Influences: The Maghreban

This guy made some of the best Hardcore / Jungle tunes. The musicality was kind of a step above what a lot of other people were doing. This tune just warms my heart.

Me or my brother bought this when it came out, probably from a record shop in Epsom. I hadn’t heard the crash cymbal part of the Amen break used before that so it sounded crazy to me. I’m not sure I understood fully what it was at the time, I just knew a lot of the tunes used it and I hadn’t heard it like that. What drum programming though. This is my favourite time for Jungle, just as the Hardcore was splitting off. What was left was dark, and thats what I loved. Just after that I got a basic sampler and began to find out more.

Obviously the whole EP is classic. This tune was my favourite though, in terms of darkness and heaviness.

This was our tune, my brother and I. He had it on a pirate tape and used to cane it very loud in the car. This is probably my favourite Jungle tune. So ahead of its time. So fast as well, compared to other tunes at that time. Was around 20 bpm faster than most other tunes.

Home Counties. The guy in the lounge. Hardware. Memories of going to studios in Essex, Leyton, Tottenham to mix things down. Staffies. Smoking joints. Soap Bar. Dudes in ponytails. What a time for Drum and Bass.

First time I heard this I spazzed out. I ended up badgering my mate for about a year until he gave me a copy. So heavy. Later on I’d chance upon the Keith Hudson tune that is sampled, which is a smasher too.

So many tunes. This LP though, Viktor Vaughn, what production from King Honey etc, so futuristic. Much prefer Doom over other poeple’s beats. The Madvillain demo tape.

There’s alot of Madlib beats obvoiusly, but this is one of my favourites. Sinister like. And the tune is short. I love that. Leaves you wanting more.

This came on in my favourite record shop, probably around 2008 or 2009. I had some Dub at the time, a bit of reggae like everyone else, but I’d only ever heard Ska that was happy and so basically wrote off the whole genre, since I didn’t get on too well with jovial music at the time. Then I heard this and it totally floored me, the soul in it, so sombre and moving. This led to me going on a detour trying to find as much sombre ska as I could for a while.

I heard a mate play this out and it totally ruined me. So heavy. This was when I was getting more into house and techno. This really helped get the blinkers off.

Back when I was record dealing I hated jazz funk. I’ve grown to love this stuff now. I would never have enjoyed anything this happy a few years ago. Theres a sort of naivety in it that I love though. Its good time music.