World Dance – Access All Areas, a VHS that will no doubt bring home a million memories of sitting in front of the television in amazement. Trying to spot your mates looking wasted in the crowd or even attempting to piece back memories of events………

In a similar stance to early Fantazia recordings, the promoters of World Dance released a video compilation of their events in 1996 which featured a whole host of footage from events such as the Monty Python themed ‘And Now For Something Completely Different’ to the ‘Fireworks Spectacular’ in ‘95.

From memory, the girl that everyone at school thought was AMAZING was actually a friend of Tobie (Tera) of Serial Killaz. For those that want to now attempt to spot her, she’s the one in the pink nightie alongside matey with the moobs doing the helicopter spin in his swimwear around 14 minutes in, not that I have been looking for her ; )

For those who remember the amazing effort Fantazia went to in respect of production at their events, it will come as no surprise that it’s pretty much a direct comparison to World Dance and in some respects, they probably picked up where Fantazia briefly left.

What you get here is an insight into what went into putting on these large scale events, with footage from the initial set up to plenty of behind the decks action. If you’re reading this and promoting events in 2014 then please make some notes when watching the video, the production really was spot on at every World Dance rave.

Access All Areas was exactly that, interviews with the artists and crowd by none other than Drum & Bass’ answer to Dennis Pennis – MC GQ and a wicked set taken from the 4th November ‘95 event by none other than Mickey Finn & MC Fearless. Strange maybe to some that GQ wasn’t the MC featured on the mix, mainly because prior to ‘93 he was usually the only MC to grace the flyer, let alone in the venue.

Interview with MC Fearless

How did the connection with World Dance happen?
“Working with Chris and Jay in the original AWOL days meant that performing at World Dance was achievable, although I still remember the day the phone call came in and I thought someone was winding me up!

Their policy regarding mcs was always strict and having myself and GQ on the line up was what people would come to expect. Gary and I would usually split the night in half with AWOL as these events would coincide with each other”

World Dance were renowned for their huge production and massive following, was ‘the brand’ as important as the event?
“Without a doubt man! From the World Dance MA2 bomber jackets, to the slipmats, to the lighters – they had the branding locked down. When the new clothing lines were released I remember either Chris or Jay coming backstage with massive boxes and handing out products to the artists. They understood all aspects of the promotions game, at the end of the day these guys were proper businessmen”

The Access all Areas VHS was certainly a favourite for many, were you aware the camera crew were filming for a documentary?
“Both GQ and I knew about the video, that’s how World Dance was run – the artists were always kept up to date with what was going on and when it was happening. One thing I didn’t know though was how many fireworks they were going to use at the event in ‘94!”

“That night was insane and to this date I don’t think I have seen any other fireworks event in the UK go to the levels of production and pyrotechnics World Dance did. I remember one of the production staff shouting at me to get out of the way and then… BOOM all kinds of things were set loose”

What were your favourite memories from World Dance?
“The first event I was booked for was held at Lydd airport and I had never ever expected it to be on the scale that it was. Thousands of people, the huge fairground rides and boy…. the hanger! The whole World Dance vibe was something else so when I eventually got to the front and did my thing the crowd response and the sea of heads was on another level”

What’s forthcoming in 2014 for Fearless?
“Next up I’m filming a fly on the wall documentary about my weekend on the road as an mc. This won’t be your standard type of video but one where people can really see what it’s like at raves post millenium. I’m also working on a clothing line and will be putting out a free EP with some of my previous work and possibly an album at some point in 2014”

Rewind the video, it’s going back in..

‘96 was probably the highlight of Mickey Finn’s DJ career and certainly an era where his preferred style of Drum & Bass was literally blowing up all over the shop. Combine this with Fearless’ utterly unique style at the time and it really was the soundtrack to top all rave event videos.

For those expecting a VHS filmed on a mate of the promoter’s Sony Handycam with the sound to boot you are certainly in for one massive treat. Real Jungle ravers with buttoned up shirts, MA2’s and none of this ‘heart shapes with our hands’ malarkey.

Add it to your wants list via Discogs here

Download the full video here

The Mix

To pay homage to World Dance, Mickey Finn and obviously the top notch VHS check the tribute mix I put together which features all of the tunes from the video (apart from the dubplate version of Space Dust which I will never own!)

1 Apollo 13 – Space Dust
2 Dred Bass – World Of Music
3 B-Jam – Dont Play
4 Asend & The Assailant – Africa
5 Smokey Joe – Smokin Hornz
6 Rude Bwoy Monty Warp Ten (Heavyweight Mix)
7 Murphy’s Law & Asend – 20 Seconds
8 DJ Hype – We Must Unite
9 Dope Skillz – Yo’ Son
10 DJ Zinc – Super Sharp Shooter (Remix)
11 B-Jam – Show Me (Remix)
12 Deadly D – Listen Dis (L Double Remix)
13 DJ Rap & Da Boss – I’m So
14 Sound Of The Future – The Lighter (Rollers Remix)
15 L Double & Shy FX – The Shit

The post World Dance – Access All Areas (A Dedication) appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Causing an Eclipse to outshine
The rave scene in Cambridge between 1992 and 1994 was incredible and dominated mainly by Stuart and Dave Banks who jointly ran an event called Eclipse.
During 1994, a promotions outfit under the name Unit 5 created an event called Temptation which ran from Kelsey Kerridge Sports Centre, a huge hall located pretty much in the centre of Cambridge. In some respects Temptation was the next step in the area’s rave scene and their events in 1994 saw many of the most respected artists grace the turntables including Grooverider, Mickey Finn, DJ SY and Kenny Ken.

Arts & Leisure
In March 1994, two rave promoters under the names United Dance and Temptation graced the Stevenage rave scene with an event held at the Arts and Leisure Centre. Although the promoter of Temptation is unknown to me, the man behind United Dance was Chris Eruption who went on to produce a huge amount of Happy Hardcore anthems. The events that followed created probably one of the most influential nights in East Anglia at the time and paved the way for thousands of ravers to experience the ever changing styles of underground music.

It’s Hype 1-2 then 2-3 … it’s Dougal & Vibes
Probably quite absurd to the Drum & Bass raver of 2013 but way back in the 90’s many of the big promoters would opt to mix styles all night, whether that be Happy Hardcore and Drum & Bass in the main room or Techno alongside Gabba in room two. This sometimes led to very interesting MC combinations, especially if you had missed the event and were listening back to the tape pack.
My personal favourite from United Dance events at the time had to be Fearless and MC MC over Happy Hardcore, it was like a whole new take on the tracks and I am certain that this paved the way for more lyrical Hardcore MC’s such as Whizzkid and Storm. You would obviously get the old favourites such as Magika, Stixman and Sharkey but involving the Drum & Bass MC’s almost seemed to force the Hardcore MC’s to step up their game.

Jungle, Drum & Bass, Happy Hardcore and…. 4-Beat?
Something strange that come out of the United Dance era of Happy Hardcore was the genre coined ‘4-Beat’. My assumption was that Seduction and Eruption wanted to steer people away from the term Happy Hardcore, potentially because at the time, some may have been put off by the name. Let’s face it, saying to your friends that you were into Happy Hardcore probably wasn’t seen as the coolest thing to say in 1995.
Impact Records, owned by Seduction, held face with 4-Beat for a while and in an interview he made a stance by saying “”House led to Hardcore, which led to Drum & Bass and 4-Beat (I hate calling it Happy Hardcore)”. It was obviously quite a personal thing and not every producer shared the same enthusiasm which was quite apparent when, far later in the genres lifetime, it switched from Happy Hardcore to it’s current name – UK Hardcore.

Showers in a rave
One of the ‘attractions’ so to speak of the Arts and Leisure centre was the massive shower blocks in both the male and female toilets. It would be a common occurrence to see highly spirited ravers at 3 in the morning having a shower fully clothed. You would assume this then also lead to a very slippery dance floor but as the main arena was typically used as a sports centre, carpet was laid out way in advance of any bathroom activities.

“Ah yeah! Let the good times roll”
DJ Hype and MC MC were always a winning combination, perhaps this was down to their shared passion for the scene or the fact that they had worked together for a considerable amount of time. It was one of those combinations that would always stand out on a flyer or tape pack, similar to that of Andy C and GQ in today’s scene. MC MC rides the music, he didn’t batter a million lyrics over each track but effortlessly hosts the set with style and grace.

This live set is certainly one that has a distinct flow to it, it’s an amazing introduction to years gone by. If you have yet to pick up on some of the history of the scene or if you are a die hard fan of the early to mid 90’s it’s certainly worth checking for a trip down memory lane.

The obvious Jungle anthems of the time such as Splash’s ‘Babylon’, DJ Rap’s ‘Spiritual Aura’ and Q Project’s ‘Champion Sound’ all feature on the set alongside Hype’s well known scratch routines. Let the recording play for around half an hour and Hype digs deeper into the lesser known tunes from the era.

The end of the set also features MC Free & Easy, otherwise known as Terry Turbo.

“Let the music take you up”
Slipmatt, known for his huge involvement and contribution to the scene since it’s foundation, delivers a cross selection of Breakbeat Hardcore, Jungle and early Happy Hardcore in this set accompanied by MC Magika. It’s a fine example of where the scene in general was during 1994 and a perfect demonstration of how to deliver a high energy set.

The last hour at United Dance was always known as ‘Slipmatt’s Hour’, the way that he retained a full house at 5 or 6 in the morning was hard to beat and some even turned up at 3 or 4 in the morning just to catch the last few hours of the early morning vibe.

Opening with Aphrodite’s ‘Calling The People’ before switching from Jungle to Breakbeat Hardcore then double dropping into Firefox and 4-Tree’s ‘Warning’, this really is a set of surprises featuring all the big names and labels from the era such as RSR Recordings, United Dance Recordings and Slammin Vinyl.

I strongly discourage you from looking at the DJ name and making the assumption that this set is full of super fast chipmunk vocals and kick drums, it’s anything but.

The post Tape That – United Dance Impact Records Showcase appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Very simple and quite minimal in comparison to some of Hype’s work around this time, the track’s focal point comes from a sampled vocal taken from the Junior Byles‘ roots reggae track of the same name.

Add into the mix an eerie atmosphere, a cut up ‘Think‘ break and huge sub bass line that bubbles beneath whilst threatening to consume the whole track. The obligatory amen break of the time livens things up a few minutes in.

Sampling was still very much the way to produce at this point in the jungle and drum & bass scene and Hype was no exception. You can clearly hear the influence that 80s and early 90s hip hop had on his production as he almost carelessly laid cuts, loops and samples over each other.
As such his tunes have that ruggedness / roughness about them, similar to the East Coast hip hop productions from producers like the RZA and The Beatminaz.

The post TOTD: Dopestyle – Fade Away appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

It was a great selection with quick mixing and even a little bit of Hype-esque scratching too.

Track List
Omni Trio – Future Frontiers
Cloud Nine – Jazzmin
Wots My Code – Dubplate
Lords Of The Null Lines – Disturbance (Tango Remix)
Under Rhythm London – Sub Circle (Remix) – Booby Trap Recordings (white)10″ Urep-4a
Leviticus – Burial
Nookie – Only You
Dj Hype – Rolllll The Beats
Kings Of The Jungle – Move Your Body
Dillinja – Sky
Dillinja – Tear Down
Asylum – Base 2 Dark
Krust – Set Speed
Dopeskillz – Pranksters
Alex Reece – Basic Principles
Remarc – Ricky
Omni Trio – Feel Good
Goldie – Jah
Renegade – Terrorist
Andy C & Shimon – Nightflight
Invisible Man – The Bell Tune
Dj Taktix – The Way
Essence Of Aura – Spiritual Aura

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Following on from the early 93 mix I posted a couple of weeks ago which was on the happy tip, this is part 2 which is a much more darker and scarier affair. Hope y’all like it

Tango & Dom – My Mind Is Going (Remix) (Double Vision)
Chaos & Julia Set – Scud Beats (Recoil)
Agent Orange – Gettin Rougher (Kaos Mix) (Dog Tag)
Primary Source – The Och (Reinforced)
D.O.P.E – When I Was Young (Easy B & T Bags Revisited Mix)
Johnny Jungle – Johnny (Face)
Nasty Habits – Here Comes The Drumz (Reinforced)
Sound Corp – The Toll (Tone Def)
Dj Hype – Shot In The Dark (Q Bass Remix) (Suburban Base Remix)
Miranda – Back To The Future (Liquid Wax)
Dj Mayhem – Storm Trooper (Basement)
Nebula II – X Plore H Call (Reinforced)
Dj Hype – I Cant Understand It (Reinforced)
Dj Lee – Touch Of Darkness (Impact)
Chaos & Julia Set – Bounce (Recoil)
Dj Phantasy – What Possessed You Boyee (Liquid Wax)
Oaysis – Do You Dream (93 Remix) (F Project)
Dj Phantasy – Take My Soul (Liquid Wax)
Intense – White Doctor Groove (Bush Mix) (Underground Level)
Megadrive – Mega 2 (A Side) (F Project)
Two Dark Troopers – I Wanna Be Your Lover (Basement)
Scott & Keith – Deranged (Bonus Drums Mix) (Reinforced)
Rufige Kru – Terminator (Synthetic Hardcore Phonography)
Chaos & Julia Set – Atmosphere (Sub Bass Field Mix) (Recoil)

The post Eazyflow – Early 1993 Dark Side Mix appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

I do the miss the designs of flyers like these, especially the old Fantazia and Dreamscape ones that look like across between Gamesmaster and The Lawnmower man. Early 90’s CGI was fantastic.

Find the site here; http://90sravescene.tumblr.com/
A few of my faves below…..

Bukem done up like Sir Patrick Moore is particularly brilliant. Plenty more on the site.

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