Reggae.hr: You are long time on the European dub/reggae scene, can you describe the process of creating Mungo's HI FI sound system that we know today?
Doug (Mungo's HI FI): Tom and I used to collect dub and reggae records back in the 90s when there were still record shops. Soon we had enough to start playing out and we got a regular Sunday night playing in the bar where Tom worked. This evolved into us starting our own monthly club at the Woodside Social, which ran for 8 years before we moved to the Artschool. At that time there was only one sound system that did occasional nights, playing mainly uk steppers, and we started going along and helping out. This got us into the idea of building our own sound, and when we found some old speaker boxes in a skip we took them home and fixed them up. They got their first outing in an anti capitalism demo in the summer of 2000, and since then we have not stopped improving the sound. In fact the original boxes have only just been replaced a few months ago, so they are now sitting in the office looking at me. Tom was making music all the while and when he had built some riddims we invited Brother Culture up to do some voicing and take the mic at the Woodside. That was when we recorded Wickedness and Ing, as I recall using the bathroom as a vocal booth.
Reggae.hr: What is the scene in Glasgow as far as this genre of music?
Doug (Mungo's HI FI): The scene in Glasgow has really grown over the last 10 years and now there are three proper sound systems running regular club nights, and good sized crowds coming out for promotions. However, people's background knowledge of the music is very poor, which makes putting on bigger names almost impossible.
Reggae.hr: Can you compare from firsthand the UK and Jamaican music scene today?
Doug (Mungo's HI FI): The Jamaican and UK music scenes these days are very different. To me it seems that the Jamaicans are looking very much to the USA and being strongly influenced by hip hop and rnb, while in Europe there is a lot more diversity.
Reggae.hr: Your riddims are highly respected in the reggae world, you are welcomed guests like the legendary vocalists Earl 16-A, Ranking Joe, Sister Nancy, Brother Culture and many others. How much work and time needed to reach higher levels in creating your music?
Doug (Mungo's HI FI): Lots of work and time. Tom is a perfectionist, and it shows. There are 5 of us now working full time on the sound system, but there are still not enough hours in the day.
Reggae.hr: Today dubstep music is more and more popular, how dubstep stuck under your skin? You founded your dubstep label 'Scrub-a-Dub', is dubstep your way?
Doug (Mungo's HI FI): Dubstep is a new sound, although other genres and sounds will supercede it in this new decade as music continues to grow and evolve.
Reggae.hr: You are on the tour with 25kW heavy sound. When you build your own sound and what can we expect in the musical sense in Zagreb?
Doug (Mungo's HI FI): Our sound system now is powerful enough to move you, but clear and clean enough not to hurt you. It's not just about more and more volume, but about reproducing the music as it was made to be heard.
Reggae.hr: This summer you come again on Outlook festival that held out in Croatia, do you have a close cooperation with them? Do you feel on Outlook like in UK or more like in foreign country, according to the high attendance of English public?
Doug (Mungo's HI FI): Our connections with the Outlook festival is through the guys who organise Subdub in Leeds. It is originally a UK festival held in Croatia, but I really hope that as they establish themselves there will be more and more space for it to become a UK/Croatian collaboration. In fact it is already happening.
Reggae.hr: Do you have plans for the future or you let things come naturally by themselves?
Doug (Mungo's HI FI): We tend to work organically rather than have a master plan. Our mission has not changed and we will continue to do more of the same, but better.
