Having reached radio and other mainstream channels, Jungle was a significant part of British music but the moment that flipped the scene’s popularity on its head was Goldie’s 1995 album ‘Timeless’ on the most influential label in Drum & Bass music, Metalheadz. This is where Pirate radios and illegal raves were influential in giving information to the heads about the ‘midweeklies’ which would give them a chance to rave to the forms of music they liked and these mid-weeks turned out to be the cornerstone in the rise of the underground. While Jungle was spiraling quickly into the mainstream world where clubs would be packed with people flowing in numbers to enjoy the music, the purists started missing deeper and darker sounds, they had a penchant for. These pirate radio stations along with their music were also influential in providing information about illegal raves happening in the city or the country. They were a big part of creating the hype and buzz and feeling of belonging as well.” said Exit Records head honcho, dBridge in an interview with Red Bull while talking about influence of pirate radio stations in the rise of the Jungle sound. “I remember driving around South London at the time you could pick up 14 or 15 pirate Drum & Bass stations. With the ultimate pioneers like Fabio and Grooverider and labels like Moving Shadow, V Recordings, Suburban Base, and Good-Looking Records, the genre saw a prodigious emergence of Jungle with labels and artists trying their hands on different sonic effects and the popularity grew to a point where London city saw a huge spike in pirate radio stations that were pushing the Jungle sound. Since its inception in the UK rave scene, and unlike Hardcore, Jungle kept growing in its stature with every passing year. From the 4-part series, this piece will feature the transition from Jungle to Drum & Bass where we will take a journey through the birth of Neurofunk and Liquid Drum & Bass. What will now follow will be arguably THE most reinvigorating time Drum & Bass went through as a genre and as an underground community.
In the previous piece, we looked back at the evolution of Drum & Bass from its roots which stretched from The Winstons to Carl Cox to the early Jungle era and finally the birth of Drum & Bass in 1993.
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