TUNTUN Talks High-Energy Escape from His Heavy Roseland Album and Trimming Introspection for Bass-Driven Dancefloors
In the shadowy underbelly of London’s pulsating nightlife, TUNTUN emerges as the enigmatic, mask-clad force redefining UK Bass with a lo-fi swagger that’s equal parts Jungle frenzy and 2-step seduction, channeling the city’s restless energy into tracks that feel like illicit warehouse raves bottled for eternity. As the bold alter ego of the multifaceted Nathan Jamal—whose prior incarnations as Roseland En Why Cee have already etched soulful rhythms into the Black British canon—this re introduction brings TEXTURES, a five-track EP out now that detonates with warped samples, euphoric melodies, and the kinetic pulse of lead single ‘I Wanna Do’, a euphoric banger born from collab sparks with YDLR on ‘He Doesn’t Even Know’ and a tactile twist via limited-edition ‘Texture Packs’.
As the echoes of TEXTURES still reverberate through the capital’s underground, TUNTUN pulls back the veil just enough in this candid conversation to reveal the impulses driving his sonic journey.
What sparked the creation of your alter ego TUNTUN, and how does it differ from your work as Nathan Jamal or Roseland En Why Cee?
I was working on a pretty heavy, personal Roseland En Why Cee album for a year or two. For my own sanity I started making other tracks on the side that were the opposite to that. High tempo, dancy with nothing overtly personal in them. I was also going out a lot at that time so I wanted a way to channel those experiences. I ended up really liking some of those rough tracks, so decided to take them further.
Can you walk us through a typical day in your creative process when you’re infusing lo-fi into your work?
I like to make the process as tactile and fun as possible. So I’d start out setting up what I need to on the computer. Getting the drums and arrangement together, then playing as much live as possible. A lot of my lo-fi sound comes from mic’ing up synths and pianos that you’d normally plug straight into the computer. For a lot of this E.P. I’d just have one mic set up in the middle of the room to record everything. It doesn’t produce clean recordings, but it brings the sounds of the studio into the track. That’s the magic of it for me. I’m literally bringing you into my world.
How has London’s underground scene influenced the sounds you’re pulling from Jungle, Garage, and 2-step in TEXTURES?
We’ve definitely seen a resurgence of Jungle in the past few years and Garage has never really gone away! But I chose those sounds because to me they are London. The city created them and they describe what it feels like to move through the city.
What’s one unexpected sample or field recording that found its way into the EP and totally changed its vibe?
By Design started off as a piano part that I didn’t really know what to do with. One day I took some recordings of the tube pulling in and out of the stations on the way to work. I made some risers out of the sound and put them on the track and suddenly it had a clear direction to me.
In blending UK Bass with those glitchy, warped elements on TEXTURES, what was the biggest production challenge you faced to keep it dancefloor-ready yet introspective?
I think introspective stuff has to be used sparingly, which is not my default position. I’m often stuck in my own head (haha). So the challenge has been stripping that stuff back to its core. Giving the drums, the bass and other rhythmic parts space to be the stars.
The EP feels like a sonic quilt of the city (London)—how do themes of freedom and movement tie into your mission of adding alternative perspectives to Black British music?
As Black people we are always living in the shadow of stereotypes and music is no different. The industry seems to want a very limited range from Black artists, so the output becomes very limited. The fans grow to expect that limited range and the cycle feeds back on itself. I’m always trying to exercise the freedom to move outside of those limits while still representing Black Britishness.
Collaborating with Jaffar Aly on those limited “Texture Packs” sounds wildly tactile; what inspired tying physical art to the digital release like that?
My label is called Something Real, and we do just that; create something real for every release. The Texture Packs are the embodiment of the E.P. Capturing the textures of London through my lens. Jaffar’s signature faces capture the chaotic, creative energy I was tapping into.
If you could teleport to any past London rave for inspiration right now, which one would it be and why?
I think the obvious one is FWD>> at Plastic People, with good reason. That was a really special night in a space that was just magic. But because everyone says that, I’ll go with MogaDisco back in the early 2010s. In one of my favourite clubs ever, The Bunker in Deptford. The dance floor there is so close and intense. You couldn’t go in half heartedly, you had to leave everything on the floor.
Stream TEXTURES:
