UKG revival (again)

luka

Well-known member
Air Max are really nice to draw. I used to draw them when I was at school. I had some blue and grey ones in 1991
 
And to wear. I’ve worn them on and off since I was 10 or so. I wear 1s and 90s now, never a fan of 95 or 97
 

RWY

Well-known member
I've been wearing 93s for the last few years although the infrared 90s are probably my favourite pair of trainers I've ever owned. Always liked the look of the 95s but I find them quite uncomfortable to wear.
 

Sectionfive

bandwagon house
Was in a patrol station last year and the teenager behind the till was singing along to a Monsta Boy refix on commercial radio. Sypro was #1 on the charts with one of the world's biggest pop stars, Ed Sheeran, there was that Wiley Nikki collab, BenUFO blowing up Dekmantal with a Champion record, etc. All seemed very positive, that South Circular night was kicking off too with the ghost / horsepower end of things. Stormzy and Skepta are part of the wall paper now, all over TV backgrounds. Burial's popularity opened the door for some of this maybe?

Loads of the old heads are back with releases in a way that some of the other revivals haven't seen I dont think. Who doesnt love seeing tonnes of stuff on Dem2's bandcamp and they have recentish record on a new label run by the guy you runs that connoisseurs_of_garage on the gram. DNR are on a great run with old and new stuff getting a press, shop is full of bangers. I figured some of the dubstep people getting an income for themselves allowed for some of the more eye watering prices for old stuff on discogs. Even if it was just mystic matt or whoever polishing off bits that weren't released first time round i would be happy enough tbh. Regarding the new stuff, don't mind the bump n flex tributes so much but the 187 lockdown ragga siren pastiche is already dated badly. Plenty variety out there anyway to avoid all that
 

Dimensions

Active member
Hello people. Found myself doing a lot of (MP3) digging recently through old 4x4 garage. Here's my latest mix with some older stuff switching to dark early 2000s.

Includes a track by myself 'Remember My Voice' 👊

https://soundcloud.com/dimensionsuk/phangan-underground-007

RIP Productions - Ice Cream Special
Deep Dish - The Dream (Sharam's Deep Dish Dreamscape)
Jay Collins Super 20 - Don't Turn Your Back on Love (Sunshine Brothers Remix)
RIP Productions - Obsessed
RIP Productions - Bugsy's Theme
10 Below - Dreams of Gas Club
Workin' Happily - Better Thing (Workin' Dub)
Kalani Bob & Remegel - Deep Breath
Nu-birth - Anytime
Banana Republic - Catch the Feeling (Tuff Jam's Catch the Dub)
Dem 2 - Destiny
Wookie - Storm
Dimensions - Remember My Voice
Smokey 'Bubblin' B - Licence
Reservoir Dogs - Buddah Finger
Zed Bias - Spare Ribz
Bad Egg - Silent Frog
 

gremino

Moster Sirphine
There's some good 2step being made currently. I don't care if it's just a revival thing.

This one is one of those air-y and spacious garage tracks:


Also, it's great to hear good new dark garage/pre-dubstep. I wish these dark revival tracks were produced in 00s, when I wanted to hear/play them the most:
 

thirdform

pass the sick bucket
There's an almost philosophic point at stake when these pastiches reach such a level that they're indistinguishable from something that would have come out in 1998. I had this discussion with a friend who was into garage the first time around when I sent him a DJ Q tune which I liked (a Brandy remix I think?) and he was firmly on the "what's the point?" side of the debate.

It's a weird one isn't it, because you could say "why NOT keep making garage/jungle tunes to infinity and beyond, if we're happy enough to play old jungle/garage tunes to infinity and beyond?" but OTOH there's something about it that seems antithetical to what dance music culture (certainly 'ardkrore culture) is all about.

destroy culture though.

Not that this scene does that. only confield corrosion crew does.
 

thirdform

pass the sick bucket
i do kind of get a bit sick of the innovation argument though. the innovations of 1950s-70s avant-garde electronic music make the hardcore/jungle innovations look tiny in comparison. That's why for me the innovations of hardcore-jungle were aesthetic, related to speed and sampler exploitation, not necessarily formalistic.

Garage even in its 97-2001 variety could never match that, because at root it was an outgrowth of house, not hip hop and bleep techno.. This from 1989 is the blueprint for hardcore sampling even though it's a 4-4 techno tune.
Alot of cut up/miami bass from that era as well.

Garage's reservoir was predominently American vocal house. It initially started as an anti-hardcore movement. Listen to Dom Spreadlove sets from '94 and you'll get what i mean. It was fairly purist house in contradiction to the mongrel worlds of hardcore, jungle and gabba. It wasn't even about the trackhead house of dj sneak, dj funk and dj rush. That stuff was all too techno/disco cut up for it.

In fact, the jungle influence in UKG is pretty faint, reece basslines and gunshots aside. It owes far more to Tod Edwards and Timbaland. The rhythmic influence of jungle is more apparent in early grime, paradoxically.

Pitch this up and it could be released on no u turn circa 97.

 

thirdform

pass the sick bucket
i like dj perception on vision fm though. great dj. but then again hes not really been doing a revival thing, the shows been going for years. but again if you listen to his shows you'll start to notice that outside the more provincial 135+ speed garage sound london garage was always quite restrained.

As for that Finn bloke, he fucked me off when he mixed jeff mills eruption into some shite hardtrance and i still haven't forgiven him for that. i'd rather he mix jeff mills into some jimmy j or dougal.
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
There's an interview with Tuff Jam where they talk about playing the dubs of US vocal garage purely because they had to speed them up to match the energy of the "lively" Sunday afternoon crowd but the audience didn't enjoy the hard-core sounding elements ie helium vocals. And as i understand it those crowds weren't coming from raves they were coming from Ministry Of Sound.
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
Anyway if we're sharing our garage revival mixes here's one of mine.

dreem team - the theme
roachford - from now on (sunship remix)
poolio & jack d - little more time (sweet vocal mix)
wideboys - westside (2 da floor mix)
carroll thompson - too late (darryl b & matt cole remix)
damage - love lady (da funkstarz epic camouflage remix)
nca ft robbie craig - we can make it happen (new horizons remix)
n'n'g - right before my eyes (grant nelson mix)
dj lewi ft michelle cole - day dreamin'
kristine blonde - love shy (tuff jam vocal mix)
psycho kids - stun shot
mis-teeq - b with me (bump & flex mix)
anthill mob - listen
fierce - dayz like that (10 below remix)
dane bowers - shut up and forget about it (el-b remix)
byron stingily - sing a song (187 lockdown remix)
tina moore - never gonna let you go (tuff jam vocal mix)
andy & the lambboy ft michelle weeks - the inside (sol bros mash up remix)
nu-birth - anytime
doolally - straight from the heart
 

gremino

Moster Sirphine
Short 2step mix from me.


01. Sunship - In The Pocket
02. Sunship - Try Me Out
03. TJ Cases - Keep It 4 Real
04. TJ Cases - It's My Life (Darius remix)
05. Indo - R U Sleeping (Bump 'N' Flex remix)
06. Jeremy Sylvester - Special Request
07. Feet First Productions - Closer To Me
08. Duncan Powell - Step Till Dawn
09. Strickly Dubz - Untitled
10. H Rhodez - Feel So Good (2 Step instrumental)
11. MJ &The Wideboys feat. Vula - Nothing But Trouble (MJ Cole remix)
 

mrfaucet

The Ideas Train
A few UK drill producers are having a go at making garage or garage-influenced beats. More interested to see where that goes tbh than a lot of the stuff covered in this thread.

This one by CZR for instance:

 
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