Soul Jazz Presents Rumble In The Jungle

rosebeast

Well-known member
So...I picked this up last week, and aside from thinking it was amazing, it also got me wondering whether jungle might be this years rave, in that I think a bunch of fashionistas might adopt it as their latest "thing.". Lately I've been hearing odd jungle records from the 90s being played out at the odd hipster hangout with more and more regularity. Any thoughts?

Oh, and beyond the odd 12" did any great jungle albums come out its most fertile period in the 90s.
 

mms

sometimes
i thought that was ok that comp, but i don't reckon that it will become a hipster thing.
Do jungle records get played in sets with indie records or is it something different?
there were a few good jungle artist albums, guy called gerald's black secret technology, marvelous cains guntalk spring to mind but plenty of good comps.
 

rosebeast

Well-known member
Do jungle records get played in sets with indie records or is it something different?

No, they've been turning up in new rave sets sandwiched in between klaxons remixes and old altern8 records. So far I've only heard the more commercial stuff like "incredible" being played out, but whenever the odd jungle record has been coming on, people have been going ape shit for it! Its like they're reacting in the same way I saw people react to DJ's playing rave stuff last year.
 

ripley

Well-known member
So far I've only heard the more commercial stuff like "incredible" being played out,

heh. Can I just say, as an American, that the idea that that song is commercial is totally mindboggling.

(I get it, knowing how Jungle happened in England. it just never happened here like that)
 

Moriarty

Wild Horses
If think that there's a very good chance that it could happen.

Cassette playa's jacking that old breakcore/ jungle ting for her runways, and from there it's only a hop, skip and a jump for nu-ravers.

Bring it on i say. I would enjoy having those tracks around again. The problem with revivals though, is that everyone knows they're revivals. The kitsch component can positively reek when done wrong.
 

Alfons

Way of the future
So...I picked this up last week, and aside from thinking it was amazing, it also got me wondering whether jungle might be this years rave, in that I think a bunch of fashionistas might adopt it as their latest "thing.". Lately I've been hearing odd jungle records from the 90s being played out at the odd hipster hangout with more and more regularity. Any thoughts?

Oh, and beyond the odd 12" did any great jungle albums come out its most fertile period in the 90s.

I was just talking to my friend about this the other day, we were wondering wether soul jazz / harmless... etc might start reissueing old jungle/dnb now. There's been quite a few old house and techno compilations in the last couple of years and I guess there's more than enough material in the jungle waults, I certainly wouldn't mind getting some of the old stuff on vinyl. That being said, Im not sure if the dnb scene is the most buisness oriented scene out there.

As for a jungle revival, Im not sure. It might be the next logical step for the hipsters, moving on from an ironic appriciation of (nu) rave to the cheesier end of ragga jungle? Being a dnb promoter and dj I guess I wouldn't mind some sort of revival. We're actually having our annual "rewind" party next week where we play dnb/jungle from 94-04, I'll let you know if it gets raided by hordes of icelandic hipsters. Like Moriarty said though, a revival is always a revival...
 

mms

sometimes
No, they've been turning up in new rave sets sandwiched in between klaxons remixes and old altern8 records. So far I've only heard the more commercial stuff like "incredible" being played out, but whenever the odd jungle record has been coming on, people have been going ape shit for it! Its like they're reacting in the same way I saw people react to DJ's playing rave stuff last year.

I've got mixed feelings to this, as they only function as irony markers, whenever i've seen any of this kinda djing, seen sets where grime, old rave and something like salt and pepa have been played next to some indie, and considering the music that alot of these new rave guts actually put out, i don't think they have any real love for the music, there is no real need to play anything rather than incredible. people dance cos it's so fucking danceable!
Really i wish there was some focus on actually attempting to create something new in the uk rather than bands cleverly marketing themselves as something they're not really.
the US and Canada are well ahead in loving music so much that you think about what you are doing before you strike a chord so that you're just not another band who fill up the middle, propped up with label budgets and 8th page feature in music week on your marketing campaign kinda deal.
But on the other hand, any strike against this, playing great music to indie kids who may genuinley grow to love it is a good thing, weird parallels with the acid jazz thing in the 90's maybe?
 

Alfons

Way of the future
I've got mixed feelings to this, as they only function as irony markers, whenever i've seen any of this kinda djing, seen sets where grime, old rave and something like salt and pepa have been played next to some indie, and considering the music that alot of these new rave guts actually put out, i don't think they have any real love for the music, there is no real need to play anything rather than incredible.

This is why Im not sure how a revival might work, the tongue in cheek, ironic "this is so silly" stance might work with old rave tunes and with the ragga jungle stuff but I can't really see too much other dnb working in this way. Can you have an ironic appriciation of an old Photek or Hidden Agenda tune?
 

mms

sometimes
This is why Im not sure how a revival might work, the tongue in cheek, ironic "this is so silly" stance might work with old rave tunes and with the ragga jungle stuff but I can't really see too much other dnb working in this way. Can you have an ironic appriciation of an old Photek or Hidden Agenda tune?

no it won't happen, the most critical part of me thinks that any revival of this kind - and it is only for the ones with funny lyrics and tricks i'm sure is for a few reasons, one the music and culture of those records is so distant from indie culture at the moment, and two its fun and danceable, and done in public, rather than critically listening and getting to grips with what makes this music actually good. Saying tha there was a kind of drum and bassy rock thing on the new bloc party record, it was pretty nasty stuff tho.
It reminds me of the acid jazz thing , as acid jazz was kids who reached back to the 70's early 80's in the ninetees for rare grooves, as a kind of strike against popular electronic music, which was all over the charts, whilst ironically new ravers reach back to popular electronics as a way to spice up their guitar rock sets, both sets of groups wore retro clothing, the acid jazzers initially because they looked cool, but eventually this gave away in alot of ways, to the kinda mo wax style and the idea of car wash 70's nights, and silly afro wigs and flares. New ravers have a kinda rock/ironic rave combo going on, which may even give way to ironic rave nights. it's all a bit strange, Britain really needs to get it together.
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
This is why Im not sure how a revival might work, the tongue in cheek, ironic "this is so silly" stance might work with old rave tunes and with the ragga jungle stuff but I can't really see too much other dnb working in this way. Can you have an ironic appriciation of an old Photek or Hidden Agenda tune?
I'm not sure that "ironic appreciation" is all about listening to things and going "oh this is so silly", though. Maybe I have too high an opinion of hipsters, but I can't imagine that listening to loads of records that you genuinely don't enjoy would stay interesting for very long. I think it has more to do with listening to things where you actually like the sounds but aren't supposed to like the record according to your friends / tastemakers / whatever because it doesn't fit in with your current conception of what 'cool' is. So you can get of on the bass and the energy and if anyone asks why you're listening to this and not po-faced indie you can give them a knowing "aaaah" and it's okay. This works for soft rock and cheesy pop as well as it does for rave.

On the other hand, yeah, it's not obvious how well people's limited attention span would deal with the non cheesy end of things.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
I see nowt wrong with it. I don't like jungle in doses of more than 10-15 minutes, but things like Supersharpshooter and the Ready Or Not bootleg enliven any night.

This comp is now my one and only jungle LP, but I can assure you I won't be keeping it in an ironic way.

It reminds me of the acid jazz thing , as acid jazz was kids who reached back to the 70's early 80's in the ninetees for rare grooves, as a kind of strike against popular electronic music, which was all over the charts, whilst ironically new ravers reach back to popular electronics as a way to spice up their guitar rock sets, both sets of groups wore retro clothing, the acid jazzers initially because they looked cool, but eventually this gave away in alot of ways, to the kinda mo wax style and the idea of car wash 70's nights, and silly afro wigs and flares

Whatever you think of Mo Wax's music, it's a bit much to link them to silly afro wigs and a loada studes at Funky Friday nights. Very different scenes.
 

Dusty

Tone deaf
The tracklisting itself is a bit simplistic, 'Original Nuttah' and 'Incredible' - but no Congo Natty or Marvellous Cain? When I first heard about the compilation I was hoping for some real insights into early jungle, not a colour-by-numbers breakdown of the obvious, including the chart-toppers - stuff that has featured on countless jungle compilations before.

Still .... you can forgive everything for 'Limb By Limb'.

And hey, Jungle never went away! Remarc and Bizzy B on Planet Mu, Soundmurderer and SK1 out of Detroit, Chopstick dubplate out of Canada, N20 out of LA - its still bumbling along.
 
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mms

sometimes
Whatever you think of Mo Wax's music, it's a bit much to link them to silly afro wigs and a loada studes at Funky Friday nights. Very different scenes.

that's not what i'm saying - what i think is that the funk and rare groove revival kinda split off into those kinda factions around dance music, the kinda honest johns west london thing and then the acceptability of funk and disco from the 70's into mainstream clubs kinda stems from that i think, plus the fact of course that disco is often so great for dancing. i'm not really saying the two groups have much in common but they do have common roots

The tracklisting itself is a bit simplistic, 'Original Nuttah' and 'Incredible' - but no Congo Natty or Marvellous Cain? When I first heard about the compilation I was hoping for some real insights into early jungle, not a colour-by-numbers breakdown of the obvious, including the chart-toppers - stuff that has featured on countless jungle compilations before.

Still .... you can forgive everything for 'Limb By Limb'.

And hey, Jungle never went away! Remarc and Bizzy B on Planet Mu, Soundmurderer and SK1 out of Detroit, Chopstick dubplate out of Canada, N20 out of LA - its still bumbling along.

there are some less known track on there too, bible reader etc, but its a little simplistic i agree. i think if there was a revival of jungle, and its something thats been under the surface for a few years now, its won't be full blown, there hasn't been a revival that's been full blown since the 90's maybe cos there is nothing to revive it against really, anyway soundmurders' label have stopped now and remarc hasn't done anything new like he really promised too. There is loads of that ragga junglist stuff, some's ok pitched down, but it's at breakcore speed with breakcore attitude, weirdly we've been here before on dissensus about 2 years ago discussing an impending junglist revival:)
 

DJ PIMP

Well-known member
i don't see how we can have a jungle revival when we haven't entirely come back from acid through rave yet? though music is weird right now... it's a bit like everything is starting to happen all at once.
 

Dusty

Tone deaf
the true post-modern era.

You are right mms, I suppose alot of the new stuff is more breakcore orientated really.
 

Clubberlang

Well-known member
So...I picked this up last week, and aside from thinking it was amazing, it also got me wondering whether jungle might be this years rave, in that I think a bunch of fashionistas might adopt it as their latest "thing.". Lately I've been hearing odd jungle records from the 90s being played out at the odd hipster hangout with more and more regularity. Any thoughts?

Oh, and beyond the odd 12" did any great jungle albums come out its most fertile period in the 90s.

Ragga-jungle never really died though (at least in Toronto haha.) I think it's hipster cache moment in the sun was probably 3-4 years ago with the Soundmurderer mix and the Remarc collections and the first Shockout stuff. I can't quite see it ever moving much beyond that fringe and I'm guessing the Soul Jazz comp (which has very limited appeal and a tracklist which won't excite anyone who has a comp or five from back in the day) will be one of their worst sellers.

Plenty of great comps got released on CD at the time though (Drum & Bass Selection 1-5, Jungle Massive 1-4 are both universally great and many more amusingly named ones like Jungle Mania 1-3, Jungle Hits 1-3, Ragga Jungle Anthems 1 & 2, Renegade Selector Series 1 & 2 are all respectable etc, despite a bit of repetition.) Actual single artist jungle full lengths were rarer but Kemet Crew, Shy FX and Congo Natty/Blackstar all released very nice CDs.
 

rosebeast

Well-known member
i don't see how we can have a jungle revival when we haven't entirely come back from acid through rave yet? though music is weird right now... it's a bit like everything is starting to happen all at once.

I agree that music is really weird right now. It's almost as if everything is moving at hyperspeed in terms of things being revived. I'm not kidding when I say I've witnessed people discussing a 2-step garage revival that may be on the horizon! It was only a few years ago I remember dancing to Shanks and Bigfoot at a school disco!!

In the words of Patsy Stone, "pick your clothes up from the drycleaners and it's a revival!"
 

ChineseArithmetic

It is what it is
Am I just being really dense here? Surely drum and bass still very much exists, how can there be a revival? It's not like it's ceased to exist like rave. Knowledge is still in newsagents, a lot of the artists/labels are still around. Next week, the Arctic Monkeys revival.
 

rosebeast

Well-known member
Am I just being really dense here? Surely drum and bass still very much exists, how can there be a revival? It's not like it's ceased to exist like rave. Knowledge is still in newsagents, a lot of the artists/labels are still around. Next week, the Arctic Monkeys revival.

I don't mean the kind of drum n bass thats being made now, but the early 90s stuff that would occasionally penetrate the charts, and had a stronger ragga element to it. I don't think rave ceased to exist either. I think it just went off the map abit. I knew people who were still going to raves before the revival last year.
 
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