His work with respected producer Pete Parsons though showed another side to Trace. Infact it shows how Trace was able to become so well respected in the hardstepping and jazz influenced camps that are present within the scene.

Released on DeeJay recordings in the summer of 1995, “By Any Means Necessary” is a rolling, uplifting track that although sounding straight out of LTJ Bukem’s box created a punch good enough for any dancefloor with its sharp breaks, dreamy atmospherics and sweet bassline.

A short Malcolm X vocal sample used throughout the track helps this track stick in your mind long after the record has stopped spinning.

On the flip is the speed mix paying homage to the legendary club of the same name. Starting with a shorter introduction and steppy Apache beat the track soon changes pace as it cuts into the classic “think” break.

Less atmospherics that the original mix make this slightly misleading as you would expect a mix of a track dedicated to Bukem’s Speed to be atmosphered out to the max! Still the Speed mix is another highlight of the great work Trace and Pete Parsons did together in the mid 90s.

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A bit of a cult classic this one.

Trance and Hard House producer Jon The Dentist meets two of D&B’s finest in Trace & Ed Rush.

There’s not too much information available online about the original mix – I assume it was 4-4 in nature, but Ed Rush and Trace turned it into a real D&B twinged slow burner. Released in 1995, its a step away from the crashing amen edits and cymbal splashes of their previous work, and follows on where Trace’s seminal remix of ‘Mutant Jazz‘ left off.

It opens with ominous strings before a simple two-step beat enters, comprising of just the kick and snare from the amen break. As the track progresses a deep, filtered reese bassline enters the fray, occasionally backed up by bubbling 808 sub hits. France’s last hurrah arrives when the “tighten up” break makes an appearance halfway through; high pass filtered, complimenting nicely the deconstructed amen loop.

Tracks like this really started to go beyond the stereotypical jungle sound, with its subtle and restrained style becoming the cornerstone of much of the dark drum and bass that followed it the years later.

You can pick this little 10″ up for less than a pound on Discogs.

The post Jon The Dentist ‎– France (DJ Trace V. Ed Rush Mix) appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Jungle in 1995 was a complex beast, it demanded you to stick your head down, soak up the bassline and occasionally flick your lighter. This certainly wasn’t the era of smiley faces and putting your hands in the air, although strangely enough, it was one of the most united and atmospheric.

Before anyone could demand a third or fourth reload on Leviticus’ ‘Burial’ a flood of hard stepping rough came flooding in from the likes of DJ Rap, Dillinja and Krome & Time.

By 1996 producers creativity was at an all time high and the sound as we knew it was due for a massive upheaval, mainly driven by the likes of Shy FX, Congo Natty, Aphrodite and DJ Red.

This was the unmistaken sound of jump up drum & bass, a sound that took elements from the past, combined with a slightly increased bmp, rubberised basslines and hip hop samples. It was also the rebirth of the ‘feel good factor’ and although many junglists took an instant dislike to certain producers efforts it really did take over the scene for sometime.

Rather than opting for the obvious classics of the era, the Drum & Bass Arena forum have delved deep into their record collection and pulled out a collection of diverse tracks that portray the time period in a totally different light altogether.

Come with it

Tracklist

JamieS23
London’s Most Wanted – Bear Witness (Mix 2) [Chronic]
Tonic – Hip To The Hoppa [Dee Jay]
Special K & Ruff Cut – Kill Or Be Killed [Lowkey]
Maldini – Kosmo [Phat Trax]
Tekniq – Hold it Now (Tekniq Remix) [Formation]

Tim-Reaper
Roni Size – Fashion [V]
Alex Reece – Basic Principles [Metalheadz]
Current Affairs – Turbulence (Just Jungle Remix) [Moving Shadow]
Northern Connexion – Re-Think [Back 2 Basics]
DJ Trace & Ed Rush – Untitled [Dub]

Dubplate-Derek
Concept 2 – Soon Come [Liftin’ Spirit]
Ed Rush – What’s Up [No U-Turn]
Joint Venture – Don’t Ever Stop [Liftin’ Spirit]
DJ Die – Play It For Me [V]
The X – New Dawn (ST Files Remix) [Jump Up]

Postman Pat
Swabe – Uno Dos Tres [Dope Dragon]
Jeru vs Dillinja – Me Or The Papes [White]
Lemon D – This Is L.A. [Metalheadz]
Mask – One People [Dope Dragon]
Bill Riley – In At The Deep End [Protocol]

SmokeyMcPot
Nemeton – Transamazonia (LTJ Bukem Remix) [One Little Indian]
Earl Grey – The Lick [Rugged Vinyl]
Dead Calm – Urban Style [Moving Shadow]
PFM – Wash Over Me [Good Looking]
Cloud 9 – Snow [Moving Shadow]

The post The 2014 D&BA Forum Essential Jungle Mix 95-96 appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Serum of Dread and V Recordings (among many others) speaks to us about his love for jungle, before laying down a serious selection for his  Drumtrip Session mix.

Tell us a bit about yourself
I was born in Lincoln but moved around a lot with my parents when I was young. I’ve lived in London for the last 8 years or so.

When did you first fall in love with Jungle? Am I right to say your first vinyl release was 2004? I imagine it goes way back before then?
I got into jungle around 1994-5. I’d heard rave music before and quite liked it but I was more into hip hop and heavy metal and didn’t really respect music that didn’t have that element of live performance. Things changed when I came across a program called Protracker on the Amiga which was a basic sample based sequencer. Through messing with production, I realised that dance music was actually a lot more complicated than I thought.

I started going to nightclubs with a bunch of slightly older kids and it all fell into place. I pretty much fell in love with all forms of dance music around that time and there was a lot of good stuff out there. I started buying records and got a set of cheap decks but I had very little money so I’m still catching up on tunes I missed out on from back then.

There weren’t any decent raves where I lived (either that or I didn’t know where to find them) so I listened to a lot of tapes from The Edge and Helter Skelter. I’d also listen to Pete Tong, John Peel and One In the Jungle on the radio.

Your tunes always have that rugged 90s jungle sound but with more contemporary production styles. How do you get that across in your tracks?
Up until a few years ago my setup was software based but I’ve bought quite a lot of hardware lately and that features in my newer material. When I used software I still tried to do the same things people did with hardware back in the day. I used to set the channels up so each track had similar features to a channel on an old mixing desk.

The main rules I live by are to keep things simple and sample anything I can get my hands on.

Before you arrived on the scene, and others like Vapour and Bladerunner, did you feel dancefloor D&B was missing the breaks and bass and general feeling from a lot of the stuff from back in the day? What is it you like about that sound?
There have been times where I’ve felt that but I’ve also made a lot more modern sounding stuff too. It just depends on what I’m interested in at the time. I never really have much of a plan.

You have remixed some huge tracks like Papa Lover (a personal favourite remix of mine), The Way and The Execution – But which producer from back in they day would you like to remix one of your tunes?
I’d like to have Dillinja have a crack at something of mine. I’m surprised Ray Keith hasn’t had a go yet either to be honest, that would be good to hear.

What else is new for Serum? What have you got forthcoming?
I’ve got 12s and individual tracks coming on V, Playaz, Dread, Co-Lab, Chronic and Drum & Bass Arena. There are also a few bigger scale things I’m doing like a mix album for Philly Blunt album which is going to have a combination of oldies, remixes and new material.

I’m working on a collection of more soulful vocal tracks but that’s in the early stages. It’s a new thing for me though so I’m really enjoying it.

The oldskool / jungle sound seems to be making a bit of a comeback again, have you got any big remixes in the pipeline? I did hear a remix of Gangsta about a while ago, any chance of a release there?
Gangsta will be on the Philly Blunt album sampler along with my remix of Bass Switch that’s been floating around for a while. There will be a few more remixes from me and a bunch of other artists. I also just put the finishing touches to a remix for Ruffneck Ting which just relaunched and I’m really happy with that.

Tell us a bit about your mix for Drumtrip, the idea behind the selection?
With this mix I’ve tried to dig a lot deeper and avoid the usual stompers. There’s not really any jump up on there which is fairly rare for me. There are some real classics in there but also a few lesser known bits that featured on some of the sets that got me into the music in the early years. Hopefully this mix will get people hunting on discogs.

Any big ups / shouts?
Anyone bought my music, came to see me play or booked me for a show, and all the DJs and labels that have supported me. Also my girlfriend and daughter for putting up with the constant noise.

And finally…  On your Twitter profile you state you are a “DJ, Producer and Pie maker”; what is your favourite pie?
Chilli beef pie from Goddards in Greenwich with a good serving of liquor and chilli vinegar.

Catch Serum online at..

•  Facebook
•  Twitter
•  YouTube

Drumtrip Sessions #09 – Serum

01. Adam F – Circles – Section 5
02. Daz – Identity – Splash
03. Lemon D – Manhattan Melody – Conqueror
04. Timebase – Funky – Tearin Vinyl
05. Swift – Gang Related – Intalektive
06. Ed Rush & Nico – What’s Up – No U Turn
07. DJ Biggs – Sunrize – Back 2 Basics
08. Adam F – Aromatherapy – Section 5
09. Basic Influence – Still Waters – Hardleaders
10. Trace – Haze – Emotif
11. Roni Size – Step Up – V
12. Tango – Understanding – Creative Wax
13. Renegade – Eastern Promise – Dread
14. Chris Energy – Zalongo – Reinforced
15. Roni Size – Daylight – Full Cycle
16. Andy C – Roll On – Ram
17. Lemon D – This is LA – Metalheadz
18. Gappa G & Hyper Hyper – River Nijer (Nookie Remix) – Ruff Kut
19. Hidden Agenda – Get Carter – Metalheadz
20. Dillinja – Sovereign Melody – Deadly Vinyl

Huge thanks for Serum for the interview and a great mix, much appreciated!

The post Drumtrip Sessions #09 – Serum appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Late 92 -> early 94 – all original plates.  It was basically an excuse to rinse out some recent arrivals in the mail, so there’s a variety of oldskool styles mashed together.. pure darkside, piano hardcore, deep atmospheric and strange dubbed-out 93 jungle.

DJ Crystl – Deep Space – Dee Jay
Subnation – Scottie – Mercyless
Pascal – I Don’t Understand (unreleased) – 2011 remake – dub
Bounty Killaz Part 3 – Silent Voices – Creative Wax
On Remand – Controllin’ – Crack House
The Untouchables – N’Joi This – Tough Toonz
Origin Unknown – The Touch – Ram
Folosaphers – Age of Insanity – Deep Seven
Poosie D & Cru-L-T – Hear Me Hear Me – Kniteforce
Alk-E-D – Selector remix – Kniteforce
DJ Trace – Never Felt This Way (Intel mix) – Dee Jay
Pascal & Sponge – I Got You (Ezee Boy) – Face
T.D.K. – Warp Factor (94 Revamp T.D.K. Mix) – Brain
Mad Dog – D-Tox – Underdog
DJ Red Alert & Mike Slammer – IN Effect (The Remix) – Slammin’ Vinyl
JDS – Classifed – side B – not on label
Groove Gangster – Let The Drummer Go – Soundscape
Subject 13 – Armageddon Countdown (Intense remix) – ULR
DJ Kane – Rebel Without a Pause – No U Turn
Jamma – Candyman – Murder By Sound
Gin & Tonic – Month Nine – Ruff Diamond
Who Are The Privy Council – The 12 Major Scientist – Kemet
Hard & Pure – This is Jungleism – Hard & Fast

http://soundcloud.com/liam_recoil  
http://www.rave.ca/en/member/recoil/
http://www.youtube.com/user/originalrecoil 

The post Recoil – On The Strength Vol 2 – Jungle Hardcore Mix appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Drumtrip has showcased a lot of classic tunes between our designated years of 1992 to 1996 since it was started.

Many of these have been stone cold anthems, others more under-appreciate personal favourites but I imagine not every visitor has encyclopaedic knowledge of Hardcore / Jungle (neither do I).

So this write-up and swift mix will hopefully demonstrate the evolution of Hardcore, to Jungle, to Drum & Bass by taking five tunes from each of the five years which were so influential in creating the sound we love.

I know a lot of this information might not be new to regular readers or people who were actually there at the time, but for anyone else; whether you dismissed Jungle at the time as another fad or you were too busy on the climbing frame at playschool to notice Original Nuttah riding the charts; this is for you.

The following tracks are a mixture of ground breaking releases ahead of their time, to the biggest classics of the years and maybe a couple of my favourites.

The mix itself was created digitally using sequencer, the reason for this was to squeeze in 25 tracks in the relatively short period of an hour to give you just a taster of the selection on offer.
Personally I prefer to let tunes roll out a lot longer when mixing the old fashioned way.

You can trace Jungle and Drum & Bass way back before where we begin 1992, and it depends how far back you wish to go.

In the early days Jungle / Drum and Bass took influences from the James Brown Funk and Soul breaks of the 60’s and 70’s, golden age 80’s Hip Hop and Acid House and the burgeoning Hardcore scene of the late 80’s to early 90’s.
But it was in 1992 in amongst the happy piano’s and catchy leads, something darker and more uniformed reared its head; and that is where we begin.

1992

01.. Bodysnatch – Euphony (Just 4 U London) [Big City Records]

Instantly recognisable by its signature London-centric vocal sample, Euphony’s simplistic rolling breaks (sampled from Bobby Byrd’s ‘Hotpants’) , sparse samples and bass set it apart from its more frantic counterparts and takes its place as the intro to this journey.

02.. LTJ Bukem – Demons Theme [Good Looking Records]

The track that started a genre; as Hardcore started to split between the happier and darker vibes LTJ Bukem took it in a totally different direction.
Originally written in 1991, Demons Theme sounded out of place amongst its contemporaries and kick started the whole ‘intelligent’ movement of the 90’s spearheaded by Bukem’s Good Looking organisation. Rolling amens, sub bass with soothing deep strings and vocals backed with tribal percussion. This style did not catch on until late 1993 when it was being cloned by half the scene which is just testament to how ahead of its time it really was.

03.. Nasty Habits – Here Come The Drumz [Reinforced]

Darkcore had arrived, Nasty Habits AKA Doc Scott served up a 4 track EP on the legendary Reinforced and this track was the highlight.
Rolling amens once again, backed with nasty reversed hoovers and the instantly recognisable samples ‘Confusion! Here come the drums’. Relentless stuff.

04.. Metalheads – Terminator [Synthetic]

Goldie had already been producing under the name ‘Rufige Kru’ on Reinforced records, and guided by Marc Mac and Dego produced this seminal piece of work.
Futuristic sounding beats, with what is believed to be the first example of multi-pitched or times stretched drum loops peppered with vocal snippets from the classic Terminator movie and big bass stabs. It went on to be one of Goldie’s biggest tracks (until 1994) and helped propel him to the forefront of the genre. “You’re talking about things I haven’t done yet!”

05.. Noise Factory – Breakage #4 [3rd Party]

Another example of a tune pushing the boundaries and shows how fast the music was changing in late 1992. Noise Factory was already a recognised name with a slew of releases on 3rd Party parent label Ibiza Records. Breakage #4 was a variant on a track on the same EP called Futuroid, a very simple track with repetitive bleeps, rolling amens and the vocal of ‘I bring you the future’.
This track was up to 20BPM faster than other tunes at the time and mixes nicely with more contemporary Drum & Bass and as such has had numerous remixes. It’s fair to say the track lived up to its vocal sample.

1993

06.. Q-Project – Champion Sound (Alliance Remix) [Legend Records]

Q-Project and the Legend Records crew had already been producers of the more conventional Hardcore sound but it was 1993 when they really established their own style.
The label was a mix of deep, spaced out jungle as pioneered by Lucky Spin and the emerging Darkcore sound. The original mix of Champion Sound was written towards the end of 1992 and would have been a contender for the ’92 section of our mix. But the Alliance Remix became the biggest track on Legend and was an example of the signature Drum and Bass sound.
The rolling beats, with big sub-bass hits, Ragga-tinged vocal and the famous synth stabs.
Still one of the biggest tracks today, it has since been remixed countless times in multiple genres.

07.. LTJ Bukem – Music (Happy Raw) [Good Looking]

Another year, another Bukem tune. For 1993 there were a few contenders from the Good Looking camp but being a personal favourite of mine, it had to find its place in the mix.
Starting with a hypnotic bell sample the tune rolls out but features Bukem’s signature progressive style. Half way through, the mood of the tune changes to a much darker vibe, with solemn chords and very tribal beats, a lot of DJ’s had often mixed in the next tune by this point so it is a part of the tune that is often overlooked. Honourable mention to Bukem’s ‘Atlantis’ remix but this pipped it.

08.. Omni Trio – Renegade Snares (Foul Play Remix) [Moving Shadow]

I am not quite sure how a Moving Shadow tune didn’t feature earlier in the mix having been around since the beginning. But this track alone pretty much demonstrates Moving Shadow at the peak of their powers in 1993. With a fantastic set of artists such as Omni Trio, Foul Play, Cloud 9 and 2 Bad Mice, along with Reinforced it is probably the greatest Hardcore / Jungle label there was.
Omni Trio was already well known for his piano led, subtle Hardcore sound and Renegade Snares was a certified classic, but Foul Play toughened it up for the dance floor and created a monster that still gets dropped in sets today, made famous to a new generation by a certain Andy C teasing it over todays upfront Drum and Bass.

09.. Origin Unknown – Valley Of The Shadows [Ram Records]

When experienced producer Ant Miles combined with 15 year old Essex resident Andy C, they started a special label and created a special tune. With the Ram only a year old it was a B-side track that would go on to be the biggest in the labels history totally over-shadow the A-Side which was the excellent amen roller ‘The Touch’.
Valley Of The Shadows, like many timeless tunes was a relatively simple affair but would form the classic Drum & Bass blueprint.
The bell sample, the break loop and several other samples all came from a CD given away in a 1993 edition of Future Music magazine. However the ‘long dark tunnel’ vocal was sourced from a BBC documentary from 1989 about out of body experiences.
The bass laden tune got ever increasingly popular over time and was remixed and re-issued in 1996 on Ram and was one of their biggest selling tracks.

10.. Subnation – Scotties Sub [Mercyless]

Another track ahead of its time was the notorious Scotties Sub (or just Scottie).
Made up of what sounds like only five or six tracks, it was minimal genius.
It featured some clever amen chopping neatly laid behind the main break that drives the tune along.
Simple but effective sub bass is present but probably the most famous aspect of the tune is the inclusion of the samples lifted from the 80′s black comedy / horror ‘The Evil Dead’.
Cries of ‘Scottie!’, ‘I don’t wanna die’ and demonic laughter make this a classic.

1994

11.. Renegade – Terrorist [Moving Shadow]

Ray Keith with the help of Nookie was already an established and respected producer by the time Terrorist hit the shops in 1994. By no means the first record to utilise Amen Brother break by The Winstons, but it went on to be probably the biggest amen track of them all.
As well as the amen break, you have the classic intro piano melody and of course the huge bassline.
The bass was taken from a track by Kevin ‘Reese’ Saunderson called ‘Just Want Another Chance’.
This 1988 slice of early Detroit techno had been sampled before but Terrorist made it its own and spawned years of copycats and became a staple part of D&B, especially the Tech-Step sound pioneered by No-U-Turn.

12.. Dead Dred – Dred Bass [Moving Shadow]

Another Moving Shadow tune and another landmark, Dead Dred aka Ascend & Ultra vibe were already producing for Back 2 Basics but this one was no doubt their biggest track by some distance.
Dreamy and swirly synths are interrupted by gunshots and then the dread sample hits, this sets up the frantically pitched amens and what is commonly referred to as the first reversed sub bass line in Jungle. This style of bass was huge within the UK dance scene and was re-used over again in Jungle and the new genre of Speed Garage a year or two later.

13.. Tom & Jerry – Maxi(mun) Style [Tom & Jerry Records]

Consisting of Marc Mac & Dego AKA 4Hero; Tom & Jerry was known as the duos more dance floor orientated alias having released some classic Hardcore tracks a couple of years before.
There were so many great tracks in this year but I felt this one shows the range Jungle had in encompassing samples from all genres and in this case the Funk and Soul genre.
Sampled from Maxi – Lover To Lover, Maxi(mun) Style starts off positive and soulful with familiar strings and melody before dropping with hard bass and Jungle FX. As with many of these classics, it has since been remixed several times.

14.. Leviticus – The Burial (Lovers Rock Mix) [Philly Blunt]

Anthems don’t come much bigger than this one, so big in fact Pete Tong picked up on it and re-released it on his FFRR label.
Leviticus was DJ Jumping Jack Frost, with only a few releases previously he was not that prolific as a producer but with Optical and Dillinja on the boards for the two different versions of the track, it was destined to be huge.
Spurred on by the ‘Think’ break drum loop sampled from a Lynn Collin’s track of the same name, The Burial had it all; moody strings, Ragga vocals, the sing-along section, a hefty bassline and a melody to hum along to.

15.. Goldie presents Metalheads – Inner City Life [FFRR]

Possibly the greatest Jungle or Drum and Bass tune ever made.
From the creative mind of Goldie, perfectly crafted with the help of Moving Shadow boss Rob Playford as engineer; Inner City Life was a landmark and gained major airplay on Radio and MTV.
The amazingly mournful vocals of Diane Charlemagne work brilliantly with the deep strings and choppy beats to create a masterpiece.
The track proved to the media that Jungle was more than just a ‘rave’ music, and it was capable of being just great music on its own, whether it’s in the dance or at home. The album Timeless, three tracks woven together for over 20 minutes as a symphony concreted this notion.

1995

16.. Dillinja – The Angels Fell [Metalheadz]

Dillinja was already creating crushing jungle work-outs for a couple of years by this point, often Ragga influenced and more dance floor orientated but this track signalled a slight change in some of his output and was one of several tracks that pushed the futuristic tech-step sound.
The intro starts with strings sampled from the Bladerunner OST by Vangelis (a goldmine sample source for D&B producers) and lazy breaks taken from the Incredible Bongo Band’s version of ‘Apache’, originally by The Shadows. When it drops a subtle amen and huge bass combo drive the track along without it ever really letting loose. A refined classic.

17.. Alex Reece – Pulp Fiction [Metalheadz]

Love it or hate it, this track divided opinion but there is no disputing its effect on the progression of Drum and Bass. With its very simple two-step drum pattern Pulp Fiction offered something different and focussed on a simple groove and smooth but very big bass line. It was a huge hit which the way for Drum & Bass becoming a predominately two-step genre by 1997.
Due to the two-step pattern sounding slower, despite being the same BPM as everything else, many believe it pushed the average tempo of Drum & Bass to over 174BPM, much to the dismay of many original jungle fans. Personally I love the tune for what it is, but maybe not so much for what it helped create.

18.. P-Funk – P-Funk Era [Frontline]

P-Funk AKA Pascal was another who had been around since the early days of jungle, creating massive tracks like Johnny and Flammable under the alias of Johnny Jungle along with Sponge.
1995 was the dawn of the rollers and this was one of the best examples. Featuring Dr Dre influenced strings, a rolling break with further samples from KRS-One and the usual floaty female vox, P-Funk Era was played and remixed for years after.

19.. Andy C – Roll On [Ram Records]

As the title suggests, another one of the rollers, this time from Andy C who still must have only been around 16 years old at the time of release. This, as with other tracks at the time followed a similar pattern; strings and melodies from the intro, the percussion builds until the bass hits, and when it finally drops it is almost an anti-climax as it peaks earlier in the build-up. Another track that followed this pattern was Jo – R-Type which narrowly missed out being included in the 1993 section.
A vintage double A-side release from Ram with ‘Cool Down’ on the flip, and as such was re-released as part of Ram’s 15th year anniversary in 2007.

20.. T-Power – The Mutant – Rollers Instinct (DJ Trace Remix) [SOUR Records]

DJ Trace, along with Ed Rush and Nico gave birth to the Tech-Step genre and this may be one of the earliest proper examples of the style.
The DJ Trace remix of Mutant Jazz totally changed the atmosphere of the original with spooky reversed piano keys, horn stabs and huge subs combined with the Reese bassline made famous by Terrorist a year earlier. This style went on to be huge throughout 1996-97 with No-U-Turn and Metalheadz pushing the boundaries.

1996

21.. Cybotron presents Dillinja – Threshold [Prototype]

The dark Tech-Step style was in full effect by 1996 with No-U-Turn and Metalheadz pioneering the sound. Dillinja perfectly demonstrates the movement away from conventional Jungle sound to a more subtle and futuristic style.
Grooveriders label Prototype was also highly influential in establishing this new sub-genre and the incubator was the legendary Metalheadz nights at London club The Blue Note.
I could have chosen one of several tracks from Dillinja alone in this year, including Silver Blade, but the strings, massive (deliberately) distorted bass line and status as a Blue Note anthem means Threshold gets the nod.

22.. Nasty Habits – Shadow Boxing [31 Records]

That man Doc Scott again, back then the King Of The Rollers was always ahead of the game and created this extremely dark steppy number.
The tune rolls out with sharp beats, deep bass and that huge hypnotic synth driving the tune along, it sounds like the end of days but at the same time shows restraint. I imagine it sounded very unique at the time.

23.. Boymerang – Soul Beat Runna [Regal]

Boymerang was a bit of an enigma, the man behind the name is now ‘alternative rock’ producer Graham Sutton. At the time he was well known for his part in group Bark Psychosis but around 1994, maybe intrigued by the explosion of Jungle he began his own productions.
This culminated in releases and remixes for Prototype recordings and No-U-Turn as well as a full length LP. The LP in my opinion is easily one of the greatest Drum & Bass albums of the 90’s and amongst the track list is probably his most famous creation; Soul Beat Runna.
Soul Beat Runna is known for drum loop that runs throughout the track, it was a Boymerang’s creation entirely, made by deconstructing the amen break and replacing the individual drum hits with new samples (among other techniques). The loop was left clean deliberately by Sutton so other producers could sample it and Dillinja took the invitation and used it to great effect with the monstrous Silver Blade. Shortly after the album’s release Boymerang left the scene as fast as he entered and continued his work as a producer for various Rock acts including British Sea Power.

24.. Photek – The Hidden Camera (Static Mix) [Science]

This list would not be complete without a Photek score and I am surprised it took until we reached 1996. However, prior to this time Photek did what he did best which mostly consisted of amen smashers across a spectrum of labels, but it was this release that he cemented that Photek sound after great work on his own ‘Photek’ label the year before (Rings Around Saturn anyone?).
The Hidden Camera was dark, jazzy, with sparse samples and funky double bass throughout with his trademark ninja beats. This style peaked with the fantastic Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu (Two Swords Technique) which made the UK top 40 and featured on the end credits to the Wesley Snipes vampire flick ‘Blade’.

25.. Adam F – Circles [Section 5]

Although originally released at the tail end of 1995, it wasn’t until 1997 that the track was re-issued on F-Jams and featured on the seminal album Colours, that it truly made its mark outside of Drum & Bass circles (excuse the pun!).
A perfect example of the way this music can be enjoyed at home relaxing, or in the middle of a hyped-up club night. Sampling Bob James’ Westchester Lady as the foundation of the tune, Adam F created one of the most recognisable and celebrated tracks of the 90’s.
Circles seems to transcend genres, even Drum & Bass sub-genres and appears to be universally enjoyed, something you do not really get with the Drum & Bass tracks of 2011.

The End
That brings the mix and the write-up to an end, there are plenty of tracks I have missed out, there is no mention of Ed Rush, DJ Crystl or Source Direct, some of my favourite producers. But there were only five places available per year, and I chose what I thought were either the most groundbreaking tracks, or the biggest in general.

Please post below with what tunes you think should have been added, and as stated previously, I wasn’t there to witness this so please feel free to correct any of the above information!
Law

The post What is Jungle? – The History 1992 to 1996 appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.