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Also does this seem like something worth going to? They were canny enough to tier the payment system such that you could pay a small amount to visit the cordoned off third-tier / browobble acts and the full amount to actually see any of the acts worth seeing. None of these guys come around all that often (some, like dBridge and Bok Bok, I don't think have come around at all). At least it's not as bad as the annual browobble celebration around here, which inexplicably was one of about 4 or 5 stops that Mala made stateside this year. There was literally no one else worth seeing on the bill.
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Aug 6, 2011 09:27
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So. Field day is in a scant three hours from now - Actress, SBTRKT, Benga/Youngman, L-Vis... anyone else going?
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Aug 6, 2011 10:04
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Welcome to the fifth part of my UK Bass history guide. I intend this to be a rough guide to the history of the current UK dance music scene. An attempt to educate and show people what came before. It's not meant to be a completely 100% accurate in-depth report of the sound and scene at the time, but is hopefully good enough that people will be able to understand and form the links in what has turned out to be a 20+ year old musical scene.   Timescale: 1994-1997 Key Labels: Moving Shadow, Suburban Base, Basement Records, Formation Records, Dee Jay Recordings, Lucky Spin Records, Ram Records, Good Looking, Metalheadz, Front Line Records, Ganja Records, No U Turn, Last time in the guide we looked at the burgeoning Jungle scene of 1993. Today we delve deeper into the Jungle and look at the state of Jungle from 1994 onwards. By late 1993 Jungle had begun to make it's mark on the musical landscape, becoming more accepted and listened to by the mainstream who barely a year before had written off Jungle as a musical scene. Just a note here regarding the timescale we'll be looking at today. Primarily we'll be dealing with the state of Jungle during 1994 and 1995, with a few brief incursions into 1996/97 just to show you the major developments in the scene during those years. Now this is due to the fact that by 1996, Jungle had began to morph into what's now known as Drum & Bass. This resulted in a change of musical style and sound - with the music becoming ever more technical and/or abrasive - as well as a shift in the audience from the primarily urban, working class that had created and dominated the scene from the Hardcore Rave days, to a more middle-class suburban fanbase. Many of the core producers and DJs of Jungle, as well as the audience who increasingly felt disinterested and disheartened at how the Jungle sound was developing, switched allegiances to the more dancefloor friendly Garage scene, which had been slowly bubbling up since 1994, and had often been played in the side room during Jungle dances. Certainly you could say by the end of 1995 the UK Garage scene was the sound that was reinvigorating the UK dance music scene. The one pushing it forward towards the future. The one with the most women in it. But many of the Jungle tracks being made in 96/97 and even 98 would be an influence or inspiration to many producers several years down the line, so I felt it necessary to include some tunes from those years. Come 1994 the musical unity that held Jungle together during the post-Hardcore days began to break up, with the music and the audience increasingly splitting up into two factions. The more Ragga influenced or Jump-Up/Hardstep style with it's big basslines and pounding drums party on one side, and a more musically and technologically 'progressive' side sometimes known as Ambient or 'Intelligent'. In some ways eerily similar to what happened to the Hardcore Rave scene, where the scene split between a more darker and instrospective sound, and a lighter(comparatively) and more energetic sound. This schism would play out once again in the later UK Garage days, as well as in Dubstep. One thing these two sounds did have in common was their near universal disposal of the sense of dark euphoria, of the lingering paranoid hopes and frantic drug fueled energy that infused the Darkside sound of 93. The remnants of the Hardcore Rave days were almost gone as the fuel that fired that sound was slowly exhausted. A faint aura is all that would be left in just a scant few classic tunes during this period. Also important to note is during the later period featured here we start to see the fall of what was called Jungle, and the rise of what is now known as Drum & Bass. Come the mid-90s Jungle had a fairly bad reputation with the public and (most importantly) in the music press. Accusations of violence during raves, and a general association with black British working-class youth just didn't work for the conservative mainstream who at the time were praising the likes of Oasis as the saviours of music. So in order to whitewash (pardon the pun) itself and make it more presentable, the scene slowly started to call itself Drum & Bass - a term used since the early days of the scene, though not in this context. The press would pick up on this and eventually come the new millenium, few people in the UK would still call Jungle, Jungle. Like with Daewoo cars being rebadged Chevrolet, a new label had been affixed to the sound in an attempt to smarten up the music and the scene and make it 'respectable'. Maybe you could say the death of Jungle truly happened when Roni Size & Reprazent's 'New Forms' album won the very middle-class, very Indie/rock and roll orientated Mercury Music Award. The flood gates were opened then, it was cool to like Jungle Drum & Bass. When the 14 year old wearing a Suede t-shirt from down the bottom of the street knows about it, you know poo poo's done. But like always, it's best for you to listen yourself at the development of the scene. To decide for yourself what you like or dislike, as well as what you believe. It's time to listen to some more Jungle. Tube-Tape Playlist Link Omni Trio "Renegade Snares (Foul Play Remix)" (Moving Shadow, 1993) Probably the quintessential Jungle track that features on every compilation album and Jungle/D&B mixtape ever. And really I'm not all that original so I'll stick it in here as well. Omni Trio was Robert Haigh who before falling in with the Rave/Jungle lot made minimalist piano music ala Erik Satie. Which would explain why the piano would feature so prominent in pretty much every tune of his. Here Haigh's rolling, euphoric piano lines would glide over his ever wonderfully programmed breakbeat that rattle out like a machine gun blasts before warping and pitching that when combined with the bubbling, building pads make it sound like you're in the middle of a war zone in heaven. When the war finally ends and you return home at 4am, Renegade Snares has left you with an incurable case of heavenly shell shock. This Foul Play remix easily equals the original, though in truth it's hard to pick which is best. As far as I'm concerned though, Omni Trio's best work would feature on his 1996 LP The Haunted Science. Most everything after that sadly takes a bit of a nose dive, even his next LP which was released just a year later pales in comparison. DJ Mayhem "Inesse" (Face Records, 1993) Sadly I feel this original mix is overshadowed by the later Ray Keith remix that seems to feature more often in mixes and CDs. But for me, it's the original that is the best. You can really feel the progression from earlier Mayhem tunes like Cold Acid (featured in the last guide). You can see how the Jungle scene as a whole has progressed and changed. Instead of squelching, acid, uplifting beats we're now given to long, atmospheric slabs of sound mixed in with haunting vocals that come out of the dense sonic mist that is the track. The drums are no longer a fairly standard, straightforward breakbeat, instead more often we experience the drums pitch shifting and stretching, adding greatly to the general bewilderment and ambience of the track. Everything is awash in fog and the details are foggy, not really able to truly 'feel' the track and react purely by instinct, instead your mind really needs to click onto the beat first before your body can truly let go. This is the start of the more Ambient or 'Intelligent' sound of Jungle. Deep Blue "The Helicopter Tune (Rufige Kru Remix)" (Moving Shadow, 1994) Again The Helicopter Tune is one of those classic Jungle tunes you'll find in every budget priced Jungle compilation CD. Sadly the remixes (of which there are two 10"s I believe) are not heard anywhere near as often. Actually this Rufige Kru remix is not only my favourite remix, but if you ask me even beats the original. It turns the original - which after all these years can get a bit plodding if you ask me - into a much more energetic and frantic thing. Not that this remix is all that far from the original, but like many good remixes you know from the moment you hear the radio talk sample in the intro you know you're going to be in for something good. A-Zone "Calling All The People" (White House, 1994) A-Zone was Aphrodite, who you may remember was one half of mega popular Hardcore act Urban Shakedown. Here he returns with a new name and a new sound. To me this is one of the first early Ragga/Jump-Up style of tunes. Fairly simplistic (but I mean in a good way!), you have a Reggae-ish, very booming bassline plonking away under quite a 'straight ahead', powerful drumbeat. Spacey Ragga chanting gives way for yet more Reggae/Dub sirens that wail and pulse out. Unlike the previous few examples it's just such an energetic tune. No need to really think, just relax and let go and before you know it you'll be out there in the middle of the dancefloor skankin' away like a mad man. M-Beat "Shuffle" (Renk Records, 1994) You have to feel sorry for M-Beat. They put out a number of sheer blinding tunes during the course of the early 90s, but unlucky for them I think their legacy has been diminished by their involvement with General Levy's tune Incredible. A tune that caused a lot of anger in the Jungle scene when it came out due to some comments Levy apparently made regarding his stature in the Jungle scene. Pure politics in that matter. But getting away from the evil of politricks we have Shuffle. One of their best ever tunes in my opinion. Just a real nice mix between the Ragga side of things, and the more 'musical' and ambient side of Jungle. Switching indiscriminately between a Ragga sample with the relevant drum and bass beat, to a more uplifting, euphoric spacey vibe. Potential Bad Boy "Brok Wild" (Ibiza Records, 1994) 1994 was definitely Chris Mack's year with a string of releases on pioneering Jungle label Ibiza. Here we have a classic slab of early Ragga Jungle. Ragga vocal samples and Dub Reggae bleeps mix happily over the intricate and dense pads and drums. Neither side over powers the other, both existing in pure harmony which is why I really love this tune. Spirits From An Urban Jungle "Prologue To Freedom" (White House, 1994) Here we have an early track from future Moving Shadows faves E-Z Rollers. A classic Jungle piece, that really sheds the euphoria of the Hardcore days, and instead replaces it with a sense of wonder and dare I say it, hope? Like the title suggests it sounds like it's the first track to a journey to the stars. An arpeggiated synth note loops round and round from the start, giving a real Star Trek vibe if you ask me, while rising choir voices chase the rolling drums out past the atmosphere of the Earth and into the big, black beyond. Flytronix "Shadowlandz" (White House) Flytronix probably has more fame due to the fact it was he who created a lot of the artwork for the famous Moving Shadow label, giving it - at the time - real unique visual identity. Something entirely different the the more graffiti style that labels such as Sub-Base had. Instead you had a more modern, technological look. And his music reflected his visuals. A dense, dark, technologic nightmare. Ignoring the fact it has Predator 2 samples scattered through out (which as we all know increases a tracks quality by at least 15%) the entire tune is just one dense, urban, concrete monstrosity. Spacey, echoing bleeps bounce around the track like an echo in a dark lonely alleyway while pads sizzle away like the buzzing of a dodgy sodium street lamp. Even when the tune switches to a slightly more upbeat sound in the second half, it still gives off a real sense of claustrophobia and entrapment. A Guy Called Gerald "Darker Than I Should Be (Ladies Mix)" (Juice Box, 1994) Gerald Simpson was one of the few people off of whose back Jungle was initially built. Unlike the others though Gerald never really bowed to what was hip or cool at the time. Instead he plugged away at stuff, away up in his Manchester studio. Pumping out cool tracks like this on his own Juice Box label. Gerald let us taste the future far too little, but when he did it always quenched your thirst like nothing on Earth. Darker Than I Should Be remains one of my favourite tunes of all times. Way too dense Jungle with kicks that just sound like crackling electricity and sonar beeps and bloops that just make the track seem as wide and deep and black as the Atlantic. Jazzy trumpets just round off sheer bliss. This was later renamed as Alita's Dream and was the leading track off Gerald's 1995 album Black Secret Technology. It was reissued on CD a few years ago and I really highly suggest you pick it up. One of my favourite albums ever and maybe most importantly, it's a dance album that rises above the common dance album pitfalls and is a unique, exhilarating and transcending artefact in its own right. The Renegade "Terrorist" (Moving Shadow, 1994) Again here is another classic track that always seems to appear on any generic Jungle compilation CD. Terrorist was probably Ray Keith's real breakout track after spending a few years pumping out Hardcore on the Advance Recordings label. Nicking a piano line from song by Japan (seriously this is the problem with 'producers' today, they know gently caress all about music, leading them to make some really bland and boring tunes. Not enough samples from obscure British New Wave bands) as well as the bass off Kevin Saunderson's classic Just Want Another Chance (which was put out under his Reese alias, hence why that bassline would come to be called well... a Reese bass). Stick all that on top of an Amen and Bob's yer uncle you have yourself a Jungle classic. Studio II "Get Burn" (Redskin, 1994) Big booming bass and a nice pumping breakbeat is sometimes all you need. Of course just because that's all you need doesn't mean it's all you want. This track always gives off a kind of Indian or maybe Middle Eastern vibe to me. You've got some kind of flute or other wind instrument piping away like it's in the hands of a snake charmer, and he's just hypnotising you into losing control of yourself and getting you out on the dancefloor. It's a real great example of that Jungle/Ragga swing to it. That kind of bouncing beat that just makes you dance in such an instinctive way, skanking left to right to left, shoulders bopping like the deck of a ship in a storm, can of Red Stripe in hand. Interestingly Studio II would - like many Jungle artist - abandon the genre, instead following the sonic flow and moving into UK Garage, creating some of the best early UKG there is under the name Anthill Mob. Red Light "Coca Cola" (Red Light, 1994) Oh come on now, you didn't think UK breakbeat pioneers Shut Up & Dance had left the table now did you? You don't think they would have passed up the opportunity to meld their love of the breakbeat with their love of Dancehall do you? No, here is SUAD in the guise of their Ragga Jungle alias Red Light. Absolutely brilliant, tear out Jungle here. Guaranteed to light up the dancefloor. SUAD always seemed to follow the UK Bass flow, but at the same time they always seemed to approach the new in thing with only one foot in the water. Just a small dribble of releases under this alias, before going quiet, until a few years later during the Garage days they released a small selection of tunes in that style before going quiet again. It's a real shame as the quality of these tunes are immense and the world could've used more of them. Pascal "Hyperthermic" (Frontline, 1994) One of the few releases on Pascal's new (at the time) Frontline imprint which he started after he closed down his previous Face Records. Focusing on the developing harder jump-up scene, Pascal would quickly become a master at that style. Blending Hip-Hop vocals with massive basslines it was obviously going to be a crowd favourite. This track has always been one of my favourite Pascal tracks. Really living up to it's name it's a sub-zero, biting cold thriller of a tune that'll get you up and about, but it retains a real dark, sinister edge about it. 4 Hero "Universal Love" (Reinforced Records, 1994) Sometimes an artist just needs to keep on appearing on this guide, in the hope that you will actually take a real interest in them and really explore their body of work. 4 Hero is that artist for me. Really being the first to introduce Jazz, Funk and Soul elements into Jungle. But, unlike many who would come after, they would truly know how to use them. They wouldn't just stick a sax solo in the middle of a track in order to make it 'Jazzy' or 'Arty' or 'mature'. No hear they use it like it should be used. A means to really introduce some presence and physicality to the music. A bit humanity in a world dominated by machines. 4 Hero's adventure in Jungle would really end around this time, instead they would slow down the tempo some and incorporate even more jazz and soul elements into the mix, helping to create the genre that is known as Broken Beat. This particular track by the way is off their second album Parallel Universe. Probably one of the first (if not the first) Jungle albums ever released. I highly suggested you pick it up if you can, it will totally blow your mind. FBD Project "She's So" (FBD Project, 1994) A perfect example of the kind of haunting, ambient Jungle that was around come mid to late 1994. Pads and wind instruments float around like they're rogue balloons in the sky, floating around the infinite blue sky without a care in the world, simply ending up where the wind takes them, while vocals loom out of the track and echo around like they're just a whisper on the wind. Even the breakbeat seems almost ethereal, but with a tinge of evil about it. They stutter and swirl about the track, blowing back and forth, but they have that edge of unpredictability about them, like at any moment you expect them meet a cold bass pressure front and transform from the benign breeze into the most destructive of tornadoes. LTJ Bukem "Horizons" (Looking Good Records, 1995) I honestly don't know how Bukem managed to get away with it twice. First time round was Atlantis, and it's wholesale lifting of a Reel By Real track, now this time we have him doing the same with downtempo IDM-ish Guerilla Records recording artist Lemon Sol and their track Sunflash. Taking the body of the track and then grotesquely adding different elements onto it to create some kind of Frankenstein's Monster. Sure it's a nice track, with nice swirling aquatic pads and washes of crystalline synths that tinkle away on top of a, at times, fragile and razor thin sounding breakbeat. But this is where you could probably see things go wrong. Everything is maybe just a bit too squeaky clean, a bit too highbrow and futuristic. It's like some kind of Sci-Fi from the 60s/70s. Everything is just too neat, too clean, too new. You half expect to be wearing a one-piece silver jumpsuit ala Logan's Run while listening to this. A lot of people with a lot less talent would pick up on this sound and sadly run it into the ground. I also never got why Looking Good actually existed. What it put out was not really much different from parent label Good Looking Records, so was it really necessary? DJ Zinc "Super Sharp Shooter" (Ganja Records, 1995) The counterpart to stuff like Horizons was obviously tracks doing the exact opposite. While Horizons and the like were dense, slow motion and a real journey, people like DJ Zinc were really working more minimally when it came to making more dancefloor friendly jump-up music. Utilising simple elements (you've got your drums, your bass and a synth or two along with your usual Hip-Hop sampling) jump-up really worked well on the dancefloor to actually get people up off their arse and dancing. Well jumping around like mad men. Of course the same problems occurred in jump-up as with the more relaxed ambient 'deep' stuff. Too many copycat artists. The jump-up and Ragga side made it even more easier to copy however because it's less dense structure meant people thought it was easy and that they actually knew what they were doing. DJ Hype "Going Out For Da Loot" (Ganja Records, 1995) Of course you couldn't say the Ganja folk were copyists in anyway. Nearly all involved with the label were involved in Jungle in some way or form since day one. The Ganja stuff really showed how good the jump-up stuff could be when properly made. Clean and big sounding, tracks like this one really showed why the more aggressive, jump-up stuff caught the attention of a lot of people. Full of raw energy and passion. It's a really fun and catchy track (especially with those xylophone bits). Top Cat Meets DJ Rap "Ruffest Gun Ark" (Jungle Fashion Records, 1995) The Ragga Jungle thing was also in full swing come 94/95. Here we have British Ragga/Dancehall MC Top Cat's tune Ruffest Gun Ark given a rework by DJ Rap, who's probably more famous for tracks like this(or if you're a real fan of fairly poor 'mature' pop music, her short lived attempts at doing a Britney Spears impression). The real problem with the Ragga side was the sheer amount of terrible tunes that'd come out. With Jamaicans like Buju Banton simply sticking their vocals over a amen. What the gently caress he had to do with Jungle, or the UK scene no one knows. But occasionally you'd get some good tracks. Jungle Fashion was the Jungle offshoot of prominent 80s UK Reggae label Fashion who brought you such classic hits as Smiley Culture's Cockney Translation. So you don't mind them doing it so much as they actually played a part in the building of the UK scene. They actually contributed positively to the scene. And people like Top Cat, as well as being genuinely really good MC, also would come to stick with the UK Bass scene as well, his vocals ending up some several Garage tracks and more. It's funny how you never mind stuff as much when people seem to show a genuine interest and passion in what they do, and when they actually put something positive and worthwhile back into the music. Fashion Records by the way is still floating about in some ways, having initially grown out of the Dub Vendor store in London they still remain there, selling Reggae to the masses. Check it out if you want the best in UK Jamaican music. Dillinja "The Angels Fell" (Metalheadz, 1995) Surprisingly the first sign of the Metalheadz label I have in this guide. Metalheadz is Goldie's own personal label, started in 1994 and it seemed to take what Reinforced Records were doing, but it took it one step further(conveniently takinv with it several Reinforced artists) . It quickly became the hottest label in Jungle releasing a slew of releases by Goldie himself as well as Photek, Source Direct, Alex Reece and many, many more. One of the reasons for it's success - baring Goldie's new found mainstream fame - was probably because it actually had an identity and brand of it's own. It wasn't just another label, the brand was just as important and prominent as music itself. It was a label that you knew would be filled with unique, pioneering music. At least you could argue that for the first maybe 20-30 releases. After that things may have gotten a wee bit shaky. But Angels Fell was one of their first releases, and probably my favourite. Here Dillinja is still in his kind of 'experimental' phase, creating dense, futuristic melancholic soundscapes with drumbeats and basslines that become so disorientating and oppressive. They skitter and flash by you, partly like lightning in the dark, pouring sky, partly like the cars and trains that flash by you as you walk down the grimey, downcast city street. Dillinja would quickly however become a bit more straightforward, creating some really hard dancefloor classics under his Capone alter ego. Goldie "Timeless" (FFRR, 1995) First of all I'm amazed that the full 20min version of this track is actually up on Youtube. This is probably Goldie's magnum opus. Almost orchestral in it's style, one long piece broken up into several different acts. One of which was cut out and released as a single, in the form of Inner City Life. I don't really have much to say about this song as it's really one you need to listen to yourself. Photek "UFO" (Photek Productions, 1995) Rupert Parkes had been about the Jungle scene for a few years in various guises, before this track came out. However it was under the Photek name he really devised his most potent brews. A skilled mixture of Jungle, Techno and Jazz. Very musical sounding with incredible complex and well produced drums that are very fluid, yet also packing an immense bass punch, Photek would obviously be an easy route for those with no real interest in dance or bass music to enter the scene. Sometimes a good thing, most times sadly not. But we can't hold that against him really. Would eventually turn his hand successfully at House come the year 2000, before disappearing for a while. But he's recently returned putting out some fabulous bass music. Intensity "Generations" (Basement Records, 1996) Intensity was one of the many, many alias of Source Direct. Sometimes thought of as just simply Photek copyists, in my mind Source Direct were a far better act. A bit younger than Photek, Source Direct simply made some real atmospheric, complex music that jumped between youthful anger and weeded out paranoia. Much like Photek they were an act that would have releases on Metalheadz and become one of that labels most famous names. Sadly unlike Photek, Source Direct never really seemed to deviate or develop much from their course. They went down with the Jungle ship in the late 90s. Though one half of SD - Phil Aslett - has cropped up again over the past few years making Drum & Bass and running his own Vampire Records imprint. Aphrodite "Style From The Darkside" (Aphrodite Recordings, 1996) By 1996 Aphrodite was probably one of the kings of the jump-up style of Jungle. Perfecting the formula of massive bassline, breakbeat and Hip-Hop sample. Here a massive Reese bassline mows down the low range frequencies with zero tolerance. Formulaic as gently caress sure, but fun as gently caress as well. However imagine a full 5-6 hours worth of nothing but this in a rave, in fact worse, poor knock-offs of this. Not a pair of tits on the dancefloor at all. Is it any wonder why the creative energy had by this time filtered over to the UK Garage scene? After all that's where the girls went to. And everyone knows that where the girls are, so are the boys (at least the ones who don't cream themselves over an amen beat that's been cut up more times than a Jack The Ripper victim). L-Double & Shy FX "The poo poo" (Flex Records, 1996) Who needs a real melody when you can just be hard as gently caress? That's what L-Double and Shy FX managed in this track. Ultra energetic hardsteppin' Jungle Drum & Bass. Nothing but one big plonking bassline over the Think break. It's no wonder tunes like this became so popular. No thinking, no contemplating involved. Just sheer body music. Trouble is, too much of it just leaves you hungry and week. It leaves you with no meat on your bones come the hard days. You can't really blame the likes of L-Double and Shy FX however. Both had long since proven themselves in the Jungle scene with tracks like this and this. But still, you can see where the future leads with tracks like this one - and it's not a pretty sight. Tech Itch "The Dreamer" (Moving Shadow, 1996) This is probably actually my favourite Tech Itch track, and it's probably one of the last decent releases Moving Shadow ever had. It'd be a real mistake to mix this in with the more ambient/artcore side of Jungle just because of it's vaguely ethereal string sections. No it's too clean, too spotless to be that. Everything is classic Tech Itch, slick and well produced with everything in it's place. It's bassline also sets it apart from the ambient side. It booms out and become the central part of the track, rather than something just swirling half unseen in the mists. It's almost like it's been jacked off a hardstep tune. This is where I say we can really see the rise of Drum & Bass. Gone is a lot of the Reggae influences and the rough and tumble euphoria of Hardcore/Darkside, in it's place is a clean, scientific 'futuristic' palette that would eventually progress into what would be called Tech Step. But we'll talk about that more in the next tune. Trace & Nico "Amtrak" (No U Turn, 1997) Nico, Ed Rush, Trace and the rest of the folk on the No U Turn label would pioneer Tech Step. Here we see a lot of the soul, spontaneity, fun and dare I say 'blackness' of Jungle being sucked out. Instead replaced with a long, labouriously worked, ultra clean and clinical track. Even the breakbeat has been worked endlessly on, at times sounding like it's been left straight out, replaced with a perfectly timed drum machine. This is the real factory floor music, endless worked on and smoothed out, creating something that just sounds cold and robotic. Now not that I mind this track, or the rest of the stuff off the album it's taken from (which would be No U Turn's Torque compilation) I actually quite like a lot of the Tech Step stuff(No U Turn also get massive bonus points for starting a sadly shortlived garage offshoot called Turn U On), but really this is the death rattle of Jungle and the birth of Drum & Bass. It's taken the exit off the Hardcore Continuum motorway and settled down to roost, rather than continue to really change, adapt and mutate to what it finds round the corner. Instead like all good production lines it has continued to tweak itself, make itself faster and more efficient. Tempos also sped up dramatically and it has now became separate, self-contained scene content to do it's own thing. Even the name itself, 'Drum & Bass' implies such a sterility and technicality. But that's a whole other problem that we're not going to go into right now. For next time we continue on our journey down the UK Bass continuum. Next rest stop is at the burgeoning UK Garage scene, where we will see what has happened when Jungle ex-pats meet with the US Garage House natives. Additional & Recommended Reading: Luckily this period of Jungle is very, very well documented. To start things off we once again rinse the old favourites. First you can finally finish off Jumpin' & Pumpin's Jungle Tekno series. We've got a massive 8 volumes here stretching from 92-95 so go nuts! Next up, Kickin Records Hard Leaders compilations. Straight up to Volume 7. Around 95 Kickin split up it's Jungle stuff into it's newly created Hardleaders label which featured acts like Capone. It put out a series of compilations but there's one from 96 called Suspect Package that I recommend. Also Labello/PWL put out 3 volumes of it's Jungle Massive series. Finally we also have Sub-Base sub-label Breakdown Records which put out a lot of comps, though I suggest the 5 volumes of their Drum & Bass Selection series. There's many, many more compilations though. Some very commercial (hello Telstar Jungle Mania series!) while many more are fairly rare, fairly underground releases, though I'm sure some folks won't mind posting some recommendations so keep an eye open in this thread in case they do. 28 Gun Bad Boy fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Jul 4, 2016 |
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Aug 6, 2011 17:01
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28 Gun Bad Boy posted:loads of awesome stuff YES. Thank you again. You don't understand how helpful these things are. I'm only 20, I've been djing and collecting records for about 4 years now. I loving love all the older styles, all the way back to acid house - and you would not believe how much of a disadvantage it is to not have actually been there. The jungle classics that get mentioned now are just the same old recycled 20 - Valley of the Shadows, Babylon, etc etc. The same goes for garage (I am pants-wettingly excited for your garage editions). The thing is I miss out on all those tunes that you really had to be part of the scene at the time to know about - which is exactly what you provide. And you would be amazed how many of these are available on CD/digital, even if vinyl can be hard to come by. I can't thank you enough!
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Aug 6, 2011 22:41
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I... I think I'm a junglist now. -- Me, some way-too-young guy on the wrong continent in the year 2011 (but still!) Sleng Teng fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Aug 7, 2011 |
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Aug 7, 2011 14:52
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Really digging the opening track on the new Pixelord ep. It's a shame the whole thing isn't like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X4hZdI7IFc
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Aug 7, 2011 19:35
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Shitpost Gaze posted:I... I think I'm a junglist now. Never to late to become a junglist. In other news, it may be an older tune, but i constantly have Revolution by Jack Beats going through my head. Also, on friday night a mate of mine dropped an Old Apparatus tune in the middle of his set, hearing that through a full PA was loving immense. (edit: Zebulon, if i remember right)
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Aug 7, 2011 20:27
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Bellend Sebastian posted:Never to late to become a junglist. Too true. I first started getting into Jungle in 2005. Sadly, this was the beginning of the death rattle of classic jungle. (In my opinion)
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Aug 8, 2011 04:03
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Discovered the Nocturnal Sunshine remix of Cocoon by Alpines. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNVt3uyY_3c
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Aug 8, 2011 15:29
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thepopstalinist posted:Trim's also got a single on Planet Mu in a month, with Mark Pritchard instrumentals (otherwise it wouldn't be a Planet Mu release, I guess). Predictably weird. This one has been kicking around for a while. Stereotype was in Africa Hitech's Rinse mix last fall. Love that tune, and my MC buddy will be pumped when I tell him that they're releasing the instrumental.
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Aug 8, 2011 21:59
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Shitpost Gaze posted:I... I think I'm a junglist now. welcome to the fold
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Aug 9, 2011 05:05
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Tactical Grace posted:Discovered the Nocturnal Sunshine remix of Cocoon by Alpines. Not really digging the vocals, but I love the bassline.
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Aug 9, 2011 05:36
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The perfect rioting theme. Sorry, I'll get me coat. But on the plus side, all this chaos has really inspired me to get the next part done. Don't ask me why exactly. Tracklisting is finalised and it's the biggest yet! Like the Capitalist pig dog I am, next years model is always bigger and better. By the end of all this the parts will probably have 60 tracks each with a bonus special pre-order 6 track extra(only availible in France and parts of Cornwall while stocks last). Anyway hopefully you can expect it sometimes over the next few days. Sooner rather than later in any case. In the meantime to lighten the mood a bit, we have Baby Blue's Play. Actually dropped a few weeks ago but I've not seen anyone talk about it. No idea if it's actually properly out yet as I've not seen it anywhere to buy. But the real deal is the Zed Bias remix of it, that's why I want to find it. It's been floating about for a few months now and it's a pure belter. Tiny sliver of audio here in this mix, about 8min 30s along. It's a gently caress load better than bloody Swagger Jagger anyway. No wonder we're rioting after that hit number 1. And all you LDN folk out there take care and don't let The Man get you down. Or the dick in the Kappa trackie jump you.
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Aug 9, 2011 15:40
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Just finished one of my new mixes to help promote the society/night that I help run down in Exeter. Taking in a big spectrum of music - there's a whole shitload of music that isn't on there, originally I was going to do a big loving 3 hour mix but I decided to split it up into two. This one's the more 'party' vibe mix - I tried not to be too deep and obscure on this one, because at the end of the day it is promoting a party night for students. http://www.beatsandbass.co.uk/blog/2011/8/9/a-mix-to-riot-about.html Mala - Changes (Majic's Funky Edit) MJ Cole & Wiley - From The Drop (L-Vis 1990 Remix) Breach - Fatherless (T.Williams Remix) Bok Bok - Reminder Sinden & SBTRKT - Seekwal Ray Foxx - The Trumpeter Major Lazer - Pon de Floor Instra:mental - Thomp SBTRKT - Wildfire (Objekt Remix) Caspa - Fulham 2 Waterloo (Roska Remix) Zinc - Nexx Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers (Sunship Edit) >> Jammin - Go DJ Some Treat - Lost in Vegas Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate Artful Dodger ft. Romina Johnson - Moving Too Fast Sticky & Ms Dynamite - Boo! Zinc - 138 Trek Artful Dodger ft. Craig David - Re-Rewind Redlight - Source 16 Addison Groove - This Is It Sonz of a Loop da Loop Era - Far Out Rachel Wallace - Tell Me Why Redlight - MDMA Girl Unit/Tempa T - Next Wut Tanya Stephens - It's A Pity RSD - Kingfisher Breakage ft. Newham Generals - Hard Icicle - Breathing Again Skream - Exothermic Reaction >> D Double E - Street Fighter Riddim Jess Mills - Live For What I'd Die For (Distance Remix) Sub Focus - Last Jungle Cassius - I <3 U SO (Skream's Made Zdar Feel Like He Was 20 Again Remix) Omni Trio - Renegade Snares (Foul Play Remix) The Fat Controller - In Complete Darkness Danny Breaks - Volume 1 Konflict - Messiah >> Bladerunner - Back to the Jungle Break & DJ Die - Slow Down VIP >> DJ Fresh - The Gatekeeper Rockwell - BTKRSH >> Ed Rush & Optical - Watermelon Siren - Snorkel Breakage ft. Jess Mills - Fighting Fire (Loadstar Remix) >> Wilkinson - Overdose Noisia & Phace - Program J Majick & Wickaman - Ritual >> dBridge - True Romance Futurebound & Inside Info - Mermaids >> Rockwell - Full Circle >> Noisia - Deception Anae fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Aug 9, 2011 |
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Aug 9, 2011 16:10
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Anae posted:Wait a sec - are you in Beats and Bass? Heh, I helped set up the radio show... Edit: Also, fantastic mix. We were only D&B, back in the day... if you can believe it.
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Aug 9, 2011 17:51
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Symptomless Coma posted:Wait a sec - are you in Beats and Bass? Heh, I helped set up the radio show... What! Weird. Yeah, I'm on the committee. That's great to see how much it's branched out, lots of music styles, it's the biggest society in the Uni now, and the cavern is packed out with queues every clubnight.
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Aug 9, 2011 18:03
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i'm super excited, i've been working on a breaksy/garage ep for several months, and soon it will make it's way to transition studios to be mastered. does anyone have any experience with them? i know they've cut vinyl for local labels like dmz, deep medi, and soul jazz, but i don't know many digital tracks that have been mastered by them.
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Aug 9, 2011 20:07
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28GBB -- Latest edition is absolutely fantastic. This is exactly the period when I started getting into drum and bass.
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Aug 9, 2011 20:15
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beeps-a-palooza posted:i'm super excited, i've been working on a breaksy/garage ep for several months, and soon it will make it's way to transition studios to be mastered. It's Transition so I wouldn't worry. They'll do just as good a job for a digital release as a vinyl, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the digital released stuff from the UK goes through them. If anyone knows bass music it's them. Speaking of digital, I have fears that this PIAS warehouse fire will sadly bring the digital-only age a bit too close for my liking. I know that should be the last thing on my mind given the situation but all I'm thinking is "please have contents insurance, please have contents insurance". hamza posted:28GBB -- Latest edition is absolutely fantastic. This is exactly the period when I started getting into drum and bass. Thank you! And thank everyone else who's had kind words. I was a bit worried since I fast forwarded it a bit near the end just to kind of finish things off. So I was worried in case I skipped anything or if it made people lose the plot or whatever. But I wanted to over so I could get onto the garage stuff. Believe it or not I'm not actually that old(though long past being a teenager, and I do have way too many grey hairs to pass off as a teen - though at least it isn't baldness) so I wasn't there during the Jungle, but I've just been listening to and reading/thinking/talking about this kind of music for a long time, and Jungle was always like the nearest recent historical thing if you get what I mean, so I know a good amount about it. I got sucked in during the garage days so that I do know even more about. And luckily this is where we'll be visiting in the next part. That should please a few of you hopefully. 28 Gun Bad Boy fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Aug 9, 2011 |
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Aug 9, 2011 20:20
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28, you better write a loving book
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Aug 9, 2011 21:13
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isomerc posted:Not really digging the vocals, but I love the bassline. Nocturnal Sunshine is Maya Jane Coles' doobstoop moniker. She's a house producer usually. I'm really getting into house at the minute. What's some good house?
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Aug 9, 2011 21:51
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Tactical Grace posted:Nocturnal Sunshine is Maya Jane Coles' doobstoop moniker. She's a house producer usually. I'm really getting into house at the minute. What's some good house? Well that's good to know. I really liked the stuff of that single she had out on 2020. As for House I've still been really digging the body of work that Hot Natured(Jamie Jones and Lee Foss) has built up over the past year or so. Both the Hot Natured and Hot Creations label. As well as what's out on Culprit as well.
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Aug 9, 2011 22:01
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I will check that out. I just got Fabric's Elevator Music. It's really very good you know. It has this little gem on it.
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Aug 9, 2011 22:17
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Ahaha, way to pick the tune of the album. Incidentally, I first heard Friedrichstrasse, and indeed most of the tunes I've loved this year, on a little podcast called Soulsearching. http://www.milkaudio.com/web/radio_soulsearching.php It's presented by a genial frankfurter called Michael Ruetten with a calm german voice and an absolutely impeccable taste in music - with absolutely zero regard for genre. He's opened me up to a wider world of music than anything else I've heard. Have a listen.
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Aug 10, 2011 00:25
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Anae posted:Just finished one of my new mixes to help promote the society/night that I help run down in Exeter. Taking in a big spectrum of music - there's a whole shitload of music that isn't on there, originally I was going to do a big loving 3 hour mix but I decided to split it up into two. This one's the more 'party' vibe mix - I tried not to be too deep and obscure on this one, because at the end of the day it is promoting a party night for students.
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Aug 10, 2011 15:26
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In yet another case of my shocking slide into senility and irrelanvce, the new Landslide album dropped yesterday on his own Round The Houses label with my being completely oblivious he even had one in the works! Not only that but he's had singles supporting the album as well  I blame it in the fact it's digital and I've seen sweet gently caress all in the way of promotion (as bad as the recent 2000Black releases which seemed to drop out of nowhere and only sold on Juno). Anyway you can stream it all and read an interview with him here. Hopefully we'll see it out on vinyl, or a CD release. Though I have my doubts which is a real shame. I've liked Landslide ever since his early stuff on Hospital where he fitted right in with the Broken Beat stuff they were putting out at the first half of the decade (well last decade now). Tracks like Hear My People are total classics to me, and ones I come back to with fairly regularly. Actually I even like the D&B he was putting out before that, a track called Down Down (sadly not on Youtube) being a favourite. That was out back when Hospital was still using those groovy sleeves with the engraved H and the medicine label-esque sticker/nametag on the top corner. Really nice design that was. Just a shame I doubt many people will hear this. Would've been a good fit on the likes of Black Acre, who put out probably his most familiar track to most of you, Dreams & Visions (which also features on the new album). e: Of course it would've helped to have an actual link to the interview. 28 Gun Bad Boy fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Aug 10, 2011 |
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Aug 10, 2011 16:39
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I was surprised to see this pop up on Boomkat too, like i hadn't heard anything about it. Not listened to it properly yet but i like what i've heard. Also a fan of a lot of Hospital's earlier broken beat stuff, although i wasn't aware it was even classed as this when i listened. Now they have this one sound only basically, kinda sad. The Med School sublabel wasn't as interested as i hoped mostly.
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Aug 10, 2011 21:21
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infinity2005 posted:I was surprised to see this pop up on Boomkat too, like i hadn't heard anything about it. Not listened to it properly yet but i like what i've heard. Also a fan of a lot of Hospital's earlier broken beat stuff, although i wasn't aware it was even classed as this when i listened. Now they have this one sound only basically, kinda sad. The Med School sublabel wasn't as interested as i hoped mostly. It is sad that I've only picked up on this the now. It's the real problem with selling records, digitally or otherwise. People can't buy what they don't know about. Digital suffers this a million times over. At least in a shop there is always a chance you're flick by it in the rack, maybe see a nice cover or recognise the name. You'll get an actual distributer who's interested in selling records and will try work with the store hopefully to get new things in there, "Oh I see you're buying 10 copies of the new album by artist A, why not take 2 of this by this other guy that's similar" Worse case it's returned unsold, but at least you have knowledgeable staff who'll try and punt it. Digital just seems to end up getting lost in the crowd, at least without some kind of constant promotion to draw people in and remind people it's there. All just zeros and ones. Do Bleep or Beatport or whoever still enforce that policy that a label must sell X amount of downloads a quarter or be dropped? I remember there was such a big outcry over that despite the fact it was something crazy like 25 sales or something. I've not really listened to Hospital since London Elektricty's Billion Dollar Gravy came out and they stopped doing the Broken Beat stuff(so what 8 years ago now haha?) barring one or two things, but after a quick look nothing they have out interests me. I guess they've hit that level where there big and selling a lot(for the scene), but not really big enough to really risk too much. Big fish small pond. Just kinda bobbing there stuck between places. Like you said I think they missed a trick with Med School, they could've really used it too push a less D&B influenced, less 'safe' sound. I don't really mean 'experimental' but something where they could have had a bit of a free reign in doing what they like without too much risk to the bottom line. I know that's technically supposed to be the modus I guess for Med School, but it just seems like all they've really done is stick a pair of inflatable armbands on and let it loose in the shallow end under constant surveillance. Sure there's some kinda Dubsteppy things now and then, but not much that really makes you sit up and take notice.
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Aug 10, 2011 22:04
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28 Gun Bad Boy posted:At least in a shop there is always a chance you're flick by it in the rack, maybe see a nice cover or recognise the name. You'll get an actual distributer who's interested in selling records and will try work with the store hopefully to get new things in there, "Oh I see you're buying 10 copies of the new album by artist A, why not take 2 of this by this other guy that's similar" Worse case it's returned unsold, but at least you have knowledgeable staff who'll try and punt it. I loved working in a shop, and hitting the local shops when we had a few that stocked mainly dance music. When you became a regular, good staff could really point out some gems. Plus I made some good friends just from hitting the shops. As for Med School, they introduced me to Icicle's work years ago.
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Aug 11, 2011 03:16
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SUBFRIES posted:I loved working in a shop, and hitting the local shops when we had a few that stocked mainly dance music. When you became a regular, good staff could really point out some gems. Plus I made some good friends just from hitting the shops. Exactly, people forget how good a source the guys behind the counter really are. How much you really lose doing it all on a computer. I shamefully admit I don't visit the only real dance music shop around here very much anymore (Rubadub records), though that's mostly to do with life and lack of money more than anything. But I did get to know one of the guys who used to work in Avalanche Records(now LoveMusic) quite well and I don't even like to imagine the amount of times I added an extra cd or whatever to the days purchase because he recommended it. Total blind buying because you trust them to have good taste. I have to admit I've always wanted to work in a record store, though I don't suffer from the delusion that it's anything like a scene from Empire Records. More a case of catalogue stuff, sort shelves, postman man comes, sign for the stuff, catalogue stuff, sort shelves, more catalogue, phone distributer, DHL man comes, sign, more catalogue, serve customer, home. Well hopefully more serving customers. But dammit I'm enough of a anal retentive wierd geek that poo poo appeals to me. It'd beat hauling antique furniture up a flight of stairs anyway. And don't get me wrong, nothing really wrong with Med School, I just would like to see it really trying to branch out some more and explore a lot of different areas as it's the kind of label I think could have potential. Plus I think it'd have a real effect on Hospital. Like I said I really think Hospital's golden era was when they were doing the Broken Beat stuff alongside the D&B, when you had so many different sounds and approaches all colliding together. And the remixes, my god the remixes. e: Actually just remembered one of my favourite D&B pieces Hospital put out then, Delta - Submerged. 28 Gun Bad Boy fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Aug 11, 2011 |
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Aug 11, 2011 04:09
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Trim- I Am Test Presses in the Butterz store as "Here"
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Aug 11, 2011 17:24
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28 Gun Bad Boy posted:
I asked Baby Blue on twitter, she said 'end of this month'. So there you go! Zed Bias remix is stonking.
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Aug 11, 2011 19:44
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It's funny now that people have some vague idea of what "post-dubstep" is and the same scant notions of what dubstep was. Thank James Blake, I guess. Anyway I'm a bit torn on the new Photek stuff. A lot of it... doesn't strike me as very good. I like the remixes but the originals kind of leave me cold.
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Aug 11, 2011 22:17
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I'm the same. I feel like if I just listen to them without thinking about it they go over a little bit better, but then again right next to me I have a shelf full of his vinyl with stuff like Rings Around Saturn and UFO and it's sort of hard to ignore.
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Aug 11, 2011 22:22
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thepopstalinist posted:It's funny now that people have some vague idea of what "post-dubstep" is and the same scant notions of what dubstep was. Thank James Blake, I guess. I've actually been really loving Photeks recent output. I'm liking that it's a bit more stripped down, more dancefloor friendly. It's really just a continuation of what he was doing on Solaris which is probably my favourite piece of work by him. I think if he was a bit more active post-Solaris and continued down that route there would be a lot more positivity about his new work. I think that second Form & Function album on Sanctuary has kind of thrown people as that was the last thing he had done and while not bad, I personally think it was a bit on the conservative side. A return to Drum & Bass that wasn't really needed after he was digging up so much gold doing the House thing. As for the Post-Dubstep nametag thing, well that's just folk who've never been on a dancefloor before who're trying to justify to themselves that they like something that's actually *shock* dance music! Post-, Future, Intelligent. All just ways to try and convince people and convince themselves that somehow what they're listening to is somehow 'better' and 'smarter' than this other stuff. Like it's more pure or worthy. Truth is it normally just ends up kinda shite. Remember a lot of these folk probably listen to Yes and genuinely think, "magnificent". And I'm not talking about Owner Of A Lonely Heart(which is good). Anae posted:I asked Baby Blue on twitter, she said 'end of this month'. So there you go! Zed Bias remix is stonking. Well hey I always forget about the wonders of technology, thank you! Can't wait.
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Aug 11, 2011 23:00
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Just got done uploading a mix that I recorded a while ago and lost. http://soundcloud.com/kosmonot/block-control
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Aug 11, 2011 23:33
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Breach - Man Up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlWMk2kbdnA&feature=related this is fantastic.
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Aug 12, 2011 06:39
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JamesKPolk posted:Trim- I Am Test Presses in the Butterz store as "Here" Well spotted. My paypal account is frozen though ugh. Least i've got it in my cart now and will work out a way to buy it.
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Aug 12, 2011 07:02
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infinity2005 posted:Well spotted. My paypal account is frozen though ugh. Least i've got it in my cart now and will work out a way to buy it. You know I said the exact same thing when Shackleton found a couple dozen copies of Skull Disco #1 in his attic one day and put them up for sale. I had missed it first time round so rushed to order only to find my Paypal was just not doing it. Never got it. Oh the humanity! Now they want £50 for it. And the other releases are worth sweet gently caress all. Oh well maybe some day they'll sky rocket and I can add them to my retirement fund.
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Aug 12, 2011 07:19
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28 Gun Bad Boy posted:As for the Post-Dubstep nametag thing, well that's just folk who've never been on a dancefloor before who're trying to justify to themselves that they like something that's actually *shock* dance music! Post-, Future, Intelligent. All just ways to try and convince people and convince themselves that somehow what they're listening to is somehow 'better' and 'smarter' than this other stuff. Like it's more pure or worthy. Truth is it normally just ends up kinda shite. quote:Remember a lot of these folk probably listen to Yes and genuinely think, "magnificent". And I'm not talking about Owner Of A Lonely Heart(which is good).
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Aug 12, 2011 07:26
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