Wrongtom rocked the Townhouse on 15 April. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 1124405)

THE Townhouse was packed to the hilt with good vibrations on a night of scorching reggae brought by sound-system collective Old Time New Time Sounds.

The three members of the collective performed, with support coming from local reggae peddlers Limey Banton and Deemas J, while the night was headed up by acclaimed South London DJ and record producer Wrongtom.

The venue was relaxed at first, but as DJ Limey set the tone it wasn’t long before the room was teeming with folk of all ages.

Before the main event, locally-based MC Deemas J unveiled a new song, Part of Life, with local guitarist Jacques Evans. It had great feel and everyone seemed in the right frame for what was to come.

Enter Wrongtom, clad in a Trojan records T-shirt – a small hint at the impressive CV he holds. Trojan is undeniably one of the foremost British reggae, dub and ska labels and this guy has had commissions from them, as well as the likes of Pama International.

Along with these successes, Wrongtom worked as tour DJ with Indie-rockers Hard-Fi and found recent acclaim through his remix album Duppy Writer, which spans the discography of legendary Roots Manuva.

The set itself was a skirmish between reggae and hip-hop but the flavour changed frequently as Wrongtom drew from several reggae styles and eras, from deep dub vibes to lighter dancehall and its racier Raggamuffin offspring. In the midst of the set, elements of modern hip-hop were dashed into the mix, including artists such as Tiny Tempah and Rodney P, mashed up with reggae beats.

Despite covering a lot of bases on the reggae front – particularly if you consider all the performances on the night – the set managed to maintain a very accessible core.

You didn’t have to be an expert in Skalag 17 riddims to be drawn in, with the uncompromisingly user-friendly reggae melodies of hits such as Uptown Top Ranking by Althea & Donna and Dawn Penn’s You Don’t Love Me helping to drive the night along. This was obvious from the crowd’s response.

The customary skanking commenced freely and the layout of the venue gave the night a very down-to-earth feel, with Deemas J really getting the crowd involved. By toasting his way into the front of the crowd and employing some call and response-style play, the punters became wrapped up in the action.

A highlight of the night was the performance by Wrongtom and Deemas of their new collaboration Wa Do Dance, a dancehall rework of a classic Citizen Sound number which is set for release soon through Irie Ites.

As the night drew to a close – with 30 minutes of classic jungle raising even more cain on a tired dancefloor – everybody seemed in good spirits and Limey was pleased with the feedback.

‘The vibe was warm and friendly and everyone was dancing and having a great time – something you don’t see at a lot of places nowadays,’ he said.

Expect big things to come from the collective, who said that they will be representing reggae at dances not only island-wide, but nationwide and across Europe.

Keep your eyes peeled for Old Time New Time Sounds events over the summer.