Sacred - Do It Together (1992)

I just listened to this for the first time in 12 months and 30 years later I am fucking astonished, still. Do It Together is just so inspired and so inspirational. It's got the lot! All the hardcore elements of the past, present & future are here. Why even bother with words? They just fail to capture the essence of the dizzying heights (emotionally, artistically, culturally) of this tune. This is quite simply possibly the best breakbeat-hardcore-rave tune of the entire 90s.

Remarc and Lewi Cifer - Ricky

CAPE FEAR

All three of these tunes are from the 1994 Ricky 12" released on Dollar Records. I'm not really sure who Lewi Cifer is or what his contribution is here, who cares... I spose. A bangin Amen tune with samples from the 1991 Scorsese remake of Cape Fear. 

SCEPTIC

Okay here's a weird sample for ya...it's from Home Alone.

RICKY

I don't know which was first? Ricky, Subnation's Scottie or Johnny Jungle's Johnny? I always assumed the order was Johnny, Scottie and then Ricky was last. I could be wrong... at this point nobody cares. All three are bona fide classics. Anyway this was Remarc's contribution to the Panic Attack micro-genre. Sample a panic stricken character from a movie yelling somebody's name then add manic chopped beats and a tense atmosphere to match. Great fun. 

Remarc 1994

RIP - REMARC (1994)

Now for some undeniable classics that I've probably posted before but...

RIP is top 5 all time ragga jungle gem. 

THUNDERCLAP - REMARC (1995)

If you don't know anything about jungle just press play. 

1:33 is the moment you will know if you are a born junglist or not as the chipmunk samples clear and a reggae toast heralds the incoming Amen breaks followed by a pile-driving sub bass drop. The chopped up breaks are a supreme ruff rush of the manic variety. Hardcore. Peak jungle. 

DRUM N' BASS WIZE - REMARC (1994)

The "pizza de resistance" of Amen smashers Drum N' Bass Wize just gets better with age. This delirious choppage will have you hanging on every snare hit and gap in-between. There's just a smidge of a Mentasm in the background throughout and that hallucinatory time-stretched "drum n' bass wize" hook is irresistible. The best. 

*to be continued...

4HERO (Cold Mission & Project A-KO)

Cold Mission - For Da Ladies (1994)

A ruff rush where the hardcore rave spirit lives on a few years later. A rare bit of ragga jungle from 4HERO circa 1994. 

Project A-KO - Passion & Fire (1994)

Project A-KO is another 4HERO alias. Maybe later there was too much of this style which became the commercial public face of hardcore but this slice of mellow jungle into dnb from '94 is just sweet here. The unmistakeable sound of the mid 90s. 

Project A-KO - In Time (1994)

Staying true to '92 (in 94).

Internal Affairs (Goldie & 4 Hero) - Shinin' Down On Me 1993

On the surface this is a blueprint for radio/cafe friendly dnb that was to come in a year or two but give it another listen. Beneath the future gloss is a pretty deranged hardcore jungle tune. This is truly a sonic moment where the avant and the pop intersected. A real tension exists within this track where the pioneering hardcore underground elements meet the crowd pleasing commercial pop needs of the masses.  And yet it wouldn't be until the following year that Goldie would break into the charts with Inner City Life.

COLD MISSION 1994

Redy to Atak

Pretty mental jungle and so tinkered with in a dub tradition but it somehow becomes mellifluous. This paradox was not lost on listeners at the time. This is a 4HERO alias from one of their two 12"ers of 1994. 

 

The Sound Bizniz

Is this even jungle? Whatever it is, it's a journey into unorthodox beat science. Mac & Dego were known for pioneering a lot more than jungle. The secret to 4HERO's art was the broad palette of musical knowledge which they drew upon to come up with such boundary busting tunes. 

Drug Store Rude Boy

This is far out. 

Jungle from the other side. 

Uncanny.

Great.

Dreamers

Lovely ambient jungle until (as pointed out in the comments) the 3:24 mark when it's interrupted out of nowhere by something unnatural. Tainted euphoria. 

Source Direct

Shimmer (1994)

From the first Source Direct 12", Shimmer was the b-side. It starts out like a dolphin ambient almost shoegaze-y jungle thing before morphing into an amen smasher with diva after two and half minutes. Then at 3:49 we get the bleep-y technoid vibes as the bass drops continue and it smashes on. In 1994 you could have literally bought a record every day with an Amen break on it and they would have all been good.

Stars (1994)

After the atmosphere of the intro it's an Amen smasher all the way with a 1:37 sub bass drop for maximum speaker shaking. The 3:38 moment when the drums pull up for some dilapidated ambience is the subdued euphoric moment you're waiting for. 

Source Direct - Black Domina

Supreme choppage amongst the tense vibez. The gaps between drum hits are fascinating and that cymbal editing is top level mesmerising. 

GOLDIE - Still Life (Photek Remix)

What I love about this is despite it being drum'n'bass by this stage it's still a totally hardcore riddim. This was 4HERO on production & engineering and Photek on the remix. Still the future, has anyone come up with a better future?

GONG - The Isle Of Everywhere

Gong is.