Next up in our All Crews International interview series, we’re off to the frozen north to get the debrief on Finnish Jungle Drum & Bass…
Fanu
You’re a prolific producer, what three tunes of yours are you the most proud of and why?
Siren Song (Subtitles 2005).
This song put me on the map, and I’d be faking it if I didn’t mention this one. A D&B song that is not trying to be D&B, songs like that are often the most interesting to me. Quite timeless, too, people still come to me about it. It has its 20-year anniversary in January 2025!
Baretta (Metalheadz 2018).
This is the first song of mine that Goldie picked for Metalheadz. I had been musically depressed for a good while, and him picking this up happened at the perfect time and brought my inspiration back! Also, it’s not really DNB and Metalheadz went for it which makes it an interesting first Headz tune. When the vibe is right, genre isn’t so important. Actually, I did a slower tempo EP for them later called Balcony Acid EP.
Dreams Are Like Water (Lightless 2005)
This song is from a period where making music was to me at its most magical. Often making music on summer nights, literally till the morning, when the sun came up. I always lost track of time, the world was off, and music was on. This and the whole Daylightless album takes me back to that era. One function of music is to capture one’s mindset during a certain period, and I succeeded in that with this one. Also, it was a formative era of exploration, no genres or sticking to BPM, just music.
What inspires you to write so much music?
Making music is as close to magic as anything in this life can be. It’s that kind of magical realm that takes you away from the mundane. This component is essential in our lives. I think my whole music-making life (I started in 1992) has been just a search for that one perfect song. It’s about chasing that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you know you won’t get it, but it’s the chase that makes it all worthwhile and that chase makes for a great body of work.
If and when you decide to stop writing music, how would you like people to remember the music you created?
Timeless (hopefully) music from a guy that always paved his own path and adhered to no trends. The connecting thread in a lot of the music I’ve created is this kind of otherworldly component. Like I said, it’s all about escaping this mundane everyday realm… Not just something that’d work in a club; that’d be easy to do…
It’s much harder to create something that takes you to another place. I’ve always tried to go against the grain and make stuff others didn’t. Something like that!
Find Fanu on Bandcamp, Instagram, Soundcloud
Mineral
You traveled to the states to play in 2024 for the first time. How was that?
Travelling to the states to play was beyond my wildest dreams. It was an awesome experience to play some of my favorite D&B and represent lots of Finnish sounds. I had a great time with the crews in Boston & Philadelphia. Many thanks to DJ Trace from DSCI4 for making all of this possible.
What can listeners expect to hear from you in 2025?
Thanks for the feedback. You can expect some fresh atmospheric D&B, also some Techstep with old school spices is in the pipeline. Additionally, I have done some recent experiments on other genres as well with Omni Music label head Eschaton, so I will do my best to stay creative and come up with new perspectives in the future as well.
How have your skills as a DJ evolved from when you first started playing, to now?
DJing has been a great adventure since day one. I guess the biggest change has been the shift from vinyl to digital, as the technologies have evolved. Because of this I have been able to play more of my own music in my sets to make the sets unique. Many thanks to all of you who have listened to my music and sets, and of course to all the djs who have supported my music!
Find Mineral on Instagram, Soundcloud
ESC
Please tell our All Crews readers what the Jungle Drum & Bass scene is like in Finland?
I’ve been in the scene since the mid-90s, and I’ve seen the ups and downs. At the moment we have a small but vivid scene. New producers are emerging frequently, and you can hear Finnish jungle/dnb weekly on the national YleX radio (Finland’s equivalent to the BBC). I’ve also been happy to see different crews collaborating much more lately.
Which labels would you like to release on someday and why?
The more I’ve worked with different labels, the more I’ve come to appreciate those that are easy to communicate with and run their businesses well. That’s why I’ve wanted to keep working with Straight Up Breakbeat (Big up ODJ Dizzy!). I also really love labels like Western Lore, Future Retro London and Bukva Sound, and it would be amazing to see my work released on them someday.
As a DJ, what kinds of tracks do you love to include in your sets?
It always depends on the event and what kind of sound I’m feeling at that moment. I tend to focus on breaks, but I’ve never wanted to pigeonhole myself. Be it atmospheric, ravey jungle techno, or tech steppy bits, as long as it has good break works and fat subs, I’m likely to play it.
Find ESC on Souncloud, Instagram
ODJ DIZZY
Please tell our All Crews Readers all about Straight Up Breakbeat.
Hailing from Helsinki, Finland, we focus on breakbeat-driven drum & bass and what some might call “modern jungle”. Keeping the original, forward-looking ethos of Jungle Drum & Bass alive, and hopefully giving it a Nordic twist, both with the sounds and also visuals for example. Events under the Straight Up Breakbeat brand go back to 1996, hence the sub-label / alias SUBB1996. The label had a brief stint around the millennium but launched for real five years ago.
You’ve had some unreal artists release on your label, what other artists that you’ve not featured on Straight Up Breakbeat would you like to have on and why?
I’ve been in talks with many artists over the past few years, but the timing just hasn’t been right yet. So let’s keep this one a secret! There’s a lot of great new talent out there, so I also want to be able to support them. Park Shadow is a great example of this, we also put out the first vinyl releases by DJ Sofa and Aeon Four with many more after that. Having said that, I wouldn’t say no to a Photek or a Lemon D release for sure haha!
As a Jungle Drum & Bass music label boss in 2025, what do you think labels can do to push the sound forward?
Keep pushing for original sounds, and music that has a personality. Back in the day, you could tell which one was a Dillinja track, and which one by Krust. On the label, Fanu, Resound, Aeon Four, and Basic Rhythm all have that, Sully and Skeptical are two other great examples of this today. Also, support diversity, whether it comes to influences, origins, or backgrounds for anyone involved. Jungle Drum & Bass is so much bigger than any of us could have thought 30 years ago, there is room for all kinds of sounds. The biggest risk for the genre is that it gravitates to just a wall of sound around exactly 174 BPM.
