Jamie S23 2013 remix of DJ Red’s classic ‘Enta Da Dragon’
My interview with jungle legend MC Fearless for Drum & Bass Arena is now live here
Remember classics such as Bad Ass, Quest, Enta Da Dragon & Ding Dong Bass? Please check the Soundcloud link here and vote for your favourite.
A reblog would also be lovely!
1993 - the UK Rave scene at its finest
The Drum & Bass Arena forum collective have very willingly compiled a list of their favourite tunes from this era containing some absolute gems.
DJ Modus kindly compiled a YouTube playlist so you don’t have to wade through the pages to find hours of classics. So sit back, turn up the speakers and press play..
Link here
Tape Crackers: An Oral History Of Jungle Pirate Radio
I stumbled across this fantastic looking documentary via the DNBA forum, probably the only worthwhile bit of information to grace the website since 2001.
Surprisingly I have never heard of this DVD, it’s existence has sadly gone unnoticed until now so the anticipation of actually watching and reminiscing is stupidly high.
You can pick up a copy for yourself here
I’ll write a proper review after I have watched it 100 or so times.
Here’s the blurb from the website:
‘Tape Crackers’ is a vital documentary focussed on one guy, Michael Finch, and his amazing tape collection of pirate radio recordings made in the mid-late ’90s. The premise is basic: place Michael and some of his most prized c90s in front of the camera and let the man talk. The result: a punters’-ear recollection of an amazing period in UK music culture, charting the shifts between Happy Hardcore/Jungle/D&B/Garage, or what has contentiously become known as the ‘Hardcore Continuum’ thanks to Simon Reynolds.
Michael is a passionate and thoroughly endearing orator, spilling profuse knowledge on MCs, the variety and breadth of the junglist FM bandwidth, the raves, the clothes, and most importantly, the vibe. Although this era only occurred little over 15 years ago, the fact that it was all pre-internet (or at least widescale internet use) gives some sharp contrast to today’s fingertip cultural reach and some context that many older heads will relate to, while youngers are recommended to watch for educational purposes.
Although the period covered falls a little bit later than the golden era - 1990-1993 - the anecdotes and Finch’s compelling delivery basically render that almost irrelevant . You can just see memories wash over him with each tape he puts on, and you’re reminded of the absolute frustration and euphoria of hearing a track on pirate radio that you would never ever get to find out anything about, or know who it was by, or ever get to hear again - save for the worn out cassette copy you just made. Apart from all the anecdotes and recollections - including a really nice overview of London’s Junglist pirate radio scene of the mid 90’s (even touching on the birth of Rinse), what you really get from Tape Crackers is a snapshot of a bygone era and one man’s obsession with it - and it just makes for utterly compelling viewing.
Don’t miss.
So, this year the winners took a turn in a different direction - compared to previous years where Jump Up dominated the winners list it now seems that a more grown up, commercially aware list of winners has appeared. Has the stream of Pop Drum & Bass assisted with this years winners? In my opinion yes, without a doubt.
Gone are the days of the scene being a ‘Underground’ movement, that probably died a death way back in the middle of the 90’s. Now, in 2011 we have the likes of Hospital Records alongside Chase & Status actually pushing Drum & Bass to the mainstream and, I assume, making a actual living from it.
The die hard original Junglists will probably rage at this success, I know I did for a long time but I eventually decided that when I was 16 and playing upfront Jungle in the early 90’s the original Acid House crew probably thought the same about me. It’s called progression.
To be honest I am so far disjointed from the current scene that I can’t say my opinion is that valid but it’s nice to see the likes of Skibadee missing the top spot. It’s a game changer for some, especially the bait Jump Up producers such as DJ Sly who constantly put out the same old recycled spaff year after year.
Drum & Bass 2012 - time to accept progression I assume?
Personally I’ll just stick to vinyl and Jungle and let the new blood enjoy what’s now become a whole new scene.
The list of winners can be found here
