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.

We may well have been drunk when it was mixed together but most of the set is very passable.
What I love about this selection is nearly all of these tunes were purchased on Christmas eve for a pittance.
Around 2002 (we were 16/17 years old) on our travels around the local estate in the county town of Hertford we came across an individual desperate for some immediate cash in exchange for about 50 old hardcore and jungle tracks

Back then I wasn’t quite as clued up on my jungle history as today but Wheeler duly obliged and relieved the guy of his tunes, if I remember it was all for about £30.00 or so, a paltry sum of money for any batch of 50 records.

It was only a couple of years later we realised that value of some of these tracks, as well as over half the tunes featured in this mix, we also found the black press of Foul Play – Finest Illusion (for some reason I played the legal mix here) which I have seen fetch three figures.
One of my since personal favourites too; the Nookie produced Man Like Pennywise – Mystery, which is also worth a few quid, as well as the original press of Bukem – Atlantis and a fair few Moving Shadow bits.

One of the records had a logo on it we were already well familiar with, and it was that of local record shop Parliament Music which had been opened by Omni Trio around a decade earlier. Unbeknownst to me at the time Parliament ran their own label in the early 90s with Omni Trio heading it up and releasing several pre Moving Shadow tracks. The track in question was the excellent piano led slice of hardcore Pianism, under his Splice alias.

With eBay and online retailers you don’t get too many of these stories anymore, with people often far more enlightened about the value of their black plastic discs but I will always remember the day we came across that guy.

To the mix…

Law b2b Wheeler – Hardcore and Jungle Classics Mix by The Law on Mixcloud

1.) Splice (Omni Trio) – Pianism – Parliament Records
2.) Urban Takeover – Some Justice – Urban Shakedown
3.) Liquid – Sweet Harmony – XL
4.) 2 Bad Mice – Bomb Scare – Moving Shadow
5.) Sonz Of A Loop Da Loop Era – Peace & Loveism (4 Hero Remix) – Surburban Base?
6.) Blame – The Music Takes You (2 Bad Mice Remix) – Shadow
7.) Pennywise – Mystery – Symphony Sounds
8.) LTJ Bukem – Atlantis (I Need You) – Good Looking
9.) Omni Trio – Rollin’ Heights (Foul Play Remix) – Shadow
10.) Foul Play – Finest Illusion (Legal Mix) – Moving Shadow
11.) Nookie – Give A Little Love (N.H.S Remix) – Absolute Records
12.) Norty But Nice – Give It To Me Baby – Norty But Nice
13.) LTJ Bukem – A Couple Of Beats – Good Looking
14.) Goldie – Terminator 2 – Reinforced
15.) Doc Scott – Drumz VIP – Metalheads

We would love to hear your stories of cheap and bargainous jungle purchases….

The post Law & Wheeler – Jungle Hardcore Mix – November 2006 appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Urban Takeover, one of Drum and Bass’s biggest borderline commercial labels of the mid 90’s, had its biggest success with Mickey Finn and Aphrodite’s ‘Bad Ass’ which featured on not only every top earning DJ’s sets during 1995 but has sinced graced many top 40 chart compilations. The label paved a way for the now commonly known term ‘Jump Up’ and made Aphrodite’s track mark production techniques a familiar sound with DJ’s and ravers alike. His style was mimicked by others but it was clear that Aphrodite was the only real master of his own sound. Clever sampling combined with the trademark bassline of the mid 90’s was a winning formula for the label but as Drum & Bass continued to evolve the longevity of the label was potentially being compromised.

The DJ Slip remix of Man of Steal by Vinyl Syndicate was a firm favourite worldwide and features the commonly sampled Superman theme. This obtained commercial success to a degree and still features on compilations to this day. Various attempts to rekindle the success were attempted by way of remixes although the only worthwhile attempt featured on the G.L.O.B.A.L Takeover LP.

Although Urban Takeover continue to release records, the real golden era for this label was between 1995 and 1999 – after the year 2000, in my opinion, the label lost its identity. Due to the rapidly changing styles of Drum & Bass and the demise of jump up as it was once known, previously unheard of producers joined the label in order to attempt to bring new ideas and styles to the masses.

With the History of Urban Takeover series reaching local record stores and chain giants alike in 2005 this was a sign that the label was either recouping losses or simply trying to reach the new generation. Was this a little too late? Who knows, but whatever is said about Urban Takeover you cannot argue that 16 or so releases from the label played a massive part in roots of Drum and Bass as we know it.

If your into this kind of Drum & Bass then please do check out my Soundcloud at http://soundcloud.com/section23
Jamie

The post Tune of the day: Mickey Finn & Aphrodite – Drop Top Caddy appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Full article can be found here, below is just a little.

Of all the sub-genres of dance music that seemed to pop up in the early 90s I was only ever into jungle. Okay, so forget the later 90s drum and bass and it’s insipid “intelligent” sub-

genres with their elements of jazz and soul. I was actually into techstep until it began to sound like Belgian hardcore, only a million times more intense – as intense as say having your pubic hair removed by a blind pensioner with no hands. But, before all that it was majestic. Born when the hardcore rave scene discovered the breakbeat, jungle exploded around 91, 92. Many of hardcore’s biggest DJs and producers made the transition to jungle, guys like Goldie, Fabio, Grooverider and Jumpin’ Jack Frost.

Even though the music was often aggressive, the vibe was always about peace, love and unity, at least that was the idea. Stylistically, the first followers wore a weird mix of US

sportswear; like team jackets, caps and tees – Raiders, Hoyas, Hornets, Bulls, etc. Those items were mixed with designer jeans, shirts and jackets; think brands like Armani Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren/Polo Sport, Stone Island, Versace V2, etc. Footwear worn was either the Reebok Classic, and all things Nike and Air. Being the 90s, even though this was mainly a club scene, wearing mountain expedition clothes indoors was kind of a given. You’d often see dudes in a big skiwear jacket or snowboarding gear, cap on, throwing a few shapes on the floor. Other unlikely dance floor trends, considering the amount of E being consumed and body heat being generated by the running man dancing, included fleeces, plaid and burlap shirts, and woolly jumpers. Expensive dressing-down was big back then.

Full article can be found here

The post Vice Style: Inna Jungle Fashion appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

-Download-

DJ Fokus – Get A Bearing [Suicide]
Vivid Dreams – Rise Up (Infinity mix) [Intellect]
The Dude – Hidden Power [Rogue]
Digital – Two Faced [Creative Wax]
Studio Pressure – Presha III [Certificate 18]
The Junglites – Bruksilly (remix) [Wicked Soundz]
unknown artist – untitled [Blipton Factor Wreckords]
Boogie Times Tribe – The Dark Stranger (Q Bass remix) [Suburban Base]
Baraka – I’ll Be There [Boogie Beat]
Cutty Ranks & Half Breed – Dark Justice [24 Karat]
Fugitive – 70 Billion People [Underdog]
Sonz Of A Loop Da Loop Era – What The… Session One (Riots In Rayleigh) [Suburban Base]
Cool Hand Flex – Must Feel [De Underground]
Drum + Bass – FB 1 (Sub Kick remix) [Strictly Underground]
DJ Solo – Darkage [Production House]
Asend & Ultravibe – What Kind Of World [Back 2 Basics]
Atomic Dog – Cosmic Jam [Deep Thought]
Another Dimension – Twilight Zone (remix) [Kikman]
DJ Tamsin & The Monk – A Better Place (DJ Trace remix) [Whitehouse]
Kemet Crew – Vibe Out [Parousia]
Aladdin – Magic Carpet [Aladdin]
Dark & Deadly – Eternity [Drum & Bass]
The House Crew – Super Hero (My Knight) [Production House]

The post Stimpy / X-Nation – Oldschool Jungle mix Oct 2010 appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Featuring legends such as;
Micky Finn
Kenny Ken
Brockie
Nicky Blackmarket
Ratpack
Slipmatt
Ellis D

The post Jungle Mania Returns @ Hidden : 26th March appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.