THE DARKSIDE OF RAVE II

Mega City 2 - Dark Child (1993)

From a 1992 dubplate that was eventually released commercially a year later on the Demon By Daylight EP.  A haunting girls choir sing hymn-like melodies, occult-y percussion, dialogue from Children Of The Corn, backwards beats, a Japanese flute, rave riffs, needle scratches and rattling breaks make this one spellbinding journey into darkness.

Jim Polo - Voyager (1993)

Insidious chopped divas, record scratching, brittle infected beat science, eerie stretched ring modulators, horror dialogue and pitch-shifted bells all blend into this darkness. Further dark points are added as Voyager was issued on Dark Horse Records, an imprint run by Jimi & his 2 Sinister bandmate Neil Vass. Dark Horse started in 1993, released just 7 records and by 1994 the label was done and dusted. 

The Invisible Man - The End...(Drug Induced Psychosis Mix) (1993)

An uneasy vibe is followed by sinister tones then whooshes of darkness while the riddim fades in as the creaky gloom continues, further tension is added with Goblin-esque horror soundtrack soundz, at 3.09 a wobbly hoover drone blasts in, then we're informed it's the beginning of the end as we head into oblivion. 

D.O.P.E. - When I Was Young (1993)

This starts out of the gate with Amen breaks, then a sub bass drop at 0.13. Just as you're thinking this is gonna be a nice lil' toe tapper the creepiness starts to take over and before long you are enveloped in exquisite darkness. That malignant pitch-shifted Supertramp Logical Song sample is so sneakily inserted into the track that you barely even notice it's there until the tune is over and it has seeped into your brain.

Rufige Kru - Manslaughter (Part 1 Runners Edge) (1993)

Goldie is probably the only jungle celebrity on the planet but don't expect this tune to conform to any kind of commercial or dancefloor standards. This is twisted abstract dark ambient jungle except it's knackered and the malfunctioning beat just won't get up off the floor to get you on the floor. This is impeccable sound design for song blueprints for the future. The time for Manslaughter (Part 1 Runners Edge) still has not yet arrived and possibly never will. This is beyond! 

Rufige Kru - Dark Metal

Just saw this got the reissue treatment this year. I'm not sure I even know it. It wasn't on that Goldie comp from a couple of years ago and it was originally released after I stopped listening to jungle which had then become drum'n'bass and tech-step. This is pretty tech-steppy and I like a very lot. The dub space opens at one point and becomes extremely cavernous. I thought Goldie had stopped using the Rufige Cru/Kru name way earlier than this (97).

Who could have imagined this music (even a year or two earlier) it was upside-down-sideways and around the other way reversed but still had a bit of sweetness to it. This still sounds amazing today. We're still waiting for this future to arrive or are we? Have we given up on it to listen to the Take Me To Church guy?

This is really fucked up. They were really pushing the boundaries of what was a song weren't they? This is a lofty peak in mental darkside hardcore. The future's not half as delirious as the old imagined future. In fact the future turned out to kinda be the opposite to this didn't it?