Jungle

(Columbia)
by Joshua Brown

Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble, but music known as “jungle,” arising primarily from black artists in the U.K., is the most significant musical innovation of the ’90s. And it’s only getting bigger and better with the passage of time. A few months ago, Goldie was formally recognized by the American music press as the leader of the genre, and now with more major U.S. releases, it’s becoming clear that jungle is a force no more controllable than the weather, a natural phenomenon that does not recognize leaders. The key since the beginning has been the integration of styles such as jazz, hardcore techno, reggae, ambient, rap and R&B, all laid over a foundation of frantic electronic breakbeats, a sound once novel to the human ear and evocative of great expanses of time with the collective unconscious. From the beginnings of sound as communication, to the future human exploration of remote worlds, the sound of jungle encapsulates it. Jungle-the sound of the underground endeavors to display the diversity within its own community, from early groundbreakers from England’s black contingent such as the track “Original Nuttah” by U.K. Apache and Shy FX, to American artists of differing racial origins who didn’t necessarily start out as junglists but who are now making their contribution, such as Philadelphia’s Josh Wink (winner of the Best Newcomer Award at the ’96 International Dance Music Awards at London’s Forum), New York’s Brazilian-born DJ Soul Slinger (creator of the Liquid Sky store and label), and European rave mainstays Leftfield. As far as jungle comps go, this is neither at the top nor the bottom of the heap quality-wise, but still quite pleasing to the soul. Other words associated with jungle: drum ‘n’ bass, intelligent, ragga, artcore.