16 Jan 2024

1994 saw an indelible change in the UK music scene that would influence the global music landscape for decades to come. Jungle music started to emerge from the underground into mainstream music. Jungle music was the sound of a new era, broadcast on underground pirate radio stations and played in dimly lit clubs and warehouses the Jungle scene in 1994 was filled with creativity and collaboration. Join us as we take a 30 year journey back to 1994 to explore the legacy of a genre that continues to influence the electronic musical landscape to this day.

 

Incredible 

In ’94, M Beat’s “Incredible” marked Jungle’s debut on Top of the Pops, but controversy stirred in the ’90s. General Levy, in a Channel 5 documentary, shared how the track unfolded. While leaning towards dancehall, Levy had “The Wickeder General” album, featuring “Incredible,” already written pre-collaboration with M Beat.

 

M Beat revealed the backing track came from his earlier release, “Sweet Girl.” He handed it to Levy, who embraced the challenge, delivering powerful vocals. M Beat spent a week crafting the track.

 

The hit climbed to #8 on the UK charts, the first Jungle performance on Top of the Pops. However, some in the underground Jungle scene resisted mainstream recognition. To complicate matters, Levy was falsely accused of claiming to “create” Jungle, a misquote from a magazine. Onstage, he celebrated Jungle’s creation with pride, but a journalist condensed it to “I created Jungle,” leading to humiliation for Levy and a Jungle community boycott of the track.

Sweet love 

Marlon ‘M-Beat’ Hart has been releasing raw, sample-heavy jungle music for his father Junior’s Renk Records label since 1992. Although Sweet Love was made before Incredible,  Hart released it after Incredible and it charted at number 18 in the official UK singles chart. The track was a cover of the 1986 song by Anita Baker and featured Nazlyn, a London-based vocalist.

Ribbon in the Sky

Ribbon in the Sky was produced by Lloydie Crucial and released under his pseudonym The Concrete Junglist. The track was a remix of Stevie Wonder’s 1982 track and was a big hit back in 1994. It was one of 18 tracks released by Lloydie Crucial who stopped producing Jungle music in 1995 after which he turned to acting. 

Original Nuttah

Another iconic and timeless track that was born out of ‘94, Original Nuttah was produced by Shy FX with vocalist UK Apache. Shy FX was just 17 years old when he created the track. 

Ricky

The track produced by Remarc and Lewi samples a sound from the 1991 movie ‘Boyz n the Hood’. 

Burial 

The story behind how Burial was created has to be one of the most random turns of events. In an interview on DJ Ron’s podcast “London Some’ting” Jumpin Jack Frost described how he had been arrested for a serious offence and was sure he as facing a lengthy prison sentence. He sought comfort through the thing he loved the most, music. After a few phone calls Frost pulled together a mighty production team. The album was recorded at Dillinja’s studio, engineered by Dillinja alongside Optical, and mixed by DJ SS. Frost’s sister Yolanda provided the vocals for the B-side of the album.

Greetings – Half pint 

This 1994 track, produced by Don Loydie, Joe G and Lewi, is a remix of a song by a Jamaican artist called Half Pint. Half Pint’s original reggae track was released in 1986 and was reported to have been recorded in a single take. 

Dred bass

Dred Bass was produced by Lee Smith and Warren Smith under their collective name Dred Dred and released on Moving Shadow, one of the founding labels of the original Breakbeat / Jungle and Drum  and Bass scene.

Maximum Style Tom & Jerry

This debut track by the duo Marc Mac and Dego MacFarlane was produced under their alias “Tom and Jerry”. It ranked at number 156 of the Rolling Stones Top 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time. 

Worries in the Dance

This track by New Blood (A. Carrington, David Quamina and Nathan Pike) contains samples from 9 different tracks. Which I thought had to be a record of the most samples used in a single track. But apparently that goes to Daft Punks’ house track Face to Face which boasts a ridonkulous 70 samples. Worries in the Dance samples vocals and lyrics from Mary J Blige’s 1992 track ‘My Love’. Other tracks sampled include Capleton’s ‘Good So’, Beanie Man’s ‘Mobster” as well as Michael Rose’s ‘Stalk of Sensimilla’ and Frankie Rose’s ‘Worries in the Dance’ (both remixed by Saxon Dubplate).

You can find our 90s Jungle Playlist on our YouTube channel here.