Thrive in '95 - Jungle's zenith
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Slothrop
Tight but Polite
Interesting bit of 95 vs 96 here. Dj Phantasy 44 Mag original version from (afaict) late 95 is basically straightforward jump-up amen choppage, but bookended with little chunks of Bukem-lite jazzy synth:
The Ray Keith remix is from '96 and suddenly has far loopier, more stripped-down drums with big synthy bass pushed right to the front but still has a quizzical little blort of jazzy chords dropped incongruously in the middle:
The Ray Keith remix is from '96 and suddenly has far loopier, more stripped-down drums with big synthy bass pushed right to the front but still has a quizzical little blort of jazzy chords dropped incongruously in the middle:
I like that template. it made everything sound defeated and beaten up.
the real killer for me is people speeding up breakbeats to 180. you can't funk or swing at that tempo. you can pulverise but that was happening in french speedcore, not dnb.
droid
Well-known member
DJ Trace - Miles High
The penultimate entry in the Trace journal. An example of another virulent strain that emerged in 95 - the Jazz stepper. Pulp fiction is the tune that gets held up as the prime instigator of the style, but tunes like this and Doc Scott's 'Blue Skies' ploughed similar furrows. Exploiting the 'Sandy' break by Supreme DJ Nyborn which had been knocking around for a few years, but normally in combination with a bunch of other breaks, the innovation here was in the stripping back of the beats, leaving room for musical elements and putting more emphasis on the bass as a rhythmic device. Not my cup of tea, but at the time this sound was another pointer to the rude health and diversity of a scene that was generating sub genres at a ridiculous pace.
The penultimate entry in the Trace journal. An example of another virulent strain that emerged in 95 - the Jazz stepper. Pulp fiction is the tune that gets held up as the prime instigator of the style, but tunes like this and Doc Scott's 'Blue Skies' ploughed similar furrows. Exploiting the 'Sandy' break by Supreme DJ Nyborn which had been knocking around for a few years, but normally in combination with a bunch of other breaks, the innovation here was in the stripping back of the beats, leaving room for musical elements and putting more emphasis on the bass as a rhythmic device. Not my cup of tea, but at the time this sound was another pointer to the rude health and diversity of a scene that was generating sub genres at a ridiculous pace.
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alex reece preset drums.
droid
Well-known member
DJ Trace - Jazz Primitives
The final homage to a producer who almost single handedly personifies the kaleidoscopic array of styles present in jungle in '95. The dark synth pads set the tone before we get into some gangsta shit with a cascading jazz break that's all about the tom action and those crisp hi hat chimes. Add some descending 808 bass, a carved up diva and the casual arrogance of the 'follow the leader' vocal, and once again Trace is off the map and heading into unexplored terrain. Vicious & incisive in intent and execution. Less of a tune and more of a serial killer's calling card. A glove thrown to the scene from a man who was briefly its king. This one was engineered by Nico and the stark clarity of the production style isn't dissimilar to that unknown face tune posted previously. Set the tone for the deep break exploration of the likes of Paradox, and later the whole drumfunk scene.
And as for the break? Unidentified. The murder weapon never found. When Nico, Ed Rush and Trace played here in early '98, Naphta asked him about it at the after party. 'Cant remember mate' said Trace, a hint of a twinkle in his eye... we didnt believe him for a second.
The final homage to a producer who almost single handedly personifies the kaleidoscopic array of styles present in jungle in '95. The dark synth pads set the tone before we get into some gangsta shit with a cascading jazz break that's all about the tom action and those crisp hi hat chimes. Add some descending 808 bass, a carved up diva and the casual arrogance of the 'follow the leader' vocal, and once again Trace is off the map and heading into unexplored terrain. Vicious & incisive in intent and execution. Less of a tune and more of a serial killer's calling card. A glove thrown to the scene from a man who was briefly its king. This one was engineered by Nico and the stark clarity of the production style isn't dissimilar to that unknown face tune posted previously. Set the tone for the deep break exploration of the likes of Paradox, and later the whole drumfunk scene.
And as for the break? Unidentified. The murder weapon never found. When Nico, Ed Rush and Trace played here in early '98, Naphta asked him about it at the after party. 'Cant remember mate' said Trace, a hint of a twinkle in his eye... we didnt believe him for a second.
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blissblogger
Well-known member
I never much cared for the rmx because so neurologically bonded to the original - the remix messes with with the incredible riff that comes in a little after 3 minutes here
first heard it on a Don FM Lucky Spin show - one of those hair-raising moments
the rmx also has that really wussy 'telligent synth-wash part - euuch
droid
Well-known member
Sound Of The Future - Lighter (DJ Friendly Mix)
Whilst I have a place in my heart for the original Lighter despite the scorn and disgust of the cognoscenti, this is my go-to mix. Eschewing the replayed love story piano intro, it leaps straight into the fray with some cut up rollin' break work that skips into the doin' the do/horizons break of the original. The piano does make an appearance after some teasing during the suitably DJ friendly rollout, but its a short refrain that's paired with some nauseous detuned bass and an ever so faint Fu-Schnickens clash vocal loop. Our journey into the main body of the tune is interrupted again at 3 minutes with the bizarrely looped 'down crew', a pause and the kick/high roll that knocks things back on track and into one of the greatest moments of DJ SS's career at 3:46. You can almost feel the ground heave as the crowd lose it, the bassline shifting lithely into ecstatic jump up mode and the breaks phasing into sublime counterpoint, like those stealth bombers engineered for supersonic speed that leak fuel on the ground but slot perfectly together when they hit Mach 2.
16 bars of perfection. Ive played this out more than once and had a rewind here every time.
Whilst I have a place in my heart for the original Lighter despite the scorn and disgust of the cognoscenti, this is my go-to mix. Eschewing the replayed love story piano intro, it leaps straight into the fray with some cut up rollin' break work that skips into the doin' the do/horizons break of the original. The piano does make an appearance after some teasing during the suitably DJ friendly rollout, but its a short refrain that's paired with some nauseous detuned bass and an ever so faint Fu-Schnickens clash vocal loop. Our journey into the main body of the tune is interrupted again at 3 minutes with the bizarrely looped 'down crew', a pause and the kick/high roll that knocks things back on track and into one of the greatest moments of DJ SS's career at 3:46. You can almost feel the ground heave as the crowd lose it, the bassline shifting lithely into ecstatic jump up mode and the breaks phasing into sublime counterpoint, like those stealth bombers engineered for supersonic speed that leak fuel on the ground but slot perfectly together when they hit Mach 2.
16 bars of perfection. Ive played this out more than once and had a rewind here every time.
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blissblogger
Well-known member
hey Droid, i read a piece the other day in a newspaper attempting to rehabilitate David Bowie's Earthling as brave and bold (personally i always found "Little Wonder" rather charming)
anyway the writer mentioned that as well as hanging out at the Blue Note in London for the Metalheadz night, Bowie spent some time in Ireland in mid-late 90s - either recording or rehearsing for a tour, can't remember - and checked out the drum and bass scene in Dublin
did you ever see him?
anyway the writer mentioned that as well as hanging out at the Blue Note in London for the Metalheadz night, Bowie spent some time in Ireland in mid-late 90s - either recording or rehearsing for a tour, can't remember - and checked out the drum and bass scene in Dublin
did you ever see him?
droid
Well-known member
He was indeed in Dublin in '97 rehearsing Earthling and he did an unannounced gig in Ringsend. Its a bit of a sore point and actually gives us some insight into why that album is such a terrible failure. Dublin's original jungle crew was centred around Neil Outlaw and Outlaw records, Neil was a flatmate of Naphta, and that was the mini-scene I dropped into in '95 through personal connections. Naphta went onto form Bassbin with Rohan Bassbin a year or so later and they started putting gigs on around the city. No sponsorship, no fixed venues, all hard graft, flyering and posters, word of mouth, the usual underground stuff... however around the same time, Bono's dalliance with club culture resulted in the kitchen nightclub in Temple Bar as in the basement of the luxury Clarence hotel, and of course they needed something to fill the nights... Enter 'quadrophonic', an offshoot of Ireland's biggest concert promoters, who started a regular Friday night residency, the easy supply of cash compensation for the lack of organic connection to the local scene or personell, and the beginning of a small town D+B rivalry.
Obviously I dont know precisely how it happened, but I imagine if Bowie was in town and he wanted to blow off some steam he's far more likely to head to some chic faux underground night run by a rock star acquaintance than slum it with the plebs, and the kitchen was a regular haunt for celebrities (a mate of mine was ejected once for refusing to play a track for Naomi Campbell). He went along, hooked up with the quadrophonic lads and they ended up hosting the night in ringsend via tickets given out the night before in the kitchen, and of course, I missed it.
The reason I think this is instructive in terms of the earthling disaster is that its indicative of Bowie's inclination to take the easy path in his later career. His success was built upon a highly astute personnel choices. Ronson, Vandross, Eno, Rodgers and (perhaps most brilliantly) Davis, Alomar and Murray. After Let's Dance this sense seems to dissolve. he works with whoever is convenient or at hand. You would think that the man who pulled together so many brilliant bands would have the nous to do the same when approaching an occult genre like jungle... throw Rob Haigh, Photek or 4Hero a fat cheque - fuck it, even get Nookie or something, at least find someone who knows what they're doing instead of some random rock producer who cant cut up a break to save his life. I mean, Mark Plati... who the fuck was Mark Plati? So yeah, he couldve made a decent stab at a jungle LP if he hadn't been so lazy and he could have come to proper jungle nights full of manglers instead of some corporate astroturffed Bono shite, and I could've been at that secret gig in 97.
(I had met Bowie a few years earlier in the National Gallery, but just mumbled something embarrassing and scuttled off.)
Obviously I dont know precisely how it happened, but I imagine if Bowie was in town and he wanted to blow off some steam he's far more likely to head to some chic faux underground night run by a rock star acquaintance than slum it with the plebs, and the kitchen was a regular haunt for celebrities (a mate of mine was ejected once for refusing to play a track for Naomi Campbell). He went along, hooked up with the quadrophonic lads and they ended up hosting the night in ringsend via tickets given out the night before in the kitchen, and of course, I missed it.
The reason I think this is instructive in terms of the earthling disaster is that its indicative of Bowie's inclination to take the easy path in his later career. His success was built upon a highly astute personnel choices. Ronson, Vandross, Eno, Rodgers and (perhaps most brilliantly) Davis, Alomar and Murray. After Let's Dance this sense seems to dissolve. he works with whoever is convenient or at hand. You would think that the man who pulled together so many brilliant bands would have the nous to do the same when approaching an occult genre like jungle... throw Rob Haigh, Photek or 4Hero a fat cheque - fuck it, even get Nookie or something, at least find someone who knows what they're doing instead of some random rock producer who cant cut up a break to save his life. I mean, Mark Plati... who the fuck was Mark Plati? So yeah, he couldve made a decent stab at a jungle LP if he hadn't been so lazy and he could have come to proper jungle nights full of manglers instead of some corporate astroturffed Bono shite, and I could've been at that secret gig in 97.
(I had met Bowie a few years earlier in the National Gallery, but just mumbled something embarrassing and scuttled off.)
blissblogger
Well-known member
i once spied Bryan Ferry in the flesh at the Tate - the old Tate, not the Tate Modern
he looked debonair and jaded as you'd expect
droid
Well-known member
DJ Die -Hydroponics
This one is a beatnik jungle dissection, a poised, finger clicking surgical intervention. Die takes on one of the jungle's most minimal breaks, Blowfly's sesame street and strips it of its humanity, draping it in percussive armour and redeploying it as a subtle cyborg assassin. The A side of this 12" is a more typical Bristol shuffle monster, but this is the side that grabbed me at the time because of what it revealed - the intricate innards of the break, its strange gears and contrary timings, the mechanical skeleton beneath the organic flesh. Abstract and notional with a jazz tinge, reminiscent of the work of hidden agenda but with a slightly rougher edge.
Pick a drum loop and listen closely, follow it as deeply as you can, then shift your ears to the interplay between layers. Hear the groove collapse then re-coalesce, marvel at the contrast between the precise placement of beats alongside the steampunk coarseness of the loops. Is that high hat even in time?
This one is a beatnik jungle dissection, a poised, finger clicking surgical intervention. Die takes on one of the jungle's most minimal breaks, Blowfly's sesame street and strips it of its humanity, draping it in percussive armour and redeploying it as a subtle cyborg assassin. The A side of this 12" is a more typical Bristol shuffle monster, but this is the side that grabbed me at the time because of what it revealed - the intricate innards of the break, its strange gears and contrary timings, the mechanical skeleton beneath the organic flesh. Abstract and notional with a jazz tinge, reminiscent of the work of hidden agenda but with a slightly rougher edge.
Pick a drum loop and listen closely, follow it as deeply as you can, then shift your ears to the interplay between layers. Hear the groove collapse then re-coalesce, marvel at the contrast between the precise placement of beats alongside the steampunk coarseness of the loops. Is that high hat even in time?
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droid
Well-known member
Smokey Joe - Freakin with the Cut
I don't know what that sample is, but the intro to this one has the same middle eastern vibe of the Peter Gabriel breakdown in Babylon Timewarp's Durban Poison, some plaintive, wailing woodwind that gives you a totally false impression of what's ahead at 1:30 where we slip out of time into some very unique break edits. Much has been written about jungle's relationship with time, the distention of the timestretch and the disorienting effect it has on the minds and bodies of dancers, Joe pulls something different off, serving up a platter of staccato stuttering drum echoes and using the bass to build the rhythm around them. These edits are all kinds of fucked up. You cant mix 'em, they have more in common with some of the bouncing ball patterns that Aphex and AE explored a couple of years later than your standard jungle fare. The overall impression is of a series of false starts, hesitant dashes and baton drops which make the final loosening of the amen feel like some feral release. We drop into some twinkling bells as it rolls into a pad assisted breakdown, and then back into the maelstrom.
My only complaint about this tune is that its too long. It says everything it needs to say in the first 5 minutes. Handy for mixing though.
I don't know what that sample is, but the intro to this one has the same middle eastern vibe of the Peter Gabriel breakdown in Babylon Timewarp's Durban Poison, some plaintive, wailing woodwind that gives you a totally false impression of what's ahead at 1:30 where we slip out of time into some very unique break edits. Much has been written about jungle's relationship with time, the distention of the timestretch and the disorienting effect it has on the minds and bodies of dancers, Joe pulls something different off, serving up a platter of staccato stuttering drum echoes and using the bass to build the rhythm around them. These edits are all kinds of fucked up. You cant mix 'em, they have more in common with some of the bouncing ball patterns that Aphex and AE explored a couple of years later than your standard jungle fare. The overall impression is of a series of false starts, hesitant dashes and baton drops which make the final loosening of the amen feel like some feral release. We drop into some twinkling bells as it rolls into a pad assisted breakdown, and then back into the maelstrom.
My only complaint about this tune is that its too long. It says everything it needs to say in the first 5 minutes. Handy for mixing though.