The Cosmic Jungle

Classic DnB mixes comprise about 25% of my music listening for the last year, so I'm updating from this downtempo thread (https://lopp2.forumotion.com/t850-down-but-not-out-tempo-music) to a new one to post DnB stuff.

As mentioned in that thread, listening to lots of downtempo made the algorithm point me towards this mix and this YouTube channel:


I played out a lot of the great @Ambiance mixes. Here are some favs beyond any of the "Jungle Tekno" series:

Mouly Studio Set (1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luvNycgEySg
DJextreme Smooth Grooves Vol 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Rs5qbOPfU
Blu Mar Ten Studio Set 3 (1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw3aK_Y1fjQ&t=1376s
Total Science Volume 1 (1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toQldOJl0PY&t=1692s
Total Science Volume 2 (1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtCgNRquauE
Fabio Muzik Masters (1996): https://youtu.be/u46CErKyotk
Inner-Vation Movements (1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU3Rezgt-TE
Bailey Intelligent Drum & Bass (1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc5iPDvmEpE&t=11s
Assassins Chapter 1 LTJ Bukem (1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2A3JMSdxsM&t=2s
LTJ Bukem Unknown Set (1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sVl9WtBP14
LTJ Bukem presents HARDCORE Volume 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huGpZ4sqtcg
Peshay Studio Set (1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK8ilaPZbKE

And many more I'm sure I'm missing.

My latest Youtube find is the @MrFredericks channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/TomFredericks). He's started uploading incredible mixes too. Like these two:

Blu Mar Ten Studio Set 14 (1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrhZ6s3d0uE&t=3134s
Wax Doctor A Brief History (1994-1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iHSwYSXkPk&t=2116s

Still making my way through his channel.

However, the absolute thing on there is all these radio rips of LTJ Bukem's Cosmic Show on KISS FM. There are dozens on here with Bukem himself on the mic. A bit low quality and radio-y, but it gains a charm the more you listen to it.

Either way, it's an absolute glossary of the best tracks and artists from the era which you can follow up on if you want to go deep. Here's a great one:



What are your DnB favs, especially from the classic era?

There's so much from this era to uncover. I'm putting together links for this post and discover that Total Science and Funky Technicians are the same people! This is an all timer:

I wanted a reason to post this so here we go!

Very nice mix from the harder/jungle side of things! I started off my day with it today.

Ended last night with this:


The Fabio Kiss FM mixes are also incredible. Moved on to this one today:

This track shows up in so many comps and is worth shouting out because Aquasky are a great collective and it's worth tracking down their other stuff:

Starting the day with:


He showed up a bit later on the scene, but Big Bud is an incredible producer who smartly combines chilled out heavy grooves and dub flavor with a steady beat.

I've listened to his first studio album a lot:

Totally obsessed with Fabio right now:


If you like the middle period between hardcore and liquid, this 1994 mix is great.

This DnB exploration also has me checking out more hardcore jungle, early rave music, raggamuffin, etc.

Stuff like this that sets the foundation for the 90s is a trip:

chrondog wrote:Wax Doctor A Brief History (1994-1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iHSwYSXkPk&t=2116s

Wax Doctor is one of my favorite DnB producers in the jazzy break style, but this early track from him in the jungle techno vein is insane!!

Like Wax Doctor, Peshay, Flytronix, Photek and some of the other unimpeachable kings of liquid DnB, it's impossible to overstate how incredible nearly everything PFM touched is:

Coincidentally, Goldie and LTJ Bukem are at Detroit Movement fest this year. I know that doesn’t help you, living out west, but I figured I’d still post anyway.

Goldie is also at Primavera Sound in Barcelona which I would love to go to. Good to see they are making the rounds again.

Listening to this mix a ton recently, which stars with "The Eleventh Hour" (after the cut track):


Very fun to listen to the unmixed track back-to-back with the mixed track that is about 50% faster.

Intense - Only You is a track that people really seem to love. I'm a fan, but I'm more of a Wax Doctor - Heat kinda guy.

Absolutely ridiculous how good this fucker was:

I am chilling at work alone and listening to this.



I've never been able to get a really good feel for all the individual artists of this kind of music back from that period of time--save for those who had an incredibly specific sort of style that could only be associated with them, Photek etc.--so when I listen to these kind of mixes everything just kind of blurs together BUT that is kind of beautiful and I love it.

I have a very hard time getting into anything made by these artists once you get into the late 90s and beyond. The entire vibe changes and I hate most of it! I hate to be such a close-minded purist, I really do not like the aggression and the dark atmospheres that so much of this went towards as you get close to the end of that decade.

That compilation is fantastic. Mr. Fredericks actually blessed us with another 3+ hour compilation last week:



There is definitely a shift that began around 1998 where the technology got better and it became easier to make DnB, so more shitty music came out. I agree overall that the transition away from the "techno-optimism" of the 90s makes a lot of 2000s-era DnB very sterile and unlistenable, but there's still some decent stuff from the period.

In terms of my favorite micro-periods, I would say something like liquid/funky DnB > jungle > jazz-step/"intelligent" > early hardcore > late 90s smooth DnB. There's something to like from each style though.

I agree with you as well, Undo, I’ve never enjoyed the aggressive stuff as much. A lot of Goldie/Metalheadz stuff around this period was really harsh. In the Midwest scene the shift went hand in hand with the shift towards meth as the drug of choice rather than mdma. Tweekers and Ice were everywhere when I was going to parties in the late 90s, early 00s. Some close friends of mine got into it for a while, really tragic. The optimism of the early ‘peace, love, let’s all lay in a mush pile together’ turned into dancing until you have a heart attack, rampant paranoia, and, eventually, just staying home with the drugs.

I think this side of the music also appealed to younger kids who wanted to scare their parents. The sounds, mixed with the late 90s/00s meth media frenzy probably appealed to nu-metal adjacent kids. Gabber, drill & bass, breakcore, and the more extreme side of IDM all share this influence. Not saying the artists were on drugs, though they may have been, but the music clearly goes with the vibe of too much stimulation. I read an interview with Venetian Snares a while back where he said he smoked crack during the making of much of his early 00s music.

Evidence?  

BGwaves wrote:Goldie/Metalheadz stuff around this period was really harsh

I greatly respect what they're doing, but the Metalheadz are not usually my favorite. Not to say there aren't tons of tracks they put out that I like or they're not good, their core style is just not what I look for. In particular, Kemistry/Storm mixes aren't what I like, but I gotta respect that the ladies were going that hard that early on. I also respect Goldie as a pioneer, but he's not one of my favs.

To appropriate the language of the era and sound like a pretentious culture vulture: you'd find me down at Rage with Fabio and Grooverider on a Thursday night rather than at Blue Note with the Metalheadz.

BGwaves wrote:
Evidence?  

I have liked dubstep in my time. I like heavy breakbeat. I like classic rave. I can even get into some happy hardcore. But fully agree, this methed out shit isn't as good as something you can smoke a fat spliff to. That will always be where my heart lies.

DnB of the day.

One of the best Fabio mixes:


One of the best openers of any mix:


Source Direct aka X Files are absolutely massive. Bukem loved to drop "Secret Liaison" in a ton of his mixes:



A few other amazing tracks I've been putting on in isolation:

DnB of the day.

PFM is one of the most underrated producers and this is one of his best tracks

DnB of the day.

This is a Bukem Kiss FM mix that I'm absolutely wearing out. I'll give it to you on Soundcloud, since all these YouTubes are just being stolen from SoundCloud, in particular this "Deep Inside the Oldskool" channel.

https://soundcloud.com/ethereal94/ltj-bukem-kiss-100-fm-26th-july-1995-102-minutes?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

These tracks are among the absolute highest tier of golden era DnB rollers for me personally:

PFM - The Rough With The Smooth [Freezone 3: Horizontal Dancing LP]
Aquasky - Kauna [Moving Shadow]
Ils & Solo - Sweet Sunshine [Looking Good]
PFM - The Mystics [Good Looking]
Funky Technicians - No Mystery [Legend]
Funky Technicians - Airtight [Legend]

You know I love the jazzy style.

The tracks from Source Direct, Wax Doctor, Photek, Icons etc are also massive, just not quite the same level.

I will get to a dedicated post for Source Direct because those dudes were absolutely incredible.

Have you come across drum and bass on a bike?

I have not. That looks pretty fun. Two things that Europeans love a lot more than Americans: bikes and DnB.

I don't listen to much modern DnB like this. I like it, but I like the 90s stuff better. That's not a bad set, but nothing I'd gravitate towards at the moment. I'm in a phase!

I've enjoyed a Netsky track from time to time. I used to be a lot more into dubstep/skweee back in the SOMB days, which is adjacent to where modern DnB has gone.

Whatever track is at 1:18:00, I like that vibe. Junglist vibes.

Fucking incredible drumwork throughout:

Really sublime jazz-step from the middle of the golden era:





Insane to think these were an A/B side on the same record.