5) Still going strong in ‘92 and picking up considerable steam, Ses Makes You Wise / King of the Jungle might be the most solid of the Juicebox 12”s or, again, perhaps just my favorite. Precious gold all the way through. “Sunshine” and “Ses Makes You Wise” are amazing, but for my money the B-side has just a bit more to offer.
“King of the Jungle” is adorably brilliant. I Iove it dearly. If you break down the bassline into its notes its almost like something from the Cocteau Twins, and the way that Tarzan sounding jungle-call sample fits over it tugs at my heart strings for some reason. That bubbling sequence to open. Those wicked rewind samples. Naive but sophisticated. Wicked but innocent. The miracle baby that is jungle announces its birth.
“Boase Up” is a galloping, loopy and rambunctiously ragga-tinged number showcasing the increasingly complex productions Gerald is beginning to pump out, being more of a headfuck than anything he’s made up to this point. This release also concludes the 28 Gun era, as it contains the latest tracks to be featured on the album. The BPMs are up as we rapidly approach full-blown junglism.
6) It’s finally 1993, and with 28 Gun Bad Boy behind him Gerald is conjuring a serious, sinister sound with the release of The Glok Track. The eponymous tune, the clear standout here, wields a violent and complex rhythm. Its tense atmosphere is reminiscent of “Anything,” but its as if that track were shot into outer space and returned to its home planet equipped with alien (black secret?) technology. On this video it starts at about 4 minutes in as the uploader includes the intro track “Gerald’s Bassline,” which also boasts similar weapon-like enhancements, especially apparent around the 2 minute mark.
The remix on Black Secret Technology (entitled “Cyberjazz”) is great as well.
7) Darker Than I Should Be / Anything V.2.1 is Gerald’s second release of ‘93 and comes once again shrouded in darkness. Faithfully reprising an old tune (listed above), its other titular track plays off of the ‘darkside’ theme with a racial twist, uttering “black secret technology” and some bleak ragga lyrics in its vocal samples.
The remix (“Ladies Mix”) exchanges the eerie ambience for mellow whimsy (hence also the change in title to “Alita’s Dream” as its featured on Black Secret Technology), and I think I prefer this version to be honest.
Another brilliant title, “Too Fucked To Dance” is certainly worth a mention. And its another one of Gerald’s most inhuman and otherworldly creations. Cold. Deadly. Nerve-racking. But also a sort of sad and damaged feeling going on. In a word, too fucked.
8) Nazinji-Zaka / Hot Foot (1994). The A-side is the one here. Swirling, swelling, sweaty. Like a communion of extraterrestrial insects. Certainly not a ‘94 ‘banger’ but as jungle began to standardize and dilute this certainly stands on its own two feet.
For what it’s worth, though, I think around this time is when you can just start to see, on the horizon, the whole thing coming apart at the seams, by which I mean Gerald’s pinnacle and pioneering role. This is one of the last releases (besides Gloc/Darker rmx which I already listed, and “Finely’s Rainbow” which I don’t particularly care for) before Black Secret Technology comes out, by which time the music is so to speak moving past him, and after which his pace of output severely slows.
However, that’s not to say the scene itself’s zenith outlived him by all that much. During the ‘95-96 period he also seems to be deejaying for the first time in a real way with appearances on Radio 1 and ‘One in the Jungle’, playing out prime Metalheadz/Good Looking hi-fi type stuff. Perhaps BST was an exhausting and financially stressful experience, and his idiosyncratic/experimentalist approach felt outshined by the increasingly polished and professional studio sound of this period. I don’t mean to besmirch the man with my speculation or make any less of his career, to me its not so much that he fell off, as the times fell off. He was a fore-bearer, an innovator, an inspiration, and in that sense the kids will always take what you’ve done and run with it, and you probably won’t be able to keep up.
9) So Many Dreams (1996). In my opinion this is a far superior albeit somewhat obscure remix (because overshadowed by the album version and Aquasky remix) of the opener to Black Secret Technology, and one of my all-time favorite Gerald Tracks. Incredibly beautiful and immersive. The bass drop is huge. The buildup to cacophonous clangy breaks, with that telephone ring. Some of the most beautiful studio vocals on a jungle track I’ve heard. “One day, you and me, we’ll be free.” This one does something to me. The above write-up notwithstanding, he’s in peak form here.
10) From his 2000 LP Essence, the very pretty tune “The First Breath.” I haven’t spent much time listening to this album, its mostly vocal/pop-oriented drum n bass and downtempo, but its got a couple instrumental cuts that caught my ear. This is the last release of his jungle/dnb era before mostly returning to his roots with deep house and techno stuff. Or, to put it another way, before he puts away the sampler and goes all Berlin on us, at least for quite some time. In fact this album was released by !K7, a German house and techno label. With that said, its still very much recognizably Gerald, and though its a little cliché I find it admirable how much he stayed true to himself. He may be aiming for a wider audience here with ‘crossover’ appeal, but he doesn’t compromise his sound or sensibility to do so. Despite my decreased interest in his music today and his lack of studio output, this still seems true. I’d rather listen to him playing endlessly with all the old Roland machines than hear him making shitty Drum n Bass.
