Award-winning Bristol lyricist, MC and label owner Gardna is about to embark on the biggest project of his career so far. His debut album ‘Good Time Not A Long Time’ was announced on Friday 18th October and features 12 original tracks and a who’s who of featured artists and reggae and dub royalty.
Produced by the mighty Brad Baloo of The Nextmen (and producer credits to Mungo’s Hi-Fi, Kreed, Coki, and Gold Dubs), ‘Good Time Not A Long Time’ destroys genre boundaries from the get-go. Delving into the world of reggae, dub, grime, hip-hop and everything in between, it’s a culmination of Gardna’s already extensive career, and demonstrates incredible abilities as a songwriter, lyricist, host and MC. With a little help from the likes of Hollie Cook, Kiko Bun, Eva Lazarus, Omar, Fox, Dread MC, Charli Brix, Rider Shafique and Taiwan MC, it showcases talent on both a fresh and legendary scale and provides an inimitable sound from start to finish. On creating the record Gardna added:
“Good Time Not A Long Time’ is a summary of my personal experiences within music. Be that good times, long times or anything in between I wanted to create an album that gives the listener both lyrically and musically an insight as to what it’s like to be a young man growing up in Bristol and travelling the world in front and behind a sound system. ‘Good Time Not A Long Time’ is also an expression made amongst people when they are somewhere for a short amount of time and they want to make the most out of their time being there. Most of these songs were written on the road, during busy show periods, in between the late nights, early mornings and all the rest. I’m always up and on to the next place, so I figured that it sums up the album pretty well. I’ve had the privilege to work with some of my musical heroes, as well as some of my favourite new artists on this. It’s been an honour to have their support on my first long player.”
Often championed by some of the biggest names in the business; David Rodigan, MistaJam, Steve Lamacq, Don Letts, Toddla T and Huw Stephens to name a few, Gardna’s impact on the Bristol music scene has expanded to just about every corner of the country and it’s easy to hear why. Over the last few years alone he joined forces with Gentleman’s Dub Club and The Nextmen to perform on four of the tracks on their ‘Pound For Pound’ record, in fact the lead single ‘Rudeboy’ racked up plays across BBC Radio 1, 6 Music and made it’s way into Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist.
As well as flexing his studio muscle lately, Gardna’s reputation on the live circuit has resulted in hosting and performing across the UK and beyond for close to 10 years now. His incredible energy and downright likeability hasn’t gone unnoticed, and to celebrate the new album release he’ll be touring globally over the next few months.
Without a doubt one of the most exciting reggae and dub artists around at the minute, Gardna is about to unleash a project that spans from a life of passion and commitment to music. He’s put his soul into this, and he wants every single one of you to join him on the most exciting part of his career to date – Check it out:
