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Jungle is a genre of electronic music that developed in England from Black British communities in the early 1990s as part of UK rave scenes. Emerging from the breakbeat hardcore scene, the style is characterized by rapid breakbeats (often 150 to 200 bpm), dub reggae basslines, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and synthesized effects. Long pitch-shifted snare rolls are common in old-school jungle. Jungle was a predecessor to drum and bass, which saw success in the late 1990s.

Producers create the drum patterns by cutting apart breaks, often from funk and jazz; the most common of these is the so-called "Amen break", from a 1969 recording by American group the Winstons. Jungle producers incorporate classic Jamaican/Caribbean sound-system culture production methods, such as the slow, deep basslines and simple melodies found in dub, reggae and dancehall, as well as elements of hip hop and techno production.

Origin

The breakbeat hardcore scene of the early 1990s was beginning to fragment by 1992/1993, with different influences becoming less common together in tracks. The piano and uplifting vocal style that was prevalent in breakbeat hardcore started to lay down the foundations of 4-beat/happy hardcore, whilst tracks with dark-themed samples and industrial style stabs had emerged from late 1992 and named darkcore. Reggae samples and reggae influenced tracks had been a feature of many breakbeat hardcore tracks since 1990 particularly from producers such as Shut Up and Dance, and labels such as Basement Records had coined a short-lived phrase jungle techno, but Ibiza Records and the Rebel MC were arguably the first to bring the sound system influence solidly into releases.

Hardcore jungle

Throughout 1993, the phrase hardcore jungle proliferated to describe that subtle shift of the music from breakbeat hardcore to jungle. The sound was championed at clubs such as A.W.O.L., Roast, and Telepathy, and on pirate radio stations such as Kool FM (regarded as being the most instrumental station in the development of jungle) but also Don FM, Rush, and Rude FM.

Tracks would span breakbeat styles, particularly with darkcore, with notable releases including "Darkage" by Solo, "Valley of the Shadows" by Origin Unknown, "Let's Go" by Potential Bad Boy, "Crackman" by DJ Ron, "Renegade Snares" by Omni Trio, "Lion of Judah" by X Project, and "The Future" by Noise Factory.

Etymology

The origin of the word jungle is one of discussion. Rebel MC is often noted for having popularised the term, and in the book Energy Flash, MC Navigator is quoted as saying "Rebel got this chant - 'all the junglists' - from a yard-tape" (referring to the sound system tapes from Kingston, Jamaica). "When Rebel sampled that, the people cottoned on, and soon they started to call the music 'jungle'".Some thought of this term as empowering, an assertion of the blackness of the music and its subculture, inverting the racist history of the term "jungle music". Others attribute the origin to pioneers MC Moose and producer Pascal who had recorded the darkcore anthem 'Johnny Jungle in late 1992.

Sociocultural context

Jungle was a form of cultural expression for London's lower class urban youth. The post-Thatcherite United Kingdom of the early 1990s had left many young urbanites disenfranchised and disillusioned with a seemingly crumbling societal structure. Jungle reflected these feelings; it was a notably more dark, less euphoric style of music than many of the other styles popular at raves. The music was much more popular with black British youths than other rave styles, such as techno, even though it was heavily influenced by these other rave styles, including those that emerged from the United States.Jungle was also seen as "England's answer to hip-hop", with the goal of breaking down racial boundaries and promoting unification through its multiculturalism -- drawing from different cultures and attracting mixed crowds at raves.

Jungle's rhythm-as-melody style overturned the dominance of melody-over-rhythm in the hierarchy of Western music, adding to its radical nature. Jungle music, as a scene, was unable to decide whether it wanted to be recognized in the mainstream or if it wanted to avoid misrepresentation. This manifested in the cooperation of jungle artists and small record labels. Small record labels work to provide more autonomy to the music artists in return for their business and jungle music was proliferated by pirate stations in underground networks and clubs. An example of this conflict is General Levy, a reggae artist, who was criticized for selling out to the mainstream when his single, "Incredible", made the UK Singles Chart in 1994. There was a mixed view of his work as many did not like his claim as "King of Jungle". At the same time, his work allowed popular recognition which may not have occurred otherwise.

Diasporic influences

Techniques and styles could be traced to such a vast group of influencers, each adding their own little elements. According to Reynolds, Jungle was like “Britain’s very own equivalent to US hip-hop. That said, you could equally make the case that jungle is a raved-up, digitized offshoot of Jamaican reggae. Musically, Jungle’s spatialized production, bass quake pressure and battery of extreme sonic effects, make it a sort of postmodern dub on steroids.” This is an example of the effects of the sonic diaspora and the wide influence musical genres have; Jungle is where these different Black Atlantic genres converge. Reynolds noted the audience of the genre evolved alongside the music itself; going from a “sweaty, shirtless white teenager, grinning and gurning” to a “head nodding, stylishly dressed black twenty something with hooded-eyes, holding a spliff in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.” Jungle also served as "a site for a battle between contesting notions of blackness".

Rise and popularity

Simon Reynolds’ article looked at the rise of Jungle music, the techniques and influences involved in its creation, and the reasons for the boom in popularity. He also discussed the nuances of Jungle and the importance of technology in its creation. Coming into popularity in the early 1990s Jungle was ridiculously upbeat, intense, and even discombobulating. Reynolds compared the effect to that of “a shrew on the verge of a coronary, or, more to the point, a raver’s heartbeat after necking three E’s.” Characterized by the breakbeats and multi-tiered rhythms, Jungle drew support from British b-boys who got swept up into the rave scene, but also from reggae, dancehall, electro and rap fans alike. Reynolds described it as causing fear and “for many ravers, too funky to dance” yet the club scene enjoyed every second.

Jungle caught on especially well with male listeners/audiences. The rapid breakbeats and high number of beats per minutes (often exceeding 180) gave the genre a decidedly masculine edge. In part, these qualities were attributed to the genre's decline. The popularity of UK garage in the wake of jungle's peak was largely spurred by female listeners,disinterested if not fed up with jungles masculine montony. Most jungle performers, furthermore, were men: whether acting in the capacity as an MC, producer, hype man, or even as dancers, men were the faces of the burgeoning sound.

Jungle reached the peak of its popularity between 1994 and 1995. At this stage, the genre was spawning a number of UK Top 40 hits, had a dedicated Lovemobile at technoparades, and spawned a series of CD compilations. It was towards the end of this period that the genre was being tainted by the majors (commercial) and the Jungle music went underground. This is when 'drum and bass' started to emerge as the European producers became intimidated by the stir Jungle had caused, and then incorporated new sounds and rhythms into their music.

1996 and 1997 saw a less reggae influenced sound and a darker, grittier, and more sinister soundscape. Hip-hop and jazz influenced tracks dominated the clubs in this period. Dillinja, Roni Size, Die, Hype, Zinc, Alex Reece and Krust were instrumental in the transition of the jungle sound to drum and bass. By the end of 1998, the genre's sound had changed forms significantly from that heard earlier in the decade.

Crossover with drum and bass

The term "jungle" is often used as a synonym for drum and bass, particularly in the United States. More commonly, jungle is viewed as the originating point for drum and bass, with the progressive changes brought by artists in the late 1990s serving as the point of diversion (some examples being Reprazent, Ed Rush, LTJ Bukem, Potential Bad Boy, Photek, Jack Smooth, Digital, Total Science, Goldie and Optical).

A thriving underground movement producing and developing tracks in the style of the 1990s and some original (though mostly mainstream drum and bass) jungle producers have noticed this new enthusiasm for the original sound. The North American ragga-jungle revival in 2001 saw many new names emerge to carry the torch. Krinjah, RCola, and Chopstick Dubplate pushed things forward with junglized remixes of classic reggae tunes often produced with re-voicing done by the original singers.

The jungle music scene in the UK, though underground, has experienced continued popularity, specifically tributed to the Oldskool Jungle sound as well as more modern drum and bass and dubstep. Many notable DJs from the original scene, such as Ray Keith, Goldie, LTJ Bukem, Bay B Kane, Congo Natty, Dillinja, Dom & Roland, Remarc, Kenny Ken, Doc Scott and Slipmatt still perform internationally, playing jungle strictly produced between 1993 and 1999.

Shy FX, creator of "Original Nuttah" with UK Apache, has launched the Digital Soundboy label. Canadian imprint JungleXpeditions features songs with the structure and production values of modern drum & bass mixed with ragga vocals, including reggae and oldskool elements from an international roster of nu-skool producers. Ragga vocals and oldskool elements have consistently emerged present in the works of drum & bass producers and labels, particularly True Playaz and the last three years has seen a resurgence of vocalized productions.

An Eastern European jungle oriented underground movement also has appeared. It includes clothing fashions similar to the UK's '90s rave scene. Bulgaria has been prominent in an old school jungle revival.

The group Rudimental, who have reached #1 on the UK Singles Charts on two occasions, use elements of jungle and breakbeat in their music. Example's album Live Life Living, released in 2014, contains elements of jungle and other '90s dance and rave genres.

Notable releases

Notable releases include:

• "The Helicopter Tune" - Deep Blue (Moving Shadow, 1993)
• "Burial" - Jumpin Jack Frost (Philly Blunt, 1994)
• "Incredible" feat General Levy - M-Beat (Renk, 1994)
• "Lover to Lover / Maximum Style" - Tom & Jerry (Tom & Jerry, 1994)
• "Dangerous" - DJ Ron (London Some'ting, 1994)
• "Warning" - Firefox (Philly Blunt, 1994)
• "Junglist / Champion DJ" - Congo Natty (Congo Natty, 1994)
• "Original Gangster / Nuttah" - Shy FX (SOUR, 1995)
• "Code Red" - Conquering Lion (Congo Natty, 1994)
• "Dred Bass" - Dead Dred (Moving Shadow, 1995)
• "Sound Murderer" - Remarc (Suburban Base, 1995)
• "Renegades Snares" - Omni Trio (Moving Shadow, 1993)
• "Valley of the Shadows" - Origin Unknown (RAM Records, 1993)
• "Super Sharp Shooter" - DJ Zinc (Ganja Kru, 1996)
• "Everyman" - ] (Rugged Vinyl, 1994)
• "Horny Mutant Jazz" - T Power (SOUR, 1995)
• "All Crew Must Big Up" - Roni Size (V Recordings, 1995)
• "Babylon" - Splash (Dee Jay Recordings, 1995)
• "The Lighter" - DJ SS (Formation, 1996)
• "Special Dedication" - Nut Nut (Hard Step, 1994)
• "Super Hero" - House Crew (Production House, 1995)

See also

• Drum and Bass
• Breakbeat hardcore
• Darkcore

References

1. Noys, Benjamin (October 1995). "Into the Jungle". Popular Music. 14 (3): 321. doi:10.1017/s0261143000007765.
2. Shapiro, Peter (2000). Modulations: A history of electronic music. Throbbing Words on Sound. New York: d.a.p caipirinha. pp. 132-134. ISBN 1-891024-06-X.
3. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2012). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Soft Skull Press. ISBN 9781593764777.
4. ^ Zuberi, Nabeel (2001). "Black Whole Styles: Sound, Technology, and Diaspora Aesthetics". Sounds English: Transnational Popular Music: 131–180.
5. Belle-Fortune, Brian. All Crews: Journeys Through Jungle / Drum and Bass Culture. ISBN 0-9548897-0-3.
6. ^ Reynolds, Simon. "Roots 'n' Future: Jungle Takes Over London".
7. ^ Jungle Fever (Documentary film). All Black. 1994 – via YouTube.
8. Reynolds, Simon. Two Steps Beyond: UK Garage and 2Step. p. 448.
9. "History of Jungle / Drum & Bass". www.globaldarkness.com. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
10. "The 10 Best Jungle Tracks of All Time, according to General Levy". Dummymag. 19 March 2019.
11. "The 20 best jungle tracks ever". Time Out (magazine). 23 May 2018.
12. "7 jungle classics that still tear up the dance". Red Bull Music Academy. 31 January 2018.
13. "20 Essential Jungle Tunes Everyone Should Know About". Ukf.com. 20 August 2017.

Further reading

• Simon Reynolds, Energy Flash, Picador, 1998, (ISBN 0330350560)
• Martin James, State of Bass, Boxtree, 1997 (ISBN 0752223232)
• Brian Belle-Fortune, All Crews: Journeys Through Jungle / Drum and Bass Culture, Vision, 2005 (ISBN 0-9548897-0-3)

• Jungle music
• 1990s in music
• Drum and bass subgenres
• English styles of music