In his vocal for "Digital," a track by jungle innovator Goldie [Real Audio or MPEG sound sample], Bronx rapper KRS-One compares the frantic music behind him to the Internet. It's natural to link cyberspace and drum-and-bass, two tech-driven and baffling gifts of the 1990s. After all, jungle is frantic mutant music as significant and singular as early rock and roll, and those duck-tailed baby boomers loved to sing about their radios.
Drum-and-bass, or jungle, is a complex child born of techno, dub reggae, and hip hop. It uses obvious digital manipulation to evoke truths about synthetic urban environments. Hard step jungle (rap) emulates US gangsta rap; ragga jungle (dancehall) struts its West Indian slang; jazzy jungle (bebop) uses acoustic bass and brass; armchair jungle (indie rock) is heady and undanceable; tech step (heavy metal) prefers a cold, aggressive palette; and intelligent jungle (new age) is the epitome of tranquillity.
Underneath the genre barriers, jungle's growth is best traced along the biology of the bass line. These deep throbs started around 1991 as gooney staccato thumps (see Johnny Jungle's "Johnny"), like a Donkey Kong machine with a thyroid problem, and melded together in sliding portamento slurs, creating an evocative wobbling effect (as on Origin Unknown's "Lunar Bass"). Starting in 1995 with tech step, the sounds darkened and were distorted to sound gritty and menacing. This year brought extended whiplash-inducing roller-coaster wallops like Deep Blue's "Helicopter," which begins appropriately with a "Fasten your seat belts" sample.
Good jungle is a dynamic and luscious collage of emotion and ingenuity at hectic speeds, like LTJ Bukem's uplifting "Horizons" and Doc Scott's apocalyptic "Shadow Boxing." During a party, DJs use elements from the same songs in their own different ways, shifting cut-up drum beats, melodic bits, and paranormal sound bites to fit a personal mix of merriment and melancholy. Junglists are a young and diverse community, all loosely united by this narrowly defined new language.
The creators of this sound are not planning on staying underground forever. Groundbreaking DJs that two years back were only heard on UK pirate radio like KOOL or KISS are today being brought to America by big business. Adam F's 1995 dance-floor anthem, "Circles," [.ra or .mp3] has been remixed for EMI. Luke Vibert, aka Plug, has re-released Drum'n'Bass for Papa on Trent Reznor's Nothing/Interscope. Roni Size [.ra or .mp3] is venturing into new territory by creating a full live band, Reprazent, for his Mercury Records debut, New Forms. Furthermore, the Ganja Kru (DJs Hype, Zinc, and Pascal) are supported by RCA, Photek's Modus Operandi is licensed to Virgin, and jungle godfather Grooverider's The Prototype Years was picked up by Sony/Columbia.
Ad agencies have lately latched on to the arresting new sound to promote electronics equipment, apparel, and automobiles. Earlier this year, David Bowie raided the jungle gene pool for his minor hit "Little Wonder," and the music press has reported that old fogies ranging from Eric Clapton to Hanson are eager to jump on the breakbeat bandwagon. Goldie was the first jungle artist to splash Stateside, so his second album, Saturnz Return (London/ffrr), will be the bellwether of future fortunes. He has served as an irrepressible mouthpiece for jungle, what he calls urban breakbeat culture. The shared hope of fans is that jungle will grow while remaining the province of originators like him, to be nurtured as innovation and not exploited as novelty.
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