In these dark times one of the things that'll help get us through is music. Over the past six months I've been putting together a Spotify playlist of DnB and Jungle from the 90s to the mid-2000s. It started off as a few hundred tracks but has gradually ballooned to a whopping 2750 at the time of writing. That's 294 hours or over twelve days of constant breakbeat pressure.
I initially put it together for my job as I work mainly by myself so have total control over the stereo. I quite regularly have to put in long hours and didn't want a playlist that repeated too much so the idea was to collect together as many quality tunes from the golden era as possible. It became a labour of love as I started searching for more tracks to add, while trying to keep the standard high. Now is the time to share it with you all.
Clubs and venues are temporarily closing due to Covid-19 which is putting DJs and musicians out of work. Revenue from Spotify won't go a long way to replace lost income. But if you find something you like in this playlist then buy the digital or physical if available, ideally directly from the artist or label's own website or bandcamp if possible. Every little helps.
I have a wide taste in DnB so this playlist contains everything from "Intelligent" to Jump Up, Liquid to Neurofunk, Ragga Jungle to Tech Step, Darkcore to Sambass. There are lots of labels with large parts of their back catalogue available including Metalheadz, Ram Records, Good Looking, Reinforced, V Recordings, Playaz, Virus, Renegade Hardware and C.I.A. But there are of course some huge holes - barely anything from Moving Shadow being the one that comes to mind.
There is plenty that I was pleasantly surprised to find on Spotify though, such as compilations from IQ Records and Ruffneck Ting. The playlist is still being regularly updated with recent examples including tracks from the new Soul Jazz compilation Black Riot: Early Jungle, Rave and Hardcore, Harmony's The Early Years 1993-1996 and Aphrodite's Aphro Classics 5: The Jungle Releases.
Wherever possible I've only used the original mixes of tracks (and remixes from the era), but sometimes a big tune is only available in a more recent version. So as long as it's a remix that doesn't stray too far I've made the concession, Bladerunner being a good example of an artist whose remixes are sympathetic to the originals. I've also added releases from labels such as Deep Jungle and Dom & Roland's Dubs From The Dungeons who unearth unreleased material.
So give the playlist a follow and whether you are still going to the office, working from home or self isolating I hope it lifts your mood and helps keep you going. It's best played in shuffle mode, although I couldn't help starting it with Moving Fusion's 'The Beginning' and finishing with Optical's 'The End, Pt 1'.
If you have any suggestions for the playlist please let me know in the comments. Keep checking the blog as I'm planning to get more posts up soon, with track breakdowns, guest contributions and some special features in the works. Stay safe and much love.
Labels: DnB, Intelligent, Jump Up, Jungle, Liquid, Neurofunk, Ragga Jungle, Spotify, Tech Step