The Cartel was made up of the band Murkage, and a culturally diverse assortment of DJs, musicians, photographers, film makers, designers and bloggers.
The Murkage Cartel were among the most prominent and in demand underground DJs in Manchester with many of them holding residences on local and national radio stations as well as regional events.
The club night gained extremely quick recognition within London with guests such as Giggs, Kano, Big Narstie and Fekky all making surprise appearances at their events.
Within their first year, they announced that they would be working on a 'Tonga Balloon Gang' EP with Jammer and Big Narstie featuring, which was due for release on November 14, which coincided with their first birthday party.
Outside of the monthly clubnight, Tonga also quickly gained recognition across Europe as being one of the most exciting DJ acts, incorporating Murkage Cartel members Klepto and Smith as well as Oscar Worldpeace, who was managed by Mike Skinner.