As it was never clear on the label who Baraka actually was – although Kid Andy is listed as ‘co-ordinator’, many people (myself included) had speculated that Baraka was in fact an alias for Jonny L. The main evidence would be the similarities in the amen work on this and Jonny L’s remix of U Can Be My Lover.

However, a while back when browsing the Beautifully Crafted Jungle Facebook group, I noticed this post from one half of Serial Killaz; Tobie Scopes.

Baraka was Kid Andy, aka Andy Lysandrou – the guy who owned Boogie Beat. I was good friends with him at the time.

Jonny L might have engineered it, as they both went on to be True Steppers together (who then produced that Out Of Your Mind track with Dane Bowers & Victoria Beckham). He didn’t mention Jonny’s name to me at the time, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved of course.

What Tobie doesn’t know about jungle / D&B really isn’t worth knowing!

Andy Lysandrou is also the man behind the essential UK garage label Ice Cream (along with Tim Deluxe), a label probably best known to the masses for the speed garage anthem RIP Groove by Double 99.

So there you have it, mystery solved.

The post Who was Baraka? It wasn’t Jonny L after all… appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

I was listening to some Doc Scott and Kemistry/Storm mixes the other day (Mixmag and One in the Jungle) and it inspired me to have a dig for the kind of mid to late 90s tunes which were rated highly at the time but never surfaced much. Stuff you generally didn’t hear in a club and had to seek out unless you were lucky enough to live near Hoxton Square.

I was at Bournemouth Uni at the time and only managed a few trips up to Speed and the Bluenote but the guys from Fat Trax Records and their associates managed to get the big names down once a month or so. Luckily for me, they preferred the deeper styles so it was usually the likes of the DJs above along with DJ Lee and Peshay etc who would turn up at the weekend.

What I liked most about these guys style was the way they rolled out the mixes and showcased a wide range of moods and sounds across their sets. Always fresh and taking the path less travelled.

I think most of these tracks are around the 95-97 years. There’s some heavy bangers (Spirit – Fathoms), some deepness (Oblivion – Last Dance) and some all out technical masterpieces (Hidden Agenda – Dispatch 1). Don’t think I’ve heard an amen squashed, compressed and twisted like that before or since. Hope you enjoy the mix.

Origination – Brace Yourself – Creative Source
Spacelink – Timezone – Reinforced
Dj Krust – Going Nowhere – Full Cycle
Jonny L – Treading – XL
Hokusai – Divine – Source Direct
Intense – 1st Contact – Vibez
DOPE – Travelling – Rugged
Sounds of Life – Intallect Remix – Cert18
Oblivion – Last Dance – Street Beats
Danny Breaks – the Bear – Droppin Science
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J Majik – Lightsabre – Infrared
Hidden Agenda – Dispatch1 – Metalheadz
Nasty Habits – Prototyped – 31 Records
Dj Krust – Soul in Motion – Full Cycle
Spirit – Fathoms – Fresh86
Peshay – Music Remix – Good Looking
Source Direct – Exit 9 – Source Direct
PFM – One & Only – Good Looking
Photek – Hidden Camera – Science Virgin
Source Direct – Secret Liaisons – Good Looking

The post Dan Norman – Sounds Of Life 95-97 appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

It is a pleasure to be able to launch the Sessions with a mix by DJextreme. Extreme is responsible for countless jungle mixes spanning the whole spectrum of the genre, often posted on his own blog Hardscore.
It was one of his mixes that really got me into Dillinja’s (slightly) lesser known early productions and remixes, being a huge fan himself.

For this mix he has raided the archives and supplied a deep selection, even including a Dillinja tune I haven’t even heard of! Here’s a few words by the man himself…

This mix began with one record; The Doc Scott Interstate Remix on Butterfly. From here the other tracks fell nicely into place mainly consisting of 1996 beats running with similar styles.

Producers include the likes of J Majik, Photek, Arteq (Optical), Phume (Klute Collaboration), Source Direct, Hidden Agenda plus one of my all time favourites ‘Astrology‘ by Danny Breaks on Droppin’ Science.

Ending with a nice Dillinja track, This is taken from the Japanese import version of R&S Records ‘In order to Dance‘ session one album.

01 Inner Visions – Hidden Menace – Basement
02 Solo – Dominion – Volume
03 Hidden Agenda – Dispatches #2 – Metalheadz
04 Photek – Hybrid – Science
05 System 7 – Interstate (Doc Scott Mix) – Butterfly
06 Phume – Freefall – Selector
07 Source Direct – 2097
08 Jonny L – 2 of us (Photek Remix) – XL
09 Arteq – Amazing – Celluloid
10 DJ Die – Landslide – Full Cycle
11 Yoshie Arakawa (Tekken) – Windermere (T Power dub Mix) – JVC
12 Photek – One Nation
13 Danny Breaks – Astrology – Droppin Science
14 J Majik – Aztek Step – Cutting Edge
15 Dillinja – City of Lights – R&S

The post Drumtrip Sessions #01 – DJ Extreme appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Released on the relatively short-lived, but prolific hardcore and jungle label ‘Boogie Beat‘ in 1995, ‘I’ll Be There‘ is hypnotic and frantic, but also quite a deep cut.

Starting with ethereal bells or chimes it builds up before a razor sharp amen and sub bass combo hit. The pace is unrelenting and there is a real air of energy and urgency about the track.

The producer name ‘Baraka’ can mean one of several things;
My first thought is that it would be taken from the character from Mortal Kombat II, two years after the track was released.
It was also a natural world documentary film or it simply means ‘blessings’ in either Hebrew or Arabic languages.
One thing is sure, the identity of the producer remains a mystery with only one more release to his name.

Was he a kind of one hit wonder? Or, as the production suggests, a more established producer……
Due to the similarities in sound rumours have pointed to a certain Jonny L (see his U Can Be My Lover remix for the evidence)

Whatever the story, it’s a great track and one I would have love to have made a Bargain Jungle 12″  but despite being relatively unknown to most, its still fairly sought after by a few and as such its expensive to track down

The post Tune Of The Day: Baraka – I’ll Be There appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

To kick off we have Roz – U Can Be My Lover (Jonny L Remixes).
Ruff and ready amens, available on discogs for as cheap as £2.99

The post Bargain Jungle : Roz – U Can Be My Lover (Jonny L Remixes) appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.