SOUNDMURDERER: Wired for Sound -& what jungle/drum 'n' bass means to you

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This is a mix of [classic, i guess] mid-90s drum'n'bass on Violent Turd that's been discussed a bit these last couple of months. Here is the tracklisting:

Track 1 (30:48)
Cobra: “R.I.P.”
Remarc: “R.I.P.”
Remarc: “R.I.P. (Remarc Remix)”
Remarc: “Sound Murderer”
Remarc: “Sound Murderer (Loafin in Brockley Remix)”
Cutty Ranks: “Original Ranks (Just Jungle Remix)”
Kemet Crew: “Truth Over Falsehood”
Dennis Brown: “Rebel with a Cause (Bizzy B Remix)”
Johnny Jungle: “Killa Sound (Krome & Time Remix)”
DRS + Kenny Ken: “Everyman (AWOL Remix)”
DJ Rap ft. Outlaw Candy: “Intelligent Woman”
Kemet Crew: “Vibe Out”
Krome & Time: “License Remix”
General Degree: “Papa Lover (Stretch Remix)”
Rude & Deadly: “Lightnin and Thunda”
Shy FX: “Who Run Tingz (T Power Remix #1)”
Shy FX: “Who Run Tingz (T Power Remix #2)”
Remarc: “Thunderclap”
Cutty Ranks: “The Return (Bizzi B & Ruffkut Rmx)”
Tek 9: “Pushing Back (Remix)”
DJ Hype: “Bad Man”
Capone: “Massive”

Track 2 (22:33)
Shy FX: “Simple Tings (10” Mix)”
New Blood: “Worries in the Dance”
Prizna ft. Demolition Man: “Fire (AWOL Mix)”
Simpleton: “Coca Cola (Remix)”
Garnett Silk: “Flip Flop”
Salt Fish & Ackee: “The Gunman”
Barrington Levy: “Here I Come (Remix)”
Physics N Tricks: “Crazy Tings (Remarc Remix)”
Simpleton: “Unity (Remarc Remix)”
Darren H & the Punisher: “All Massive (Remix)”
Ninjaman: “Murder Dem (Lewi Remix)”
L Double: “All Massive”
DJ Rescue: “Untitled #1”
Pure: “Anything Test (Zinc Remix)”
Da Matrix: “Come Een”
Trinity: “I Selassie I”
Krome & Time: “Studio 1 Lik”
Chuckleberry: “Bad Man”
Run Tings & Liftin Spirit: “Come Easy”
Marvellous Cain: “CB4”
Squarepusher ft. MC Twin Dub: “Full Rinse”

Track 3 (15:48)
Psychokenisis: “Secret Place”
The X: “New Dawn (ST Files Remix)”
T.J.C.: “Raw”
B.L.I.M.: “Jeamland (Trace Remix)”
Dom: “Drones”
Nookie: “The Prelude”
Decoder: “Fog”
DJ Rescue: “Untitled #2”
Kemet Crew: “Powering Through”
DJ Gunshot: “Wheel Up”
Solution: “What Can I Do”
Souljah: “2-1-2”
Northern Connexion: “Bounce”
2 Player: “Extreme Possibilities (Wagon Christ Remix)”
Plug: “Cheesy (Aura Mix)”
Shy FX: “Dubplate”
Cyche-Outs: “Kaos Future to Kuranka (Fukakuteisei Mix)”

I'm enjoying the hell of this CD & it has nothing to do w/ nostalgia. I’m not sure I heard any of these tracks when they were released. I remember being out at clubs now and then around 1998 and hearing stuff that sounded similar to this, but I don't recall specific tracks or artists. One thing I know is it’s been a couple of years since I heard anything in this vein, and it seems very strange that this noisy, harsh, chaotic music was heard by so many people.

Which makes me wonder what sorts of emotional responses people have to drum’n’bass. This music strikes me as very cold, inhuman and pessimistic, and probably the overriding feeling when I listen to it is fear (though as I say, I like it.) It doesn’t seem like social music in the least, though I know it served that function at the time, and I’m wondering how that worked. What sort of response do/did you have to this stuff? Was it inspiring? Communal? How? It seems to me to be the soundtrack to some bad shit, though again, in a really intriguing way.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 9 June 2003 18:17 (twenty-two years ago)

i think, in a way, yr reaction is both on the mark (ho ho) and way way off. jungle was certainly "darker" than hardcore (yet paradoxically less dark than the darkside/darkcore that directly preceded it), but at the same time this was celebratory, upfull community music in the same way that dancehall is/was (albeit, yes, moody and fueled by weed.) all those endlessly repeated vocal phrases ("all the junglists", "massive unite" etc etc ad infinitum) that simon reynolds is always harping on as the sort of repeated folkways that make up a "scene" were certainly unifying.

that said, as much as i enjoy the soundmurderer record, this is NOT how most - if any - jungle mixes sounded at the time. too fast, too mashed up, one long rinse...there are few half-speed breakdowns, "female" aspects, too much soundclash and not enough euphoric breakdown. it's about time for it all to make a comeback though, since the ragga stuff was definitely written out of the drum'n'bass lineage in the wake of all the tech/"intelligent" stuff.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Monday, 9 June 2003 18:33 (twenty-two years ago)

also, it definitely taps into what got me into jungle in the first place, going to my first raves just as hardcore was dying out and most us raves were switching to harder trance/house/"funky breaks"/whatever...the idea that this was hyperspeed hiphop or dancehall on meth or whatever cliche...it really did allow moody, angry teenage jess an "in" with dance music that disco/house couldn't.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Monday, 9 June 2003 18:35 (twenty-two years ago)

it's obviously an "idm" take on ragga jungle, despite the fact that he's using all the original tracks.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Monday, 9 June 2003 18:38 (twenty-two years ago)

..."female" aspects,

I heard that...this is very macho music, with an edge of violence. Perhaps it's a mistake to extrapolate from this comp to d'n'b as a whole, but the stuff I remember hearing when I was out sounded stylistically similar to this, so it feels quintessential to me. And it's hard to picture socializing to this rough a sound.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 9 June 2003 19:45 (twenty-two years ago)

it's a very macho thing indeed, but in old jungle mixes you always got to hear its feminine side when it fell into a nice, rollin' groove ... trax like P-Funk Era etc. basically all the moments outside of the hyper breakdowns, which comprise the entirety of the Soundmurderer. it's true that this is very militant and violent sounding, but it also feels very warm whereas all the recent house/disco/trance super melodic uplifting bizness is more distancing somehow, too spectacularized.... i don't know if it's the bass or the lo-fi amens or what, but it's very embracing to me.

― Ryan Kuo, Monday, 9 June 2003 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Funny, I wasn't reading this mix as especially macho so much as especially gangsta (ha ha same diff I know), suggesting a continuity of feeling between the violent regions of the Jamaican underclass and the pervert brainy soundfuckers of Kid606 et al.

WHO RUN TINGS?!?!

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 9 June 2003 20:45 (twenty-two years ago)

there was a lot of talk, mid 90's, of a return to darkside...the drugs not working anymore or the increasing influence of genetically engineered skunk. i think reynold wrote something in the wire about club nights where no one danced, just stood around jittering and looking paranoid?

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 9 June 2003 21:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Jess is right about the feminine elements - one of the great aspects of pre-techstep jungle that people remember even less than ragga is the frequent bursts of really catchy female pop vocals that used to creep in like breaths of fresh air in the midst of the breakbeat craziness, often quite soulful stuff like that jungle version of "Back To Life" etc. I can't remember it's name offhand but I love the one that goes "You're my heat, I'm a fire... love me now or I'll go CRAZY!" This vein of jungle majorly prefigured the mixture of light and dark, pop and groove-science that characterised UK Garage 98-01.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 9 June 2003 23:30 (twenty-two years ago)

shit Tim, i have that vocal snatch stuck in my head now...its from a chaka khan song i think, but i can't remember where it was used.

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 9 June 2003 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

The stuff on the Soundmurderer CD is pretty much my favorite kind of jungle stuff (mad mashups, rudebwoy chants, big bass drops, etc). In fact stuff like this is what I thought all jungle sounded like (or should have sounded like anyway) when I first heard "Original Nuttah" (or something like that). . . some insane/hyperactive/hyperaggressive take on dancehall, all bluster and noise (how disappointed was I when I heard the a lot of the artcore type stuff, um yeah very). Anyway so despite the fact that I know that Wired For Sound isn't a "realistic" representation of a 1994-5 ragga jungle set (and I've never been to a club night or rave or anything where this stuff was played so my only basis for comparison are mix CDs) it's sort of how I would have liked to imagine those sets would have sounded.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 00:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, I think it's a Mary J. Blige sample. I have it on some comp (Jungle Hits Volume 1?!?!) which is not with me at work.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 00:45 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, it was pretty telling when i read the aquarius records listing for the soundmurderer record and they were rhapsodizing something along the lines of "we'd all go out to a bar where they played dnb and sit and listen to the mad mashed up breaks and bass drops". like whu?? you went to listen to dnb and you SAT DOWN?? also they made a point to note "no crappy diva vocals". you and boys own indie adventures club can fuck right off.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 00:49 (twenty-two years ago)

o yeah, mary j doing sweet thing?

the feeling of infinite possibilities in early jungle were what made it for me. diva vocals and gruff chat. feminine/masculine. you never seemed to know where a tune might end up.

― gaz (gaz), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha actually I don't have a problem with diva vocals (I like those tracks a lot too). My bigger problem was/is with the completely hook free thudstep and noodle-y jazz type stuff which came to be associated almost exclusively with jungle.

There are still bars in SF where you can sit and listen to dnb, Jess. Not that play (or ever played, I'm guessing) this sort of stuff. They seem much more like Bukem's type of club (from the descriptions anyway).

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 00:58 (twenty-two years ago)

it boggles the mind!

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 00:59 (twenty-two years ago)

What you don't like drinking overpriced cocktails and basically listening to Platinum Breakz II end to end for a couple of hours? What's wrong with you?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 01:04 (twenty-two years ago)

i never went to speed (bukems club) but i don't believe sitting was on the agenda?

― gaz (gaz), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 01:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Alex in SF finally pins down how the acid jazz scene ended up over here. Grg.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 01:43 (twenty-two years ago)

i have to get this comp.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 02:42 (twenty-two years ago)

uh my one attempt at listening to this left me way too exhausted, it's like splicing a billion freaked-out guitar solos together, where's-the-SPACE-etc. I like ragga-jungle quite a bit but from memory wired for sound didn't have any deadly-sweet-crooning OR diva-vox which are pretty much essential.

(that said I'm probably more of a darkside/darkcore kid heh, plus I have a fatal weakness for "duff euro-rapping" cf "anasthasia"/"james brown is dead"/etc)

― Ess Kay (esskay), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 03:04 (twenty-two years ago)

"duff euro rapping" should have gone on reynolds "beyond the pale" list...hipsters will never rehabilitate it, thank god

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 03:07 (twenty-two years ago)

― "this is not erasure . . . this is anasthasia" (esskay), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 03:32 (twenty-two years ago)

wait wait, i just remembered that "mercedes bentley versace armani" thing...scratch that!

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 03:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Jess you wouldn't say that if you'd been listening to Technotronic lately.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 03:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean Technotronic = good not bad ===> duff euro rapping = good not bad.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 03:36 (twenty-two years ago)

(ha ha also asian dub foundation)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 03:36 (twenty-two years ago)

hey tim, speaking of dnb and rapping, have you heard that origin unknown/mc dynamite track? if not, you should! (warning: one-bar looped rhythm still in full effect.)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 03:39 (twenty-two years ago)

No I haven't yet - I expect to like it though because a) you've been bigging it up, and b) I do love *some* one bar looped rhythm tracks.

(eg. Fresh & Vegus's "Otto's Way", which pretty much pre-empted the current "d&b revival" sound about 4/5 years ago - and those guys ended up in Bad Company! Also Lexis's "Destination Unknown" is like a paean to one-bar looped rhythm d&b and i love it to bits)

PS. The new MJ Cole/MC Dynamite dub "Capture This" is also pretty good in that "Ruff Like Me"/"Mad Man" mould but maybe a bit more up-to-date sounding - shame it ain't on the album.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 04:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I can report that Rephlex is gonna be releasing some Soundmurderer stuff in the near future... and that Soundmurderer = Todd Osborne + Tadd Mullinix of, erm, Ghostly International fame (plug plug).

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 11:44 (twenty-two years ago)

The Mary J sampling tune is "Hardcore romance" isn't it? By, I think, Northern Connexion. Either that or the one next to it on the comp I have it on...

I think it's really interesting the way Broklyn Beats/Tigerbeat artists have seized on a lot of the stylistic traits of ragga jungle. Sorta reminds me of the way early prog rock referenced the blues or undie hip hop's relationship to old school. Except like, better.

― Jacob (Jacob), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 12:49 (twenty-two years ago)

The Mary J sampling tune is "Hardcore romance" isn't it? By, I think, Northern Connexion. Either that or the one next to it on the comp I have it on...

Whatever it is it appears on track 3 of the Soundmurderer mix, v. briefly.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 13:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Soundmurderer is also releasing some 12"s on Canada's Synpatic Plastic label, owned by 0=0 who sits somewhere in between the mashed amens and Tigerbeat stylee. maybe not a ragga revival, but breaks are back in the wings..!

― Ryan Kuo, Tuesday, 10 June 2003 21:13 (twenty-two years ago)

actually, Soundmurderer is just Todd Osborn. Tadd Mullinix uses the name SK-1

― Phil Hart, Wednesday, 11 June 2003 01:45 (twenty-two years ago)

True. But he helped out a bit on the CD though.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Wednesday, 11 June 2003 02:23 (twenty-two years ago)

eleven months pass...

This cd is a treasure.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:18 (twenty-one years ago)

i really don't like it now, AT ALL.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:28 (twenty-one years ago)

i think if everyone who heard this also heard hype's drum and bass selection 3 mix, the superior one would be very clear.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:29 (twenty-one years ago)

it's very good but yeah, there are at least a half-dozen (or more) better jungle mixes out there, like say for example History of Our World Pt. 1 by DJ DB which is the GREATEST ALBUM OF THE '90s cough cough.

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Strongo OTM (although I like the Drum and Bass Selection 4 even a little more even and I still like Wired For Sound a bunch.)

And History of Our World Part 1 is by far the better mix.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:31 (twenty-one years ago)

i almost don't count history of our world cuz it's 'ardkore or something. dnb selection 3 is the best jungle qua jungle mix i have ever heard ("ganja man"! "hitman"! "dred bass"! "soverign melody"! "mash the place up"! "yeah man"! etc etc)

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I have that one but haven't played it in a long time. I'll dig it out and see how it matches up . . . as soon as I'm not buried in assignments.

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:41 (twenty-one years ago)

i agree, strongo. this is crap, and there's a reason you didn't hear it mixed like this at the time.
also, i want to stand up and say that the no-u turn thing (ed rush, trace etc) saved drum n bass from 1. bukem-esque boring fidliness, and 2. ragga-jungle, that sounded fresh for 6 months, but wrote its own epitaph long before that of tech-step.

― paulhw (paulhw), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I like 4 more cuz the tracklisting is all kinds of screwed up and you have to listen a little harder to figure out just which track is segwaying into what (also the tracks are a slight bit more obscure and less anthologized.)

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Ragga-jungle didn't even really exist by the time No-U Turn was about (it had been replaced by the also sounded fresh for six months, jump up.) Techstep turned out to be monumentally boring after about six months to boot.

ragga jungle >>>> jump up >>>> techstep.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I was going to add the qualifier "or maybe I haven't heard many good dn'b mixes." I actually wasn't that into WfS when I first got it, it just seemed too relentless and montonous, but I listened to it twice tonight and loved it.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Seek the Soundmurder Vs. the Bug peel session if you can online. It's an hour and totally NUTS.

― Brian Turner (btwfmu), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 00:59 (twenty-one years ago)

(x-post)Those two Hype Drum and Bass Selection mixes are pretty easy to find cheap in the States, because Moonshine put them out. The fifth one is just an unmixed comp and is also good, but definitely starting to veer more towards hip hop/jump up tracks than ragga based tracks.

And that Soundmurderer/Bug thing is great.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:00 (twenty-one years ago)

i haven't found the Hype mixes anywhere. as much as i hate to say it, i'm starting to agree with the Pitchfork assessment of Wired for Sound as being an "IDM take" on jungle. it's too much of a calculated mashup, with no real attention to the flow of the music. which is exactly what made Hype such a brilliant DJ (the scratching too).

― ryan kuo (ryan kuo), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Amazon has #3 used right now.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Also there is another very findable fantastic Hype mix called The Designer Collection (Jess "hyped" to this actually) with a terrible cover (and a unmixed companion CD) that's definitely worth picking up.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:17 (twenty-one years ago)

thanks!

― ryan kuo (ryan kuo), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:21 (twenty-one years ago)

haha is that the one with the nekkid ladies on the cover?

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahaha yes the PAINTED nekkid ladies!

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:23 (twenty-one years ago)

wtf is this whitesnake or something

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:26 (twenty-one years ago)

WHY?!!? WHY?!?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:28 (twenty-one years ago)

oh man that is butt ugly

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:30 (twenty-one years ago)

It actually gets worse inside if I remember correctly.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:31 (twenty-one years ago)

the early-mid 90s were not a fashion high point

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I was thinking the same thing when I watched "A London Somet'ing Dis".

Anyway, it's still a great mix/comp, Ryan haha Just ignore the cover.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 01:33 (twenty-one years ago)

strongo you're such a fickle lover.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 02:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh I doubt Strongo ever thought that cover looked good haha

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 02:52 (twenty-one years ago)

The Soundmurderer mix is very much like the Bobby Konders mix tape, I think, in that you get the sense that rather than attempting to recreate any sort of real jungle/dancehall experience they attempt to create the most packed with highpoints jungle/dancehall moments they can into one continuous juggernaught mix.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I guess I'm not listening to it from a dance/flow perspective. It's more of an "OMG listen to some of these ridiculous breaks, and by some I mean ALL", and also I like ragga much better than jazzified/smoothed out dn'b (oh how I hate LTJ Bukem).

I'll absolutely check out those Drum n' Bass Selection mixes.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 03:53 (twenty-one years ago)

there's a dj hype mixmag mix from about 99 which is pretty good too ("An all-out hypersonic turntable assault") if you like this kind of thing

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 06:13 (twenty-one years ago)

its called "The dogs..."

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 06:17 (twenty-one years ago)

alex you're right re soundmurderer - way off re konders. that is essentially the way dancehall is played by a good selecter: records smashed in fast one after the other, hook after hook. that's why the first minute of any dancehall record is often the high point of te side. the only thing missing from konders' mix is the audience-participatory aspects that inform a selecter's live performance. - crowds screaming to lick back the big tracks etc, resulting in rewinds and all that stuff. this is a mixtape made in a studio, though, not and it doesn't pretend to be any more than that. when i blogged about it, i did say that it misses a lot of the energy and sense of play that you get from a good yard tape, and is a lot more linear. this is still the case, but it's not an attenuated take on dancehall by any means. konders is a proper, core figure in this music aned it's a studio tape. re soundmurderer, i have NEVER heard jungle played like that, ever. it's a completely different to any set you'd have heard back in the day, anywhere.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 12:10 (twenty-one years ago)

konders is a proper, core figure in this music

if a complete dickface who doesn't turn up for interviews and generally annoys me!

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 12:15 (twenty-one years ago)

I interviewed Soundmuderer a couple of weeks ago and this is what he said about the velocity of his mixes (effectively what Alex in SF was saying, I think):

"No matter what genre I'm playing I hate letting a track play more for than a minute because there is a ton of great music out there that people should hear and I have a limited time, whether on CD or live, to play it. If i'm DJing I usually stick to that but lately for live shows i've started only bringing my laptop and using software so I can mix even more. Now, i'm not just trying to see how many tunes I can pack in. I'm just doing it until it sounds how i'd ideally like it to sound. I also think I look like the ultimate laptop nerd because i'm always concentrating on mixing these bits together so i'm never jumping around or anything; just staring at the computer screen. But I like to make it sound as perfect as it can be and this is studio-based music and I don't dance around my house when making a track so I can't be expected to onstage, haha."

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 13:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Amazon doesn't have shit, unfortunately.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 13:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I was actually excited to see this ragga "revival"happen. THe N20 crew, JPK, Chopstick Dubplate are all doing their thing and there is definately an audience, especially in Canada. IMO Techstep was a backlash to the original debut of the ragga sound. I'm also juiced to see attention turning towards the "edits" or drunfunk sound. There is place for everything with this genre, recently I've been feeling like the music is turning into house, moving away from all the polyrythms and syncopation I love so much, but there will always be a critical mass doing what they love and pushing their sound. I can pretty much appreciate all of it, except for that godawful circus music, I think they're calling it Clownstep. That just needs to die.......now.

― Guy, Wednesday, 26 May 2004 17:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I think that's what I like about the Soundmurderer mix so much, the promise of endlessly varied breaks and syncopations with zero static loops.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 17:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, props to the first person who can recommend me a quality jungle mix that I can get on Amazon (got to add it on to my Can order and get that free shipping, after all).

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Fuck it, I'm just going to get a comic book instead.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

NOOOOOOO

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 20:19 (twenty-one years ago)

gimme like 10 minutes dude

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 20:20 (twenty-one years ago)

not mixed, but you need every song on here

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 20:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Strongo OTM. This is also great (and full length tracks with better sound.) And at half.com is probably the best "all ragga jungle all the time" collection released in the US (culled like the Best of Jungle Massive comp from various Labello Blanco UK collections.)

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 27 May 2004 02:46 (twenty-one years ago)

DJ Hype Jungle Massive and Nicky Blackmarket The Big Rewind are two recent double-cd mixes that have a lot of those seminal tracks. the latter in particular has lots of earlier 93 stuff.

― ryan kuo (ryan kuo), Thursday, 27 May 2004 02:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm not sure why we need Amazon for this at all. Surely some of us (plenty of us) can put together the best jungle comps evah, right?

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Thursday, 27 May 2004 04:37 (twenty-one years ago)

well i had been hearing rumours about something daddino did that lasted 110 hours.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Thursday, 27 May 2004 04:39 (twenty-one years ago)

it wasn't all jungle by any means but there's LOADS on that, for starters.

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Thursday, 27 May 2004 04:40 (twenty-one years ago)

then there's these: The Rough Guide to . . .
The Rough Guide to . . .
The Rough Guide to . . .
The Rough Guide Two...
The Rough Guide to . . .
The Rough Guide Two...
The Rough Guide Two...

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Thursday, 27 May 2004 05:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Thanks, Strongo my man. I was just barely saved from a fate of this:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1929998686.01._PE_PI_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Btw, I would be ALL ABOUT trading mixes with someone, just let me know what I can do in return (there's always my standard New Orleans mix).

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

yo jc hit me up via email if you wanna do a trade. (be forewarned: i am notoriously lax.)

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 27 May 2004 16:28 (twenty-one years ago)

haha. he's ridiculously remorseful about the fact for years too ;-)

email me too jordan.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Thursday, 27 May 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

offer open to anyone really.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Friday, 28 May 2004 09:16 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

so i listened to this again tonight on a lark and i think it's actually smashing for what it is

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Monday, 16 January 2006 02:29 (twenty years ago)

i hold to the opinion that dnb selection 3 is still the best jungle mix ever (hardstep selection II close behind) but this is a lot of fun in a "wheeee!" spot-the-chunks-of-track-whizzing-by kinda way.

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Monday, 16 January 2006 02:30 (twenty years ago)

Jess I haven't heard D&B Selection 3 but the tracklisting does look pretty perfect. I'm pleased that you like Hardstep Selection II so much (Stevie Ess Kay if ur reading this yr copy is on its way soon! Sorry!)

Jess have you heard the 3 disc "Fantasia Takes You Into The Jungle" set? From about 94 with mixes by Grooverider, LTJ Bukem and DJ Rap. The Bukem mix is noodly-but-v.good, the Rap mix is awesome and the Grooverider mix is ridiculous - as in ridiculously good. There's a stretch which goes "Sovereign Melody" --> "Rollers Convention Pt 1" --> "London Something Remix" - mindblowing!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:11 (twenty years ago)

Jess
thnx for recommending me selection three+four, they are fantastic...

― deej.. (deej..), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:39 (twenty years ago)

Haha, I haven't listened to this in forever.

I did get some great jungle mixes off this thread though, thx again dudes.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:41 (twenty years ago)

Okay so I was listening to the Grooverider Fantazia mix again and it really is the densest, trippiest, most insane Tago Mago like jungle mix ever. Y'all should track it down stat. Tracklisting:

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Various - Fantazia Takes You Into The Jungle
Label: Fantazia
Catalog#: FADJ 002CD
Format: 3xCD , Mixed
Country: UK
Released: 1994
Genre: Electronic
Style: Drum n Bass, Jungle
Credits: DJ Mix - DJ Rap (tracks: CD3) , Grooverider (tracks: CD1) , LTJ Bukem (tracks: CD2)
Notes: This is part 2 of Fantazia's DJ Collection, with the first featuring Carl Cox.

There are some audio problems with CD1.
Rating: 4.2/5 (12 votes) Rate It
Submitted by: Finn

Tracklisting:
1-01 T Power Lipsing Jam Ring (3:20)
1-02 Studio Pressure Resolution (2:18)
1-03 Interrogator, The The Awareness (2:38)
1-04 Skool Of Hard Knocks Can You Feel It (3:00)
1-05 Codename John Dreams Of Heaven (Shorty‘s Mix) (0:42)
1-06 International Rude Boyz Half Step (4:18)
1-07 Marvellous Cain Hitman (0:04)
1-08 Berty B & Dillinja Lion Heart (2:38)
1-09 DJ Hype Tiger Style (3:17)
1-10 Q Project Champion Sound (Doc Scott Remix) (5:31)
Remix - Doc Scott
1-11 Photek Flavour Of A Sound (3:06)
1-12 Dillinja Sovereign Melody (2:15)
1-13 DJ SS The Roll Out (3:23)
1-14 Code 071 A London Sumtin' (Tek 9 Remix) (4:13)
Remix - Tek 9
1-15 Mental Power Unknown Intelligence (5:14)
1-16 Influence, The In My Soul (6:52)

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 14:58 (twenty years ago)

whoa.

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 15:38 (twenty years ago)

that looks great! you forget that grooverider got his iconic status for a reason. a lot of those tunes look really melodic/detroit-y, but then mixed up with surefire roll-outs. in fact, it does have a lot of common tunes with d&b selection 3?

re: soundmurderer, i have a murderbot mix which is even better!

― nebbesh (nebbesh), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 16:22 (twenty years ago)

Did any of you hear Equinox's set for "The Basement" on 1Xtra June 13 2004?

If you haven't heard it, you need to. Pretty famous set among leftfield types.

Luscious, warm, melodic, yet rhythmically complex - it's Equinox, after all! - old school, but not necessarily the old school that gets compiled and re-compiled ad nauseam. Intriguing to see this music through the eyes of one of the premier edits-type djs in the world

The stretch from Skanna through D4 and the Funky Technicians and Oblivion etc is just completely gorgeous, btw. Totally bonkers

Well it's worth hearing it simply because of Equinox's mixing, for one thing

The best tracklisting I've been able to come up with is:

Wax Doctor - The Step (Metalheadz)
Jeckyl & Hyde - Slice Of Soul (Vibe'z Subsidary)
Wax Doctor - OffShore Drift (R&S Records)
DJ Pulse - U Down (All Good Vinyl)
Wax Doctor - Heat 7.14 (R&S Records)
M.T.S - Inspiration (Juice Records)
Skanna - Find Me (White Label)
D4 - Bad Acid (Deep Red Recordings)
D4 - Hear Me (Deep Red Recordings)
The Funky Technicians - Airtight (Legend Records)
Oblivion - Lush (Street Beats)
Funky Technicians - Rikers Island (Legend)
St Germain - Alabama Blues (Wax Doctor Remix) (F Communications)
peshay - piano tune
Eze G - Is This Music (Unatural Light)
4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse - Drowning In Her (Tone Def Records)
dj crystl - warpdrive
Droppin Science - Number One (White)
Guardians of Dalliance - Beneath Sunrise (Moving Shadow)l
?????????
D.O.P.E - Pt II (Rugged Vinyl)

― tate (Tate), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 16:22 (twenty years ago)

ah that looks good too! that period of ambient jungle where it had those amazing melodies, before it devolved into synthwashes and jazz-funk. some fairly big tunes, so a bit obvious, is it how he pieces it together that makes it so special?

― nebbesh (nebbesh), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 16:29 (twenty years ago)

whoops, last message got cut off, the last two tracks on the mix are:

DJ Crystl - Your Destiny (White Label)
Skanna - Heaven EP (White Label)

So i'd be curious to hear from someone who knows this mix

There were a lot of great leftfield-style sets available the past year, btw. Not sure that anyone feels like talking about them though

― tate (Tate), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 16:34 (twenty years ago)

"St Germain - Alabama Blues (Wax Doctor Remix)"

whoa.

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 16:35 (twenty years ago)

"re: soundmurderer, i have a murderbot mix which is even better!"

Which one? He's got a half-dozen on his site, but I've never dl'd any of them.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 16:45 (twenty years ago)

cancer (jess?) - you haven't heard that? crazy, that was a big tune, back when wax and reece were the big new(ish) thing and r&s were all over them. needless to say, great stuff, but how is this stuff leftfield? a lot of stuff on that mix were big tunes in the scene.

alex, i didn't know there were loads more on his site, my friend passed it on to me - i think it's the bot and bothered mix. it's kinda like that early ganja, hip-hop infused sound updated for 05.

― nebbesh (nebbesh), Thursday, 19 January 2006 09:30 (twenty years ago)

well i didn't say that the set was leftfield, I said that the leftfield DJs I know were very fond of it

and yes i know the term 'leftfield' is not very helpful, but you get the idea. those guys (producers i mean, Macc and Fanu et al) hate the term edits/choppage anyway, and they don't really want to call what they do anything special -- not leftfield, not anything

though Dev Paradox seems pretty comfortable with the term drumfunk, which makes perfect sense given his absolute obsession with 70s music

Did anyone hear Chris Inperspective's mix from Perth, Australia, at a club called Roller, on June 23rd, 2005? It was easily one of my favorite sets from the summer, and I still listen to it quite often. At least the first hour of it anyway

pretty much all of those Technicality sets are worth hearing, if you are seriously into this kind of music

that new Fracture & Neptune track, "A Glass World," coming out on Subtle Audio, is one GORGEOUS piece of music. this is where drumfunk meets a kind of abstract, minimal, atmospheric (NOT BUKEM ATMOSPHERIC FFS) "sad pad" (as Macc puts it) approach, not terribly dissimilar from Macc's "If . . .", which came out on Paradox's Outsider label this summer

(cough, ahem, this summer)

jess, graphic's remix of twitchy droid leg just went in for TPs and should be available in about a month

GRAPHIC's REMIX OF TWITCHY DROID LEG!!!

― tate (Tate), Thursday, 19 January 2006 22:27 (twenty years ago)

drooooooooool

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 19 January 2006 22:34 (twenty years ago)

it would be remiss of me not to mention that Polska's "Burning Sun" is on the flip of the Fracture & Neptune "Glass World" release (mine's on order, can't wait to get it). Polska is a talented young producer with far too many unreleased tunes. I've heard a batch of them, both jungle and downtempo, and they are fantastic. My pal Trope considers Polska, along with Jason oS, to be two of the best young jungle/dnb producers working today.

Speaking of Jason oS, his stunning "808" was remixed by Omni Trio - the last dnb project that Omni Trio will ever undertake, apparently (I should probably do a separate thread on this, come to think of it). Full release was at the end of November, though promos were out late summer/early fall. I've had the pleasure of watching Jason spin on a number of occasions the past year, and wow, the guy is unbelievably talented as both DJ and producer.

It probably goes without saying that the Omni Trio rmx of Jason's "808" is gorgeous.

― tate (Tate), Friday, 20 January 2006 01:18 (twenty years ago)

i was looking in the archives the other day and i realized we've never had a thread devoted solely to omni trio. this strikes me as something of a crime.

i really need to step my vinyl game up with the column this year. sometimes i feel like a total fraud given how pick n mix my ability to hear new shit is.

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Friday, 20 January 2006 02:02 (twenty years ago)

i also just seem to move further and further away from where anyone is spinning new, decent stuff. there's no scene down here. (actually i think there is something of a scene--bukem, andy c, and fresh have all played here since i've lived here--but not really my thing.)

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Friday, 20 January 2006 02:04 (twenty years ago)

"Thru The Vibe" - still one of my top 5 beats ever probably (is it heresy to like this more than any of the "Renegade Snares" versionz?)

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 20 January 2006 02:05 (twenty years ago)

heh i was putting together a list of dnb stuff for someone who wasn't familiar not too long ago and i actually put "thru the vibe" on there instead of "renegade snares" or "mystic stepper." but that might be fatigue on my part.

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Friday, 20 January 2006 02:12 (twenty years ago)

"i also just seem to move further and further away from where anyone is spinning new, decent stuff. there's no scene down here"

well the obvious answer is to do what we did upstate, start your own night : )

but yeah, even in nyc, the dnb scene is pretty much dominated by the usual less than compelling music. If Brett is playing out then, yeah, superb, and Evan Baggs is also crazy talented ( = DJ Baggs), but a lot of the other stuff is pretty meh.

Some nice things going on with online radio though. Enicma's show on jungletrain.com is always strong

btw Bukem is always worth seeing, imho. No?

― tate (Tate), Friday, 20 January 2006 04:22 (twenty years ago)

i was thinking about it, but it was d.c. and getting transportation back to bmore after midnight is a real hassle.

heh i would love to start my own night but the idea of the first 6-12 mos. of playing to 3 people in a tiny bar with a shitty soundsystem kinda bums me out.

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Friday, 20 January 2006 04:25 (twenty years ago)

Is it cheesy and outsider-y to say I like Mainline (95 lick) a whole lot?

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 20 January 2006 08:20 (twenty years ago)

re: travelling to see DJs, I certainly sympathize. Have missed far too many shows on account of this.

incidentally, there's some nice things going on in dnb/jungle world at the moment, in my humble opinion, and i was thinking that perhaps we should start a rolling 2006 jungle thread? or just keep the discussion here? thoughts?

― tate (Tate), Friday, 20 January 2006 18:04 (twenty years ago)

i would be totally down for that. heh, i would expect it to be read by about five people though.

― cancer prone fat guy (dubplatestyle), Friday, 20 January 2006 18:06 (twenty years ago)

Rolling Jungle 2006 thread: GO!!

― lool mashine, Saturday, 21 January 2006 01:39 (twenty years ago)

My contribution:

The new Die and Clipz on Full Cycle is very non-clowny and a definite step back in the right direction for them. I wouldn't say it's mind blowing, but it's good to hear them doing something decent for a change.

― lool mashine, Saturday, 21 January 2006 01:44 (twenty years ago)

I was a bit harsh on that Fantazia Bukem mix upthread - it is noodly, but in a really great way, its astral/mystic inclinations expressed through rainstorms of drums and eerie textures rather than endless spacy synth washes. And it has "Relics" on it! This is the tracklist:

2-01 Studio Pressure Book Of Changes (5:25)
2-02 Appaloosa Unplugged (Chaos & Julia Set Remix) (3:40)
Remix - Chaos & Julia Set
2-03 Photek Feeling Up (4:38)
2-04 D.O.P.E. Travelling Part II (3:47)
2-05 Sounds Of Life (2) Release The Bells (3:15)
2-06 Studio Pressure Relics (6:05)
2-07 Water Baby Plasmic Life Vol. 1 (2:50)
2-08 Red One Alive And Kickin' (4:11)
2-09 Randall & Andy C Sound Control (2:49)
2-10 Nookie Only You (4:05)
2-11 Studio Pressure Presha 3 (5:15)
2-12 FBD Project Journeys (4:48)
2-13 Higher Sense Cold Fresh Air (5:40)

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 26 January 2006 08:36 (twenty years ago)

Can somebody define 'clownstep' cos I've never been quite sure what it means?

― Jacob (Jacob), Thursday, 26 January 2006 09:11 (twenty years ago)

it's like the oompah music of drum & bass. it's the essence of plod. twisted individual is its nadir, fresh probably its peak.

― nebbesh (nebbesh), Thursday, 26 January 2006 09:43 (twenty years ago)

I thought it was swung 'bodyrock' by andy c and shimon style drum and bass

― Barnaby (Barnaby), Thursday, 26 January 2006 09:59 (twenty years ago)

eight years pass...

I really want to listen to this right now

― maybe/whatever/so what/boring (admrl), Monday, 16 June 2014 14:43 (eleven years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoUN7XRrmE

― festival culture (Jordan), Monday, 16 June 2014 15:02 (eleven years ago)

Thanks!

― maybe/whatever/so what/boring (admrl), Monday, 16 June 2014 15:20 (eleven years ago)

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