OFF Jungle

[Jon Browne]

In message <199610211703.SAA03826 at dibble.aeolians.bt.co.uk>, bart
<bart at aeolians.bt.co.uk> writes
>Ah ha. I've been toying with the idea of getting a jungle sampler of some
>kind, since parts of what I've heard have bee quite interesting. Is the
>Bukem CD the one with a grey/silver cover ?
No, it's a lovely picture of Earth from about 200 miles up.
>
>So would something like _Firestarter_ be considered Jungle ?
No, not really. *I'd* consider Firestarter to be *ROCK* by any
definition except "Must be played on guitars". Recent Prodge inc.
Firestarter (which hit #1, you remember) has *such* general appeal it's
not really appropriate to pigeon hole except "mainstream". I know school
teachers and coppers who love this record! If pushed it's techno, but
really, plenty of techno haters would love this record coz its just so
exciting! Jungle gets no airplay, it's a very closed scene. The best way
to hear real Jungle, live mixes, is to surf the AM airwaves Saturday
night, after midnight. Plenty of pirate jungle stations go up for two or
three hours with the occasional on-air bust! Great entertainment!
>I'd say that
>seems a lot heavier (bad use of the word) than any drum'n'bass I've come
>across.
Fair point, but Drum 'n'bass is not jungle. Unless you count techno and
ambient as interchangable. Jungle is dance music , Drum'n'bass is chill-
out music. Many of the drum'n'bass merchants count themselves Jazzmen,
would you believe?


The best piece of Drum ' n 'Bass music is PHOTEK - UFO/RINGS AROUND
SATURN.  UFO is one of the ultimate pieces of music I've ever heard.
It starts with this sub-audio bass with sucks all the air out of your
room as the cones move out, changing the atmospheric pressure around you
completely, then this ultra-reed-thin drum pattern starts. Its sounds a
little like rain on glass, a little like one of those drum playing tin-
monkeys. There's _some_ guitar but no more than any of the other
samples. Then there's these loops of UFO sightings, "Coming in off my
flashlight, look, there it is again." And of course, the Star Trek door
closing sample which sounds really corny, but in this context still
sounds unearthly but recognisable enough to make you smile. Then when it
finishes the cones drop back into place, which feels like the room re-
pressurising (that's not a proper word, is it?)
Unfortunatly, this record is only out on 12" single, which is a shame
because it's the finest release of it's genre, FACT!
--
Jon Browne