DJ Crystl - The Dark Crystl/Inna Year 3000 (1993)

Getting back to where I was up to in my March jungle posts. This was Crystl's most famous tune as I recall (Hey I might be wrong as my brain is diminishing daily. Feel free to correct me). The Dark Crystl is undeniable darkside jungle choonage of historical significance to the hardcore continuum.

This was the flip.

*This is a test. Testing Testing 123....Let's hope these two audio clips work.

**POLITICSES ALERT

***I'm using Odysee which like Rumble is a Youtube alternative. Like Twitter pre-Musk Youtube has a retarded biased establishment left agenda (the mainstream democrat media line that actually blindly cheerleads big pharma, big tech, war etc.) so does not believe in free speech. In the last few days they have taken down videos of honest  commentators, who only want the truth backed by evidence and facts, because they didn't agree with their political viewpoints.

I'd love to never use the youtubes ever again as we don't need our information and thoughts policed, particularly by those Neil Young-crying into their man nappy Soviet types with authoritarian cheerleading tendencies, but unfortunately youtube have a cultural stronghold on music video content. 

The dude who runs the channel that these two DJ Crystl clips are from had his youtube account suspended a few months ago. Fortunately he had uploaded a mirror channel onto Odysee which I've only just rediscovered.  Anyway at this stage Rumble and Odysee seem to be the video content platforms that aren't the censorship arm of the establishment. For now it appears you are allowed free thought & speech so I'll be trying to use them as much as possible. 

Enjoy the music while you can as DJ Crystl's clips usually don't seem to stick around on these platforms for long. I'm guessing whoever runs hardcore Junglism is the copyright zealot who keeps reporting rogue Crystl clips. At this stage of the game you would think that keeping this music in the conversation is what is going to give it longevity. Every other hardcore/jungle/dnb artist is available to be discovered and listened to so this strategy is just going to write your music out of the game...anyway...

Keep on rockin' in the free world...

Parabellum - Sacrilegio

ULTRA METAL Pt II

More unhinged noise from Colombia in the 80s. This is uncategorisable. It's got elements of Hardcore, Thrash, Black Metal, Noise Rock & Death Metal but really it's not particularly any of these is it? It's so chaotic and amorphous it unwittingly becomes pretty psychedelic. Sacriligio is noise-y metal but I kinda hesitate to call it that because some micro-genre nerd has probably already claimed that as a pigeon hole for some other type of music. 

Some bright spark called this wave of metal coming out of Medellín, Antioquio, Colombia in the 80s Ultra Metal - and they were correct! 

Apparently Parabellum were one of the first extreme metal bands to come out of South America, possibly the original. I love that this glorious racket came out on my favourite Latin label Discos Fuentes who were responsible for bringing the tropical sounds of Cumbia to the world in the 20th century. There ain't no latin rhythms on Sacrilegio though.

ULTRA METAL

Ten years ago I discovered a lil' treasure trove of insane 80s South American metal on, I think, what was an Aussie extreme metal blog. Anyway you know how the best music is before a genre gets solidified, the stuff that's proto, that doesn't stick to the rules or genre boundaries because they are not set in stone yet. That's what this is. 

Most extreme metal fans would know Brazilian pioneers of the original 80s wave of black metal Sepultura, the terrific Sarcrófego and the great Cogumelo record label but who knows the groups of Colombia from the same era? Blasfemia were a side project for members of the Colombian black/death metal group Parabellum (more on them in the next post). Blasfemia released just one 12" and this is it. Guerra Total from 1988 contains an insanely hardcore black metal thrash hybrid that really could have been an entire new sub-genre. I guess it kinda was, almost was. A handful of disparate 80s Columbian metal groups were included in the umbrella term ULTRA METAL. There couldn't be a better word for it. The ultra metal groups came from Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia hence the alternate ultra metal title of Metal-Medallo. 

These four tracks from Blasfemia have got everything that is good about dark mental metal and there is no holding back or conformity to orthodoxy. They just wreak metallic havoc for 13 minutes. This should have been the future instead we got fucking nu-metal, groove-metal, metalcore, several thrash revivals etc.. I'll take this lo-fi unhinged cacophony any day of the week.

SCOTTIE - SUBNATION

Jamma - Candyman (1993)

Jamma is an alias for Subnation's W. Wilson. I never heard this back in the day but discovered it 10 or 15 years ago, probably on the Back To The Old School blog. Doomed belles of doom, Amen breaks, samples from the titular horror movie, a pitch black pummelling synth drone and noice rumbling dubby bass make this a lil' piece of terrific darkside jungle.    

Subnation - Scottie (1993)

Plenty has been written about this panic attack anthem. Peak jungle.

Warrior Bass - Ride The Rhythm (1994)

Step into the cold dark world of this darkside jungle weirdness on the verge of techstep from Subnation alias Warrior Bass. Some choice psychedelic backwards chopped drummage here!

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.

The Shining Soundtrack

...because more than anything this film is a great listen. As a movie it's a great soundtrack. Why were we searching for the ultimate industrial noise thrills in the 70s, 80s & 90s? when it was already done many years prior by classical composers then put into this incredible sound design by music editor Gordon Stainforth for one of the biggest mainstream horror flicks of our time. The Shining OST 1980, it's got all the Penderecki pomp, percussion, dissonance, buzzing, scraping, violent intensity, abstraction etc. I mean De Natura Sonoris 2 is noisier and better than anything Einstürzende Neubauten or Liabach ever did, falling spanner sound included. Don't forget the other orchestral dudes Bartok and Ligiti. Ligiti brings the ominous frequencies and electric drones while Bartok's more subtle strings, percussion and celesta eerily enchant until climaxing with a jolt. Then there's the 30s pop of Jack Hylton, Al Bowlly & Pet Van Steeden that 20 years later would inspire hauntology, in particular Leyland Kirby's musical project The Caretaker (which he named after Jack Nicholson's character). 

I wonder if there is a mix from the actual film's sound source as there are a few pieces of music missing here and it's the editing of this noise of the 20th century that brings the extra excitement. Anyway for now here is the track listing for this youtube version of the soundtrack which is much more comprehensive than the original vinyl version from the 80s:

1. The Shining Main Title by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind

2. Lontano by Ligeti

3. Music For Strings, Percussion, & Celesta by Bartok 

4. The Awakening of Jacob by Penderecki 

5. De Natura Sonoris No. 1 by Penderecki 

6. Polymorphia by Penderecki 

7. Masquerade performed by Jack Hylton 

8. De Natura Sonoris No. 2 by Penderecki 

9. It's All Forgotten Now by Al Bowlly 

10. Kanon by Penderecki 

11. Home by Van Steeden, Clarkson, and Clarkson 

12. Utrenja (Kanon Paschy) by Penderecki 

13. Utrenja (Ewangelia) by Penderecki 

14. Midnight, the Stars, and You by Henry Hall & The Gleneagles Hotel Band

Denroy Morgan - I'll Do Anything For You

The synth in this is just the best! Classic bit o 1981 boogie from Jamaican ex-pat in America Denroy Morgan. 

UNWOUND - REPETITION

UNWOUND - LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR

Unwound are more well known for the inferior bands they influenced than for their own actual music, such as Modest Mouse, The Trail Of Dead, At The Drive In, Black Dice etc.

After Twin Infinitives, Spiderland and Soundtracks For The Blind you could make a case for Unwound's 1996 LP Repetition as the fourth greatest innovative American noisy rock album record of the 90s. Discuss (or not I mean who cares at this point...)

UNWOUND - LADY ELECT

Intense with lackadaisical overtones. Emotional...

UNWOUND - FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT

You know a good LP when the best tune is the final track (cf. Gouge Away - The Pixies, The Bewlay Brothers - David Bowie). 

earth - omen and portents

I never like re-activated groups. The two exceptions are Swans circa The Seer and totally surprisingly Earth. This track puts me in mind of Rock Formations era Yawning Man but slower. Bill Frisell guests. A deep psych jam emerges from the doomed drone desert rock nexus.

Nunc Dimittis (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: End Credits) - Geoffrey Burgon

This is the song in the closing credits for each of the 7 episodes of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy which aired on the BBC is 1979. Apparently the singer is Paul Phoenix. This tune while already haunted has extra resonance today as the ill-informed, misguided and tyrannical woke-tard cultural revolutionists have now come to destroy choral music and church choirs. Object now! So this is the new punk-rock. 

This goes out to the heroic 80 year old granny objecting to cocks in her changing rooms at her local pool and the legendary lesbians who were banned today from a pride march in Wales for stating "Lesbians Don't Like Penises!"   

Kano - I'm ready

Future electro from 1980 by Kano. For a start that bass....then the vocal science....the untreated vocal melodies are like something Ariel Pink was influenced by circa Loverboy. The glitz & the glamour of Italo-disco bliss...

Hadji Baba - Gus Vali

Hadji Baba comes from a 1974 LP that's never been reissued so perhaps the collector cult builders who run reissue labels don't like it. Reminiscent of Can's ethnological forgeries, 70s Miles and Turkish psych, it's a super session of 70s psychedelic jazz-funk-fusion. Recorded in NYC by Greek American belly dancing advocate Gus Vali. A Middle-Eastern Afro-Cuban jam with an all star lineup that features Charlie Palmieri on the Fender Rhodes.  

Iration Steppas - Iration Steppas vs. Dennis Rootical

Choice "digi-dub" reggae from the mid 90s. Nothing produced by the dubstep people 10 years later was anywhere near as good as this tune. Massive.