Law – Unreleased Jungle Selection
If there is one thing synonymous with jungle (or is that infamous?), its dubplate culture.
Whilst the dubplate may be more a symbol of the past in these digital times, anyone into D&B for 10+ years will probably remember waiting for months on end for that tune, they heard on the radio or in a rave, to be finally released on wax.
Unfortunately some tunes never even made it to vinyl. DATs were lost, tunes were shelved due to sample clearance issues, or sometimes plain old red tape (or perhaps ineptitude) was responsible for some fantastic tracks being lost.
The tunes in this selection are a mixture of dubplates and test presses ripped to mp3, and tunes only ever released on CD or on compilations.
There are also a couple of remakes in here. A remake, in this context, is a lost tune that has been painstakingly remade sample by sample by a few extraordinarily dedicated fans.
Big shouts to everyone who has sent me one of their tracks (released or unreleased) over the years, and all the remake community!
Tracklist:
01. DJ Trace – Definition Of Living
02. The Invisible Man – The Journey
03. The Undergraduates – Space (The Dark Remix)
04. Droppin’ Science – Volume 1 (94 Mix)
05. Wax Doctor – The Saint (Dubplate Mix)
06. Dillinja – Follow Me
07. Photek – Say It
08. J Majik – Your Sound (Digital & Photek VIP)
09. Dillinja – Baby Your
10. Doctor G – Bassface
11. Dillinja – Lion Heart VIP
12. System X – Mind Games (95 VIP)
13. Roger Johnson – Crazy Day Dreams
14. Photek – Feeling Up
15. The Undergraduates – Into Da Future (Droppin’ Science Remix)
16. Dillinja – In My Soul
17. The Invisible Man – Drifting
Whilst some of the above tracks have been sent to me in good faith, meaning I cannot redistribute them, there are a couple in the mix that are commercially available, or were free giveaways.
DJ Trace – Definition Of Living
This is not the much fabled amen version that Bukem played on his Yaman vol 11 tape. But, this mix is every bit as good in my opinion. It eventually appeared in 1995 on a compilation called Jungle Bizznizz Vol 1, along with a bunch of other Lucky Spin / Dee Jay related tracks. DJ Trace put this version up for free download on his Soundcloud account a few months back. Get it here.
Droppin Science – Volume 1 (94 Mix)
Danny Breaks thankfully included this gem on his retrospective LP entitled Vaultron, released earlier this year. Buy it here.
Dillinja – Follow Me
Vintage 95 Dillinja with a big amen second drop! Who knows why this never saw a proper release? However, it was included on a Hard Leaders 7 – Jungle Dub 3. Get it on crispy CD and on a sickly 3-tracks-a-side vinyl release.
Photek – Say It
One side of perhaps one of the most well known shelved records ever in jungle. Originally due to be the sixth release on Grooverider’s Prototype imprint, for some reason it never happened. The A side ‘One Nation’ was eventually release by Photek on his LP Form & Function 2.
PRO 006 only ever made it to test press, with a rumoured 10 copies in existence. The B side, Say It, eventually came to light when an extremely generous collector ripped his copy of the test press and shared both One Nation and Say It – get it here.
J Majik – Your Sound (Digital & Photek VIP)
This one remained dormant for years before arguably jungle’s greatest dubplate collector, DJ Harmony (of Moving Shadow and Lucky Spin fame) kindly ripped his dubplate to mp3 and shared it via his Soundcloud account. It doesn’t seem to be online anymore but I’m sure it’s floating around the web somewhere…
Dillinja – Baby Your
Another track released only on a compilation. Apparently ‘Baby Your’ was destined to be released on Dillinja’s ‘Logic’ recordings. But for reasons unknown, it never happened. You can get the full version on CD on “Drum and Bass Selection 4 – Reload (Running It Red)”
The Invisible Man – Drifting
If you are a regular Drumtrip reader you probably know all about this one. This amen workout from 1995 is included on Drumtrip’s debut vinyl release. Unfortunately the release was first hit by a staggering pressing delay at the plant in France, and was then found faulty when finally pressed and delivered to us. More on the saga / debacle here.
If you know of any other (nice and legal) dubplates that have been shared online, drop us a comment below!
About Law
Main author and creator of Drumtrip. I have been listening to and mixing drum and bass in its various forms since 1998. Drumtrip was designed to celebrate the glory years between 1991 and 1997.