Jungle is a

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

that developed out of the UK

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid

breakbeats Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...

, heavily

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "plac ...

percussive loops, samples, and synthesised effects, combined with the deep

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

s, melodies, and vocal samples found in dub,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...

, as well as hip hop and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

. Many producers frequently sampled the "

Amen break The Amen break is a drum break that has been widely sampled in popular music. It comes from the 1969 track "Amen, Brother" by the soul group the Winstons, released as the B-side of the 1969 single " Color Him Father". The drum break lasts abou ...

" or other

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and U ...

s from funk and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

recordings.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
Jungle was a direct precursor to the

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub- ...

genre which emerged in the mid-1990s.

Origin

The breakbeat hardcore scene of the early 1990s was beginning to fragment by 1992/1993, with different influences becoming less common together in tracks. The piano and uplifting vocal style that was prevalent in breakbeat hardcore started to lay down the foundations of 4-beat/ happy hardcore, whilst tracks with dark-themed samples and industrial style stabs had emerged from late 1992 and named

darkcore Darkcore (also referred to as darkside hardcore) is a genre of electronic dance music, considered to be a subgenre of breakbeat hardcore, which came out from the UK rave scene of the early 1990s; this genre in particular emerged from late 19 ...

. Reggae samples and reggae influenced tracks had been a feature of many breakbeat hardcore tracks since 1990 particularly from producers such as Shut Up and Dance, however Ibiza Records, and the Rebel MC were arguably the first to bring the sound system influence solidly into releases. The track "

We Are I.E. "We Are I.E." is a song by British breakbeat hardcore producer Lennie De Ice (real name Lenworth Green). It was first recorded in 1989, but not released until 1991 when it appeared on a four-track EP from Reel 2 Reel Productions, one of a number ...

" by Lennie De-Ice is often credited as being the track that laid down the foundations for jungle with its

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

bassline. During 1992 and 1993, the phrases "jungle techno" and "hardcore jungle" proliferated to describe that shift of the music from breakbeat hardcore to jungle. The sound was championed at clubs such as A.W.O.L., Roast, and Telepathy, by DJs such as

DJ Ron A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

, DJ Hype, Mickey Finn,

DJ Rap Charissa Saverio (born 7 December 1969), and better known as DJ Rap, is a British drum and bass, house and progressive electronic music producer and DJ. While the majority of her work is in the jungle style, her more successful work is in ...

DJ Dextrous Errol Francis, better known as DJ Dextrous, is a British DJ, producer and composer.Watts, Janet (2002)Jailhouse rock, rap and reggae, ''The Observer'', 15 December 2002. Retrieved 10 February 2013 Personal life Dextrous was born and raised in ...

, and

Kenny Ken Ken Delsol (born 12 December 1969), better known as Kenny Ken, is a British jungle and drum and bass DJ and producer. Biography Kenny was working for London Transport when his first big break came around in 1989 as a result of him being a re ...

, record labels Moving Shadow, V Recordings,

Suburban Base Suburban Base Records is a British breakbeat hardcore, rave and jungle/drum and bass record label. It is based in Romford, Havering, England. It was established by Danny Donnelly and operated in the UK from 1990 to 1997 and in the United State ...

, and Renk, and on

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

stations such as Kool FM (regarded as being the most instrumental station in the development of jungle) but also

Don FM Don FM was a 1990s London pirate radio station, influential in the development of breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum and bass music. It was the first jungle pirate station granted a temporary legal license. Don first broadcast in November 1992 ...

, Rush, and Rude FM. Tracks would span breakbeat styles, particularly with

, with notable releases including "Darkage" by DJ Solo, " Valley of the Shadows" by Origin Unknown, "Set Me Free" by Potential Bad Boy, " 28 Gun Bad Boy" by A Guy Called Gerald, "Crackman" by

, "A London Sumtin" by Code 071, "Learning from My Brother" by Family of Intelligence, "Lion of Judah" by X Project, and "Be Free" by

Noise Factory was a Japanese video game developer and publisher based out of Osaka, it was one of the developer companies of SNK, established by former Atlus staff members who previously worked on ''Princess Crown'' for Sega Saturn. Its more known games were ...

. Techniques and styles could be traced to such a vast group of influencers, each adding their own little elements. According to

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on musi ...

, jungle was like: "Britain's very own equivalent to US hip-hop. That said, you could equally make the case that jungle is a raved-up, digitised offshoot of Jamaican reggae. Musically, Jungle's spatialised production, bass quake pressure and battery of extreme sonic effects, make it a sort of postmodern

dub music Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican r ...

on steroids." This is an example of the effects of the sonic diaspora and the wide influence musical genres have; Jungle is where these different Black Atlantic genres converge. Reynolds noted the audience of the genre evolved alongside the music itself; going from a "sweaty, shirtless white teenager, grinning and gurning" to a "head nodding, stylishly dressed black twenty something with hooded-eyes, holding a

spliff A joint (), also commonly referred to as a "doobie" or "doob", is a rolled cannabis cigarette. Unlike commercial tobacco cigarettes, the user ordinarily hand-rolls joints with rolling papers, though in some cases they are machine-rolled ...

in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other." Jungle also served as "a site for a battle between contesting notions of blackness".

Rise and popularity

Jungle reached the peak of its popularity in 1994/1995. At this stage, the genre was spawning a number of UK top 40 hits, most notably "

Incredible Incredible may refer to: Music Albums * ''Incredible'' (Clique Girlz album) or the title song, 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap album), 1968 * ''Incredible'' (Ilse DeLange album), 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Mary Mary album) or ...

" by M-Beat featuring General Levy, and spawned a series of CD compilations such as ''Jungle Mania'' and ''Jungle Hits''. A controversy raged over the success of "Incredible" when Levy reportedly made comments in the media that he was "running jungle at the moment". Although Levy always argued that his comments were misinterpreted, this did not fail to stop a boycott of the single amongst a group of DJs that were dubbed as the "Jungle Committee". Labels such as Ibiza, 3rd Party and Kemet were prolific in their releases. Having previously been confined to pirate radio, legal stations woke up to jungle from 1994. London's Kiss 100 launched its ''Givin' It Up'' show in early 1994 and featured DJs such as

, Jumpin Jack Frost,

, and Mickey Finn. A year later, the UK's nationwide broadcaster

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

finally gave jungle a platform on its ''One in the Jungle'' weekly show. Major labels such as Sony and BMG were signing deals with artists including A Guy Called Gerald, Kemet, and

. Of these, Roni Size and

4hero 4hero are an electronic music group from Dollis Hill, London, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Denis "Dego" McFarlane. While the band is often cited as ''4 Hero'' or ''4-Hero'', the name is stylised as ''4hero'' on their albums and ...

would achieve wider commercial success as

artists, but continued to release more underground jungle tracks - the latter adopting the alias

Tom & Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

to continue to release rare groove sampling dancefloor-oriented jungle. The underground classic "Burial" by Leviticus would see a major release on

FFRR Records FFRR Records (sometimes credited as Full Frequency Range Recordings) is a dance music label previously run and founded by English DJ Pete Tong. Originally the dance music label of London Records, FFRR is currently a sublabel of Parlophone ...

. Jungle music, as a scene, was unable to decide whether it wanted to be recognised in the mainstream or if it wanted to avoid misrepresentation. This manifested in the cooperation of jungle artists and small record labels. Small record labels worked to provide more autonomy to the music artists in return for their business and jungle music was proliferated by pirate stations in underground networks and clubs. Whilst the media would in part feed off jungle music success, it also perpetuated negative stereotypes about the scene as being violent. The seminal 1994 documentary ''A London Some 'Ting Dis'', chronicled the growing jungle scene and interviewed producers, DJs, and ravers to counter this perception. 1996 and 1997 saw a less reggae-influenced sound and a darker, grittier, and more sinister soundscape. Hip-hop and

-influenced tracks dominated the clubs in this period. Dillinja, Roni Size,

Die Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

, Hype,

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

, Alex Reece and Krust were instrumental in the transition of the jungle sound to drum and bass. By the end of 1998, the genre's sound had changed forms significantly from the sound heard earlier in the decade.

Popular subgenres

Ragga jungle

Ragga jungle would become a major subgenre during 1994 and 1995, with popular tracks such as "Incredible" by M-Beat featuring General Levy, " Original Nuttah" by UK Apachi and Shy FX, "Sound Murderer / RIP" by Remarc, "Limb by Limb" by

Hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...

featuring Cutty Ranks, and "Code Red / Champion DJ" by Conquering Lion.

Jump-up

In 1995, jump-up would also become a popular subgenre which came out of hardstep, with influences of various kinds of sound experiments, most importantly the bass line. Popular tracks of this subgenre include "Dred Bass" by Dead Dred, "Super Sharp Shooter" by

DJ Zinc Benjamin Pettit (born 12 March 1972), better known as DJ Zinc, is a British DJ and record producer. Zinc first became known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop/jungle fusion, notably one of the pioneering jump-up anthems of its time. ...

, "This Style" by Shy FX, "R.I.P" ( DJ Hype Remix) by Remarc and DJ Zinc's remix of the

Fugees Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with i ...

' " Ready or Not". The genre would later regain popularity in the early 2000s with new productions by artists such as Shimon & Andy C,

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell. Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, a ...

, DJ Hazard and

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...

Sociocultural context

Jungle was a form of cultural expression for London's lower class urban youth. The post- Thatcherite

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

of the early 1990s had left many young people disenfranchised and disillusioned with a seemingly crumbling societal structure. Jungle reflected these feelings; it was a notably more dark, less euphoric style of music than many of the other styles popular at raves. The music was much more popular with black British youths than other rave styles, such as

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

, even though it was heavily influenced by these other rave styles, including those that emerged from the United States. Jungle was also seen as "England's answer to hip-hop", with the goal of breaking down racial boundaries and promoting unification through its multiculturalism—drawing from different cultures and attracting mixed crowds at raves. Jungle's rhythm-as-melody style overturned the dominance of melody-over-rhythm in the hierarchy of Western music, adding to its radical nature. Moreover, the greater accessibility to sampling technology allowed young people to inform music with their own sampling and experiences.All Black Jungle Fever Documentary 1994. erlinLabel Worx; Sentric Music Publishing, and 2 Music Rights Societies, 1994. Youtube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pboSETUoSko. Accessed 19 Mar. 2021. Sampling technology was much more inexpensive and accessible allowing young people to work on their music in their homes rather than needing a grand recording studio. Gangsta Jungle reflects how young people were able to inform their own music. Gangsta Jungle reflects the reality of violence young Black Britons were facing. Gangsta Jungle served as an escape and as a revolutionary symbol for young Black Britains coming of age story. Characterised by the

and multi-tiered rhythms, Jungle drew support from British b-boys who got swept up into the rave scene, but also from

, electro and rap fans alike. Reynolds described it as causing fear and "for many ravers, too funky to dance" yet the club scene enjoyed every second.

Etymology

The origin of the word jungle is one of discussion. Rebel MC is often noted for having popularised the term, and in

' book ''

Energy Flash ''Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture'' is a book by English music journalist Simon Reynolds which chronicles the development of dance and rave music from the mid 1980s to the early 2000s. The book was published in the Un ...

'', MC Navigator is quoted as attributing the word to him. Others such as MC Five-O attribute it to MC Moose, whilst Rob Playford (of Moving Shadow) attributes it to MC Mad P (of

Top Buzz Top Buzz are a British breakbeat hardcore and jungle DJ/ MC duo. History Top Buzz were originally formed in 1988 by MC Patrick Jarrett ("Mad P"), DJ Mikee B and DJ Jason Kaye. All originate from areas in north London, Tottenham and Enfield res ...

). Some thought of this term as empowering, an assertion of the blackness of the music and its subculture, inverting the racist history of the term "jungle music".

Notable releases

Notable releases include: "Burial" by Leviticus, "Dangerous" by

, "Lover to Lover / Maximum Style" by

, " Original Nuttah" by Shy FX, "All the Crew Big Up" by Roni Size & DJ Die, "

/ Sweet Love" by M-Beat, "The Helicopter Tune" by Deep Blue, "Super Sharp Shooter" by

, "Sovereign Melody / Lion Heart" by Dillinja, "Everyman" by

, "The Victory / Lovable" by

, "Bad Ass" by

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols incl ...

, "The Lighter" by DJ SS, and "Tiger Style" by DJ Hype.

Crossover with drum and bass

The term "jungle" is often used as a synonym for drum and bass, particularly in the United States. More commonly, jungle is viewed as the originating point for drum and bass, with the progressive changes brought by artists in the late 1990s serving as the point of diversion (some examples being Trace &

Ed Rush Ed Rush is the stage name used by the drum and bass producer and DJ, Ben Settle (born 1973). Rush has been releasing records since 1992 and primarily with his musical partner Optical (Matt Quinn), since 1997. Along with Optical he is also the c ...

, LTJ Bukem, Photek, Jack Smooth,

Digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals ** Digital camera, which captures and stores digital ...

, Total Science,

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in ...

and

Optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

Re-emergent jungle scene

A thriving underground movement producing and developing tracks in the style of the 1990s and some original (though mostly mainstream drum and bass) jungle producers have noticed this new enthusiasm for the original sound. Shy FX, for example, launched the Digital Soundboy label in 2005 to put out more jungle. The early to mid-2000s saw a jungle revival in the emerging drum-funk subgenre, with labels such as Scientific Wax, Bassbin Records and Paradox Music pushing for a more breaks orientated sound. Technicality and Bassbin events in London were spearheading this return to more traditional elements of jungle music. The UK is still the spiritual home and nucleus of jungle to this day. An event called Rupture gained popularity between 2007 and the present for hosting and promoting more traditional styled jungle/drum & bass music and artists. The event and subsequent label have promoted new producers such as Forest Drive West, Tim Reaper, Dead Man's Chest and Sully, and the scene is very much thriving. As well as old heads and artists coming out of retirement, modern jungle is enjoyed by the younger generations who missed jungle the first time around. One of the scenes originators, Congo Natty, continued to release jungle music throughout the 2000s, culminating in the 2013 album ''Jungle Revolution''. In 2018,

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in J ...

capitalised on the current trend of jungle with their album '' RTRN II JUNGLE''. The album was not however jungle in its pure form, and catered more towards pop music fans.