Labels Special: Scotch Bonnet

Mungo's Hi-Fi, the soundsystem, club night and production collective, is nothing short of an institution in Glasgow, and the name sums up perfectly its mixture of the local and global that has made them so popular. With festival appearances in France, Germany, Belgium and er, Knockengorroch in the past few months, they're competent players on the UK and international reggae scenes, but still find time to host Dub and Grub every Thursday night. Dub and Grub has run in the Maryhill Community Centre and the Art School, but now seems to have found a steady home in 78", formerly Mono's little sister, Stereo. It's a steady outlet for the Mungo's Hi-Fi boys, serving up a 'hot like peppa' mix of reggae, ska and dubbed out tunes weekly, as well as some cracking cheap food to boot. Despite the professionalism that sees them working a 9am-5pm week at the Scotch Bonnet studios in Glasgow's West End, Thursday isn't a business day for Mungo's Hi-fi, as they're usually too busy cooking and prepping for the night ahead.

Their vocal collaborations similarly demonstrate Doug and Craig's ability to cross between the local and the global, with reggae heavyweights such as Ranking Joe, Ras Daniel Ray and Marina P all having laid down vocals on Mungo's tracks since the launch of their own label. They're not above promoting rising acts though, and local boy Nafees, who seems to be in all the press at the moment, is present on A Few Screws Loose, whilst MC Soom T, now working with Bus on Berlin's ~scape label, worked with Mungo's Hi-fi early in her career.

Since 2005, Mungo's Hi-Fi have released on, and run, Scotch Bonnet records, beginning with the highly successful Rasta Meditation, featuring Kenny Knots on vocal duties. This is no overnight success, and it follows four years of releases on Dubhead and Ninja Tune. They've definitely stepped up a gear since the launch of their own label, though their prior cuts were praised by John Peel, and their dub riddim, Ing, opened Mr. Scruff's famed Ninja Tune mix Keep it Solid Steel Vol. 1.

To hear the Mungo/Scotch Bonnet sound, you're best checking out Songs of Zion, a CD album which bears testament to their production talents and status, with vocals from Murrayman, Marga, Ras Charmer and Prince Livijah locking horns against a backdrop of spacious, intricate riddims. With a roster including Glaswegian rappers, South American rastafarians, stars of the Kingstown heyday, and one ginger, dreadlocked Caribbean, Scotch Bonnet records is a unique label with killer tunes and an ear for all kinds of different sounds.