If you rounded up a load of us early radio pirates, and told us that in 10-20 years time we’d be able to broadcast Jungle Drum and Bass to the world from our rooms over the internet.. we’d think you were having us on!
With the vast amount of sets being recorded and uploaded online nowadays, it can be hard to keep up and discover the progressive mixes still pushing the UK sound forward. Luckily we’ve been here at All Crews HQ to find the fiyah and pick out the mixes that you really need to listen to!
A new mix is included in each of our monthly newsletters (which you can subscribe to here) but these are our favourites from the last six months in case you’ve missed any, including a bonus mix from the queen of sheba herself, Sheba Q.
Sheba Q
Whipping out Sully’s modern classic ‘Soundboy Don’t Push Your Luck‘ as well as a timeless Peshay cut and one or two of her own productions, Sheba’s set for LGBTQ+ junglists Queer Rave is nothing short of flat-out. Furious styles on this one!
Double O and Rupture
For December’s mix, I chose Double O and Mantra’s Rupture mix for Rinse FM. Moving from a revivalist Jungle tip through to some contemporary Drum and Bass and ending with some Darkside Hardcore sonics courtesy of London don Tim Reaper. Definitely worth a listen.
Flight
In December I was lucky enough to catch DJ Flight’s set at the final Alchemy event of the year at Tottenham Hale pop-up venue, The Cause. Check this recording of Flight’s mix from that night.
Chickaboo is on MC duty and guides Flight’s mix from spacier, laid-back rollers into some darker peak-time shellers that fuse heavy, yet sculpted modern b-lines with heritage Jungle flavours.
Tasha
I’ve dug right into the archives for this month’s mix, and picked out a vintage Jungle set Tasha put together for Alix Perez’s 1985 label takeover of a Keep Hush night back in 2019.
I’ve been a fan of Perez’s slick liquid productions for a while, but Tasha’s mix for his 1985 label is a revivalist rewind to the snarling bass-weight chaos of vintage Ragga-Jungle cuts.
You can hear Tasha’s Techno expertise bleed through in the precision of the blends. It’s one of the most spotlessly mixed vinyl sets I’ve heard for a while, and definitely worth a listen.
Tim Reaper vs A Guy Called Gerald
My mix of the month for March is @futureretrolondon boss Tim Reaper’s recent Radio 1 Essential Mix. The rumbling selection reminded me of Gerald’s legendary Essential Mix back in 1995.
Nia Archives
I’ve picked out Nia Archives’ Radio One from March. A graduate of EQ50‘s mentorship scheme, Nia arrived on the airwaves as a new-gen Junglist and fully-formed artist over 2021. Nia approached making UK flavour dance music from Hip-Hop beatmaking, and this influence shows through in the sunny sounds she uses in her own productions, as well as what she selects when behind the decks.
Rumbleton
Here’s Toronto Jungle don Rumbleton‘s most recent online mix. I first heard about Rumbleton through a Rupture fan that I met at their last birthday event, Anna, who’d flown over from Scandinavia just to go to Rupture. Jungle Drum and Bass has no borders!
A full interview with Anna about her global Jungle Drum and Bass pilgrimages will feature in the updated All Crews.
DJ Rap
Scene stalwart DJ Rap was one of the internet’s most prolific live streamers over lockdown. From Darkside Hardcore to Classic Breaks, the range of genre-themed sets Rap put out was a real testament to her versatility as a DJ. I think we all know which one I was going to select though… Her fiyah Jungle Drum & Bass vinyl mix!
