needs to be maintained - you often find it's either one or the other. There's nothing wrong with the either/or model, but I definitely think that both can benefit from each other - as evidenced by the success of Novelist and Mumdance on 'Take Time'. Novelist broke down the barrier between the two worlds - the whole instrumental vs MC divide - because the record they made was quite simply too good for people not to pay attention to. It's more about MCs continuing to play to their strengths, but taking more risks on the beats they chose to engage with for me.
So you agree that the split between an aggressive MC dominated scene and a producer-led dance genre has lessened in the last couple of years?
yeah definitely. It needed to happen too because both have proved they can co-exist and come together to make some amazing music - just look at Rabit & Riko on 'Black Dragons', Royal-T & P Money on 'Shotta' and Last Japan & D Double E on 'Til Da Morning Comes'.
I think an interesting talking point at the moment is where Grime stands against other stems of the UK Dance scene, for example Dubstep had it's big moments, a lot of pop records tried to infuse elements of Drum and Bass and at the moment the lens is on House both in the mainstream and underground. I would argue Grime benefits being out of the spotlight in some respects because it can force some people to work exceptionally hard i.e the likes of Skepta, Logan Sama and Butterz but then it suffers because those parties don't get the attention they deserve from the relevant people. Where do you stand on this?
Grime will always struggle to get the shine that other dance genres get in a live / club capacity because it was born on the radio and on the streets, it was never designed for the clubs in the way that say, house was. Don't forget, it wasn't too long ago that grime raves in London almost just didn't exist either - no one could get bookings - where as house, drum & bass, techno, they were built in the clubs and have always maintained a big presence through them.
There's also the drug culture, which almost feels alien to grime - imagine taking a load of ket at Eskimo Dance, it'd just never happen would it? The music gives you everything you need in short bursts, where as other strands of underground club music pride themselves on endurance and to a larger extent, experience - sunsets, terraces, fancy dress, glitter, inflatables, sparklers, swimming pools, rooftops. Grime doesn't offer any of that but the key is that it doesn't need to - people that go along know that, but persuading large groups of ravers that listening to grime on a Funktion 1 in a basement club somewhere in London makes for a better night than 18 hours on an open terrace watching Sven Vath will always be a massive challenge. All of that makes the achievements of artists and labels like Skepta, Logan, Butterz etc all the more impressive and furthermore, crucial to grime as a scene - they've all helped provide a platform that otherwise would never exist.
Back to the label: what's been your number one highlight since the entire operations been running?
Ah man, that's a difficult question - there's been so many! If I had to pick one, it was probably seeing Chemist come off deck after making his Boxed debut around the launch of his EP last year and the room was rammed. He played a great set and the look on his face - the sort of, 'yeah that was fucking sick' face - was priceless.
P Jam's "Be Yourself" from Volume One is legitimately incredible, tell me about Coyote Kings the compilations, why did you put those together and what impact did they have?
It was purely off the back of being sent so much music that I couldn't commit a full EP release to, rather than anything deeper or conceptual. That said, I think a lot of people found them really useful barometers for how instrumental grime was developing at those given times, particularly if you contrast the two volumes together. The plan was to do a third, but I think the first two have already done their job in the sense that they allowed me to reach out to a whole range of producers to put something together that enveloped the wider scene, rather than just Coyote.
I'm guessing that at the point when you released it that must have been a great feeling, given you were starting what you might not have thought was a huge project to suddenly being inundated with too many tunes to split into releases, I know it isn't any sort of "greatest hits" per se but as you said, it was used as a good indicator for an expanding sound, how was that personally for you?
Yeah it was just a way for me to put out something that I thought fed into both the label and the instrumental landscape at the time and it gave some shine to a few producers I've always admired, but never been able to commit to a full release from - guys like P Jam, Nomis, T_A_M and so on. The Kings compilations were just a natural extension of everything I wanted to push and support, but on a larger scale and like I said earlier, I think they've served a purpose as a good reference point or barometer, particularly for people just discovering contemporary instrumental grime music.
"Contemporary" - I like that word. What's been the big catalyst for the way Grime music has evolved in your opinion?
Ah that's a pretty loaded question. In relation to the recent instrumental buzz, I think it just took someone - a group of artists to be honest - to take grime and say 'this is sick' and make their own interpretations of the original sound in a way that appealed to wider dance audiences. Keeping grime alive is easy, because the people that love it, really love it (and that'll never change), but to push it to new audiences has always been a challenge because on the surface, it is a harsh, abrasive sound - there's no getting away from that. Once that interpretation starts to change and people start to engage with it though - whether that's by reading an article or hearing a certain DJ playing a record or even making the effort to get to a club night - then more and more doors start to open, and I think that's been the case with grime over the last few years.
At a more mainstream level - the Skepta, JME, Novelist, Stormy, Bonkaz world - I think that's been a far quicker and more explosive turnaround. Don't forget, people like JME and Skepta have been there and done it so many times. Skepta's made some awful records, been in and out of the major label world, done the come-up and experienced so many highs and lows, I think both himself and JME plus Wiley and the rest of the more established grime acts have just thought, 'fuck it, lets just make music we want to make'. When you free yourself from that industry mindset, the pressure must subside pretty quickly and as a result, everything looks like it's starting to make sense. I mean, you feel empowered just watching Skepta perform, let alone thinking about the lyrics or wider connotations of what his music represents.
Are there any plans to collaborate with other labels in the future?
There's always scope to, although I'm not sure how I'd handle having to share the decision-making aspect! I've spoken to Kastle, who runs his Symbols label out in the US, about collaborative stuff and the same with Liminal Sounds, but I think as long as we all support each other's music like we have been doing, we'll all continue to build - whether it's off our own backs or collaboratively.
What about more revisits, like on the first white label as I loved Chemist's take on that Footsie classic but OH91's remix of "Xtra" really stood out, anything similar to that theme planned?
Yeah definitely, I think it's important to revisit now and again - it's cool to bring older records back to life too, either by way of a remix or just releasing it via a new or different format. The focus with Coyote is always on moving forward, but you can't really make those steps without acknowledging how much good stuff has come before you.
Is Coyote going to remain instrumental based for the foreseeable?
Nope! We recorded our first vocal last month with Last Japan and AJ Tracey and the whole process really opened my eyes. I've always been very hands on with making decisions with certain tracks or aesthetics, but to see my ideas come to life with Last Japan and AJ was a great experience, so we'll certainly be looking to do more vocal work where we can.
Give us some insight as to what your ideas were there, was this just a test vocal record and you liked it or was this something you was always planning to do?
I think after three and a half years as an instrumental label, it felt like a good time to try and work with MCs and vocalists, but obviously only when I feel like we've got the right record or the right artist. Last Japan has worked with some of the biggest and best - notably D Double E and Trim - and like I said before, his music feels tailor made for MCs, so both of us agreed that his EP should showcase that element to his work too. That said, neither of us were expecting how good AJ's writing was, nor how conscientious he'd be in the studio. We'd wrapped the track, from start to finish - with punches, ad-libs etc - in an hour and a half, which is pretty incredible considering they'd not even met before, let alone worked together.
I like AJ. I detest the term 'new wave' as it was one of the phrases being bounded about very loosely, even by myself at the end of my last writing spell but he's definitely a fresh emerging talent I've noticed of late, did you or Marco choose him specifically for a record it was just a natural process?
It was actually my suggestion initially but the working relationship between them has been so natural and easy since. We'd whittled down Last Japan's EP to four tunes, but he always makes music with a lot of space - the ideal fit for an MC really - so we decided it'd be a good idea to get somebody in to record. I'd been at Radar Radio a few weeks prior with Spokes and AJ, Big Zuu and a couple of others were just chilling outside the studio. They asked Spokes if they could jump on his set for 45 and the rest is history - I was really impressed by them all, but AJ stood out at the time and I got in touch to ask if he'd be interested in working with Last Japan. Ironically, he text me the other day with a screen grab of an interview he'd done back in March - he was asked who he'd like to work with in the future and he'd said Last Japan, so I guess it was all meant to happen!
I think some of the best tracks were done quickly, Dizzee made "I Luv U" in 20 minutes. Excluding Kings, if you have to recommend one record to epitomise Coyote so far which would you choose?
That's a really hard question but I've always felt Chemist's 'Defiance' EP was the first one that fully defined it's own sound - that cold, icy aesthetic I referred to earlier - so for that alone, that's the record I'll go for. Kuedo loved it too apparently, which is big praise indeed.
Signing off then. You're pushing boundaries, I'm not trying to convince you into bigging yourself up and on the same token I'm not trying to bloke smoke up your ass, given what we've discussed and putting humbleness to the side: during this chapter of Grime, are you an innovator?
Ah I don't know about that, but I guess I've done my bit to an extent, just like everyone who's ever done anything positive to help change the perception of grime has. From people reading articles to going to nights to playing tracks to their mates or supporting artists on social media, everyone is helping innovate and grow the scene, whether they realise it or not.
Letta's album 'Testimony' is out via CD and digital release next month. Keep your eyes peeled for more information nearer the time. You can buy Coyote's music here or here, listen to previews here, follow them and Tomas on Twitter here and here and lastly check out their Facebook there.
Yeah, I still sometimes reference that interview to remind myself how far I've come in the time since - pretty mad to think it was 3 and a half years ago now. It's gone really well since to be honest, maybe not financially but definitely creatively. It's given me a purpose and a direction and I've made some really good friends along the way, all of which has contributed to where we're at now. I still need to get DJing and put myself forward a bit more, but that aside, I think we're doing some really interesting stuff.
Back then you mentioned being passionate about physical products and if I've read correctly vinyl sales have boomed every year since you've been putting records out, does that passion remain the same?
Yeah the passion is definitely the same and I've noticed a definite rise in sales our end, but that's probably more to do with us growing in stature and people discovering the back catalogue for the first time, as opposed to solid evidence of a wider boom. I still really enjoy the whole process and I think the artists do too, particularly if it's their first. Spokes said it was his dream to have a record out on wax, so to be a big part of making records happen for people is pretty humbling.
Has Coyote benefited from the vinyl "resurgence"? (grime buzzword klaxon).
We've not benefited massively like I said before, but vinyl has always been something I've considered important, regardless of whether more people are buying it or not. It's a physical reference point, something you can hold up and be proud of. It's a bit of a romanticised view, but as my friend Sam Elsewhere (label head at Liminal Sounds) says, the whole process of pressing records is an 'inexplicable compulsion', which is a really good way to put it.
I remember that mad phase where literally any Tom, Dick or Harry reckoned they were a superstar Grime DJ, how are you going to approach that task in terms of what equipment you'll use and how you'll promote yourself?
I'll just keep it fairly low-key to be honest, but it'll be nice to be able to play my own parties and contribute to radio, which is one area the label is lacking a bit at the moment. I've been mixing at home for the last four years, it's just been a confidence issue with me - I'm not used to the idea of being the face of anything.
I remember we were talking about tape packs, going back as far as our style of music began and even long prior to that, they were the sort of collectibles alongside vinyl for listeners. Talking as someone who not only sources new music to release but would naturally survey the way your music is consumed, what would you say is the modern day equivalent to that?
Quite a few independent labels have started releasing tapes and CDs again, which is great for people of our generation because they still mean something to us but I'm not sure there is an equivalent now. Everything is driven by the internet and social media to be honest - working in music as a day job, you really see just how much is doctored.
Expand on the term "doctored" if you will, are you referring to figures or something else?
Not figures no, but just social media, sales, stats - it's become like a science. Room for creativity and trying new things is disappearing all the time.
What are the little pockets of space to sneak into do you reckon, like, how do you capitalise on the internet resources available?
It's a tricky one really. The best idea we've had of late was to run the white label series and title it "COYWHT" - it's a simple piece of branding and a very simple concept, but when music is so readily available to consume, sometimes it's best to go back to basics. It proves that the appetite for a physical product is still very much apparent too, which ties into what we were talking about earlier in relation to wax being an important part of Coyote's identity as a label.
I love that you've put White Labels out and you've commented on the influence of internet to releases but even still I think that the white label is a real mysterious vinyl, it's a real collectors item and means something special to the collector. Can you give us some examples of records from your own or perhaps even one of your producers collections that influences your releases?
Cheers - they've been a really good addition to the release remit. To be honest, the whole idea came about through sitting on remixes from OH91 and Chemist that were far too good to not release. OH91's in particular used to cause all out madness in the clubs and I thought it'd be a great idea to just experiment with limited press white labels. We sold 100 records in six days, which is a testament to like you say, the mystery and exclusivity surrounding white labels, but also to the strength of the two tracks.
https://soundcloud.com/coyoterecordsuk/sets/coywht001-oh91-vs-chemist
Do you think the internet should be held responsible for the throwaway nature of music these days or should the onus be on the team behind releases to step up to the plate consistently? What's the pressure like under that onus?
I don't think anyone needs to be held responsible because it's not a problem necessarily, it's just indicative of a shift towards the digital future we'll all inherit. Everything is instant now - food, travel, the whole concept of day-to-day life experiences - and music has become just another part of that wider culture. There's not much pressure associated from my point of view, because it's not like Coyote is different - it's the same for every label out there - but it gives us more license to be creative, definitely. I think that's part of the reason I've let things grow organically, rather than force Coyote down people's throats. It's a long-suffering model, but it makes the successes feel that much better.
That organic attitude, or letting the music do the talking is admirable as there is certainly a lot of over complication in many areas of dance music, have you encountered problems with that stance?
Ah plenty of problems, the main one being I'm not trying to force it or make too much noise, so in the short term we always suffer a bit. The organic, let the music do the talking model has done well for us though and it means that all the interest in Coyote is genuine, rather than superficial or hype-driven. We've developed a pretty strong core fan base as well - I need to shout out a guy called Marco from Venice, who has bought every single record we've ever released without fail. If you ever come to London mate, I'll get you a few drinks.
I think it's very interesting that you mention the interest amassed by the label is a natural occurrence. Using the term "hype-driven" is very accurate as from my point of view, being away for the length of time I have, there's been many new emcees and producers come through and originally I only knew about them because I was constantly seeing there names online but when I eventually got round to listening to them for myself I was so underwhelmed and in some respects disappointed that there were so many bandwagon riders around. Mentioning that sometimes the financial aspect isn't great but then saying this is practically your day job, how difficult is it to maintain the honest approach?
You just keep doing it to be honest. There are days where nothing seems to go right and you can get disheartened and feel a bit sorry for yourself, but then there are days that make everything seem worth it. If you believe in what you're doing - and with me, I only answer to myself which makes it easier - then you've already won to be honest, the rest is just making sure that you make the best of whatever vision or dream you have. I'd like to think that the artists on the label buy into that to an extent and likewise, I hope that translates in the records we put out.
I'm listening to the Tom E Vercetti's remix of Last Japan's "Harca", I think this is off of your second White Label release, this is by far my favorite release on Coyote albeit I might be missing one or two bits and to be honest much in the same way I hadn't heard of Mella Dee when we spoke about your first release, Coyote also introduced me to Vercetti and many more producers. I wondered if this was feedback you get often, do you pride yourself on finding new talents?
Ah thank you man, Tom E is one of the best producers I've ever had the pleasure of working with so it's no surprise you say that. Everyone on board brings something different to the table, but music seems to come so naturally to both him and Chemist - the pair of them are honestly brilliant. As I've said before in interviews, the majority of artists I've signed are often new or undiscovered - as is the case with our first album project from a guy called Letta in LA - which adds a bit of extra pressure to deliver, particularly on a financial front, but I enjoy the challenge of making their records as well received as possible. I take a very hands-on approach too, so giving artists the opportunity to play club nights and advising on everything from bookings to travel to remix work and helping out with press and radio, is all part of it. It's nice to see them all develop too - I'm very proud of them all.
Because a small portion of the guys you work with are only known in smaller circles is there a difficulty trying to get their music out to the bigger DJs in the scene?
Yeah, to a point although it's got a lot easier since people realised we weren't just a flash in the pan. The majority of DJs are really receptive and open with feedback which is great and I think people trust that if something is coming on Coyote, it's generally worth listening to. That's not to say everything we release is met with amazing feedback, but DJs are a good test of your own faith in the music you're releasing.
I never ever thought for a second that this would be a disposable project for you and I've used the word "your" a few times now in reference to releases etc. It's not a question that frequently gets asked, perhaps because asking it sounds so ridiculously obvious but how personally attached do you feel to the label?
Massively. It's just me making the decisions and running it day-to-day, so it's become a big part of my life.
Of many areas the one Coyote is greatly effective in is the extraordinary broad spectrum of, not genres as such but just the sheer amount of sounds alone it covers, when people ask you to define Coyote's sound, how do you go about it?
That's up to the people listening really. I think pre-Chemist, we were quite broad-ranging in terms of styles but since we released 'Defiance' last summer, the music has become a lot more focused. Cold is probably a good term to describe a lot of it, although Spokes' EP was pretty melody-intense so again, I'm not really sure how best to describe it. It's just Coyote!
Cold is very accurate, I was actually going to say also it's very "dark" in places, but the fact remains that diversity is a winner and a lot of labels have come and gone because they tried too hard to stick a very basic and boring blueprint. What is the long-term vision for Coyote Records?
The long-term vision is to build it properly as both a platform and brand - it'd be nice to incorporate a label, events and management arm one day but that'll be a long way off. I effectively manage the majority of the artists on the label anyway, so it's just about expanding to the point where we can start taking the brand all over the world, rather than relying on promoters to book us for a show every few months. It'll be difficult but I'm confident.
I think there's a lot to be said positively in your methods of recruiting talent and signing tracks, I mean you don't sign something or someone just because they are that person, or they have x amount of clout against their name. Would you prepare a release package differently though depending on the notoriety of that individual i.e Last Japan is well known in comparison to say Letta as a newcomer, how would you market their releases differently if at all?
It's going to be a bit of a different challenge because aside from Last Japan's 'Harca' white label, I've never released anything from an already established artist. That said, I've worked closely with Marco (Last Japan) for over a year now, so we both know how each other works and what we expect from the work we put in. The aim with Marco is to build on what he's already achieved and get him the shine he deserves - he's a brilliant DJ for one, but the way he approaches everything he does has really rubbed off on some of the younger guys like Chemist, Tom E Vercetti, OH91 and even Spokes. He's a real asset to have on the label. With Letta, it's more a case of making an impact with an incredible record. He's not had it easy, so I really want to help him make the most of his music and hopefully give him a bit of a platform to move forward and get things moving for himself in LA.
As discussed I've been dis-attached from any sort of "scene" for the best part of a few years and as the two of us have seen from the offset of our respective writing journeys sometimes even a fortnight could be considered a long time. From your perspective as not only someone who puts music into the market but a similar figure to myself: someone who consumes music in order to review, analyse and even dissect to some extent what we're listening too, what if anything has changed enormously in that period of time, in terms of how a. music is purchased and b. the way in which music is accessed by listeners?
In terms of purchasing, streaming has obviously become a big force within the wider music world - Spotify now contributes to official chart placings in the UK which is incredible really - but everything is still predominantly driven online. Access wise, Soundcloud has become a big part of independent music discovery but it's running into a lot of problems at the moment due to copyright issues - all driven by majors - so I think things are forecast to change over the next 12 months. Internet radio is doing really well too!
You would definitely benefit from a radio show of sorts even if it isn't you personally playing, the amount of internet stations that are around at the moment is staggering so it would be a great opportunity like you said. I know that feeling so well of when you hear something on the radio or even in a rave and sometimes it might take you months to find that song, have your sourced any tracks this way? It would be interesting to know the criteria you look for when signing a track.
Not really to be honest, it's usually through picking up on tracks I'm sent - I'll know within a few listens whether or not it's got potential to fit into what I'm doing with Coyote. That said, the next in the white label series is a record from T_A_M that I'd heard Slackk batter on NTS and just loved, so I guess radio can inform my release policy sometimes. It's a fairly fluid process.
Ok so tell us about Letta and what we can expect from your forthcoming project.
Ah man, where to start. It's been about nine months work all in all and a massively rewarding process. Letta is a producer from LA who first sent me some tracks off the bat last October and I couldn't stop playing two of them. The more we spoke, the more I realised we could do something pretty incredible with his work - particularly given the nature of his backstory - and we decided that we'd go back and forth on an album. He made the tracks over a period of about two months I'd say - he was going through a shitty period in his life after maintaining sobriety in one of LA's poorest neighbourhoods, Skid Row - and everything he was sending was so emotionally powerful and immaculately produced, that it just made sense to channel it all into a cohesive body of tracks. He originally produced under the name 'Scummlife' but I came up with 'Letta' as it referenced the last part of his surname and over time, we built the aesthetic, the design & ideas between us. It was a very organic and natural working relationship and one he entrusted me to have complete control over, which makes it feel as personal to me as it does to him, although in a different way. We're both incredibly proud of the final product.
That's quite deep, you don't stumble on stories like that too often. I guess that highlights your personal commitment to the label even further.
Yeah, it's a pretty amazing story - we're flying him over here for the first time in September. He's never left the US before, so it'll be a big deal for us both
Obviously we've discussed the laid back approach but how manic is it really in the time period from signing a track to the actual release?
I wouldn't say it's ever really that manic, unless something goes wrong. The whole process - from signing a record to mastering to going to press to release, as well as artwork delivery - can take anything from 2-4 months depending on various factors, so it actually feels quite drawn out. That said, it allows me to build good press, radio and event support around each release, which always plays a big part in the success of a record. I've got a great team around me helping too, from label distribution manager Parris at Cargo to Elliot, our art designer and Oli Grant who writes our press releases. I used to write the press releases myself but found it hard to disconnect my own feelings towards the records, so Oli's stepped in and done a great job.
I completely understand where you're coming from with that, on the flip side when I done some press bits for people before and I absolutely hated the music I was describing I simply couldn't carry on with it, I admire the people who write that sort of content with skill. What gets you excited about a forthcoming release?
Yeah, I have to do it all day at work too so I know what a skill it is - and the patience you need to get things right. I think for me, it's the full package that gets me into a record. It's all good having great music, but if it doesn't make sense in terms of how it's packaged or released, then it lessens the impact. If you look at some of the special records of the last few years - Logos' 'Cold Mission', Yamaneko's tape on Local Action, even the latest Flying Lotus album - not only was the music great, but the whole aesthetic for each was carefully planned and executed. From artwork to conceptualisation, even to ways they were communicated in the media, they were all records I wanted to listen to before even hearing a preview of the tracks - that's the level I'd like to get to with Coyote.
Writer, label owner, possible future DJ but also since I've known you: rave curator. How's that going?
Yeah, good! I actually really enjoy curating line-ups, but because there's only one of me - matched by the fact I've never been a great self-promoter - makes the execution a bit hit and miss. We've had some great nights over the years and a few awful ones, but it's something I'm trying to get better at year on year.
It wasn't that long ago obviously, but I came to the last night you put on and I found the best sets to come from the acts I didn't really know. Do you find it difficult trying to pull a big crowd to a night when there are many lesser known names on the bill?
To be honest, in my experience it's all about timing it right. Sometimes, you can have a great location but the line-up doesn't quite fit or vice versa - it rests on a fine balance. You came to the third birthday, which people were saying was one of the best line-ups they'd seen in London this year, and yet it was nowhere near as busy as it should have been. It was a good party, but issues with security and the fact that there was four parties going on in various rooms of the club that night, impacted on how our party panned out. By contrast, we took Last Japan, Chemist & Tom E Vercetti to play Bristol with OH91 in a 100-cap venue and it was the best party we've ever thrown - it was rammed and the energy was just so on point, we loved it. Shouts to Scott at Psychotherapy Sessions for getting us involved with that one - can't wait to get back in January.
I think for a young Grime listener who's just coming onto the rave scene it could be an exciting time, when I was legally going to raves I'd be lucky if there was a decent one every fortnight, now some MCs are booked for 3 raves in one night. I mean we were going to raves together before you'd started Coyote, we went to some of the Shoreditch places and also Cable. These places are vanishing almost as quickly as pubs which is a big concern however. Has this/will this effect Coyote?
It's a concern yeah, but not just for grime. I touched on politics before, but there is something cold and ruthless about the way the creative industries are being targeted, especially in London. It doesn't surprise me at all either, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating - there's very little dialogue between governments and the people they're supposed to represent full stop but when it comes to anything vaguely creative, particularly nightlife, it's virtually non-existent. As a small independent, I've been lucky in the sense that smaller, 100-cap style venues have managed to survive, but I feel for the bigger clubbing spaces (like Cable) that are being made to feel the full force of austerity. Cable was such a great venue for grime too, they were one of the few spaces of that size to fully embrace it back in 2011/12 - it was massive blow to lose it.
With that the music has changed though, a rave really is a proper dance and the energy comes from the beats directly not just from the MC. Now the sound is a broad as it is do you think MCs have to prove there abilities more?
Not necessarily, but I see where you're coming from. However good instrumental grime is, there's always something an MC can bring to the table and I think that's a balance that needs to be maintained - you often find it's either one or the other. There's nothing wrong with the either/or model, but I definitely think that both can benefit from each other - as evidenced by the success of Novelist and Mumdance on 'Take Time'. Novelist broke down the barrier between the two worlds - the whole instrumental vs MC divide - because the record they made was quite simply too good for people not to pay attention to. It's more about MCs continuing to play to their strengths, but taking more risks on the beats they chose to engage with for me.
So you agree that the split between an aggressive MC dominated scene and a producer-led dance genre has lessened in the last couple of years?
yeah definitely. It needed to happen too because both have proved they can co-exist and come together to make some amazing music - just look at Rabit & Riko on 'Black Dragons', Royal-T & P Money on 'Shotta' and Last Japan & D Double E on 'Til Da Morning Comes'.
I think an interesting talking point at the moment is where Grime stands against other stems of the UK Dance scene, for example Dubstep had it's big moments, a lot of pop records tried to infuse elements of Drum and Bass and at the moment the lens is on House both in the mainstream and underground. I would argue Grime benefits being out of the spotlight in some respects because it can force some people to work exceptionally hard i.e the likes of Skepta, Logan Sama and Butterz but then it suffers because those parties don't get the attention they deserve from the relevant people. Where do you stand on this?
Grime will always struggle to get the shine that other dance genres get in a live / club capacity because it was born on the radio and on the streets, it was never designed for the clubs in the way that say, house was. Don't forget, it wasn't too long ago that grime raves in London almost just didn't exist either - no one could get bookings - where as house, drum & bass, techno, they were built in the clubs and have always maintained a big presence through them.
There's also the drug culture, which almost feels alien to grime - imagine taking a load of ket at Eskimo Dance, it'd just never happen would it? The music gives you everything you need in short bursts, where as other strands of underground club music pride themselves on endurance and to a larger extent, experience - sunsets, terraces, fancy dress, glitter, inflatables, sparklers, swimming pools, rooftops. Grime doesn't offer any of that but the key is that it doesn't need to - people that go along know that, but persuading large groups of ravers that listening to grime on a Funktion 1 in a basement club somewhere in London makes for a better night than 18 hours on an open terrace watching Sven Vath will always be a massive challenge. All of that makes the achievements of artists and labels like Skepta, Logan, Butterz etc all the more impressive and furthermore, crucial to grime as a scene - they've all helped provide a platform that otherwise would never exist.
Back to the label: what's been your number one highlight since the entire operations been running?
Ah man, that's a difficult question - there's been so many! If I had to pick one, it was probably seeing Chemist come off deck after making his Boxed debut around the launch of his EP last year and the room was rammed. He played a great set and the look on his face - the sort of, 'yeah that was fucking sick' face - was priceless.
P Jam's "Be Yourself" from Volume One is legitimately incredible, tell me about Coyote Kings the compilations, why did you put those together and what impact did they have?
It was purely off the back of being sent so much music that I couldn't commit a full EP release to, rather than anything deeper or conceptual. That said, I think a lot of people found them really useful barometers for how instrumental grime was developing at those given times, particularly if you contrast the two volumes together. The plan was to do a third, but I think the first two have already done their job in the sense that they allowed me to reach out to a whole range of producers to put something together that enveloped the wider scene, rather than just Coyote.
I'm guessing that at the point when you released it that must have been a great feeling, given you were starting what you might not have thought was a huge project to suddenly being inundated with too many tunes to split into releases, I know it isn't any sort of "greatest hits" per se but as you said, it was used as a good indicator for an expanding sound, how was that personally for you?
Yeah it was just a way for me to put out something that I thought fed into both the label and the instrumental landscape at the time and it gave some shine to a few producers I've always admired, but never been able to commit to a full release from - guys like P Jam, Nomis, T_A_M and so on. The Kings compilations were just a natural extension of everything I wanted to push and support, but on a larger scale and like I said earlier, I think they've served a purpose as a good reference point or barometer, particularly for people just discovering contemporary instrumental grime music.
"Contemporary" - I like that word. What's been the big catalyst for the way Grime music has evolved in your opinion?
Ah that's a pretty loaded question. In relation to the recent instrumental buzz, I think it just took someone - a group of artists to be honest - to take grime and say 'this is sick' and make their own interpretations of the original sound in a way that appealed to wider dance audiences. Keeping grime alive is easy, because the people that love it, really love it (and that'll never change), but to push it to new audiences has always been a challenge because on the surface, it is a harsh, abrasive sound - there's no getting away from that. Once that interpretation starts to change and people start to engage with it though - whether that's by reading an article or hearing a certain DJ playing a record or even making the effort to get to a club night - then more and more doors start to open, and I think that's been the case with grime over the last few years.
At a more mainstream level - the Skepta, JME, Novelist, Stormy, Bonkaz world - I think that's been a far quicker and more explosive turnaround. Don't forget, people like JME and Skepta have been there and done it so many times. Skepta's made some awful records, been in and out of the major label world, done the come-up and experienced so many highs and lows, I think both himself and JME plus Wiley and the rest of the more established grime acts have just thought, 'fuck it, lets just make music we want to make'. When you free yourself from that industry mindset, the pressure must subside pretty quickly and as a result, everything looks like it's starting to make sense. I mean, you feel empowered just watching Skepta perform, let alone thinking about the lyrics or wider connotations of what his music represents.
Are there any plans to collaborate with other labels in the future?
There's always scope to, although I'm not sure how I'd handle having to share the decision-making aspect! I've spoken to Kastle, who runs his Symbols label out in the US, about collaborative stuff and the same with Liminal Sounds, but I think as long as we all support each other's music like we have been doing, we'll all continue to build - whether it's off our own backs or collaboratively.
What about more revisits, like on the first white label as I loved Chemist's take on that Footsie classic but OH91's remix of "Xtra" really stood out, anything similar to that theme planned?
Yeah definitely, I think it's important to revisit now and again - it's cool to bring older records back to life too, either by way of a remix or just releasing it via a new or different format. The focus with Coyote is always on moving forward, but you can't really make those steps without acknowledging how much good stuff has come before you.
Is Coyote going to remain instrumental based for the foreseeable?
Nope! We recorded our first vocal last month with Last Japan and AJ Tracey and the whole process really opened my eyes. I've always been very hands on with making decisions with certain tracks or aesthetics, but to see my ideas come to life with Last Japan and AJ was a great experience, so we'll certainly be looking to do more vocal work where we can.
Give us some insight as to what your ideas were there, was this just a test vocal record and you liked it or was this something you was always planning to do?
I think after three and a half years as an instrumental label, it felt like a good time to try and work with MCs and vocalists, but obviously only when I feel like we've got the right record or the right artist. Last Japan has worked with some of the biggest and best - notably D Double E and Trim - and like I said before, his music feels tailor made for MCs, so both of us agreed that his EP should showcase that element to his work too. That said, neither of us were expecting how good AJ's writing was, nor how conscientious he'd be in the studio. We'd wrapped the track, from start to finish - with punches, ad-libs etc - in an hour and a half, which is pretty incredible considering they'd not even met before, let alone worked together.
I like AJ. I detest the term 'new wave' as it was one of the phrases being bounded about very loosely, even by myself at the end of my last writing spell but he's definitely a fresh emerging talent I've noticed of late, did you or Marco choose him specifically for a record it was just a natural process?
It was actually my suggestion initially but the working relationship between them has been so natural and easy since. We'd whittled down Last Japan's EP to four tunes, but he always makes music with a lot of space - the ideal fit for an MC really - so we decided it'd be a good idea to get somebody in to record. I'd been at Radar Radio a few weeks prior with Spokes and AJ, Big Zuu and a couple of others were just chilling outside the studio. They asked Spokes if they could jump on his set for 45 and the rest is history - I was really impressed by them all, but AJ stood out at the time and I got in touch to ask if he'd be interested in working with Last Japan. Ironically, he text me the other day with a screen grab of an interview he'd done back in March - he was asked who he'd like to work with in the future and he'd said Last Japan, so I guess it was all meant to happen!
I think some of the best tracks were done quickly, Dizzee made "I Luv U" in 20 minutes. Excluding Kings, if you have to recommend one record to epitomise Coyote so far which would you choose?
That's a really hard question but I've always felt Chemist's 'Defiance' EP was the first one that fully defined it's own sound - that cold, icy aesthetic I referred to earlier - so for that alone, that's the record I'll go for. Kuedo loved it too apparently, which is big praise indeed.
Signing off then. You're pushing boundaries, I'm not trying to convince you into bigging yourself up and on the same token I'm not trying to bloke smoke up your ass, given what we've discussed and putting humbleness to the side: during this chapter of Grime, are you an innovator?
Ah I don't know about that, but I guess I've done my bit to an extent, just like everyone who's ever done anything positive to help change the perception of grime has. From people reading articles to going to nights to playing tracks to their mates or supporting artists on social media, everyone is helping innovate and grow the scene, whether they realise it or not.
Letta's album 'Testimony' is out via CD and digital release next month. Keep your eyes peeled for more information nearer the time. You can buy Coyote's music here or here, listen to previews here, follow them and Tomas on Twitter here and here and lastly check out their Facebook there.
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