Year In Review 2014

looking back at 2014 I would view it in a positive manner, perhaps the key phrase has been 'quality over quantity' 2 years ago, it seemed like the 140/Future Jungle/Jungle Breaks sound was peaking, it was getting good exposure on the internet and the breaks section of many popular download stores was full of Future Jungle not just from dedicated labels and artists but even by others who had taken an interest and were experimenting with the sound. A special mention has to go to Boomsha Recordings established in 2012, the label has gone from strength to strength and in the last year gave us full artist LPs from Bay B Kane, DJ Aitch & Schoco that truly are landmarks for the scene. Since 2012 things have quietened down somewhat, its true but the overall quality of production has stayed strong and a steady flow of good muisc has come from stalwarts like Top Drawer Digital, Warehouse Wax, Bad Habit Muzik, Sub Slayers and notable others, the scene is still healthy, we reached over 1k organic followers on our facebook page and our soundcloud has gone well over 9k plays and countless downloads, a massive thanks to all who have contributed to this and to everyone who has featured here on the blog. This was also the year the Radiokillaz had a guest mix of full on Future Jungle on 1Xtra, So a fairly short and concise year in review, I'd like to mention some of my favourite tunes of 2014

Myk Dubz, Path Generator & lily Garcia-The Pressure [Boomsha Recordings]

From the jazzy intro to the slow building half time mid section through to the 150BPM Hip Hop influenced Future Jungle that takes us to the end of this 6 minute sonic journey, this should go down as one of the finest moments of Future Jungle in this writer's opinion, my words won't truly do it justice, it has to be heard to be appreciated.

Strange Rollers- Dance With Me [Warehouse Wax Music]
A year in review just wouldn't be complete without mention of Strange Rollers, taken from the excellent multi genre 'Outrageous EP', slick piano rave meets 140 Jungle in a mighty soundclash!!!

Beagle-Makkathran [Top Drawer Digital]

This track fits perfectly into the TDD style, a dark opus of subtle stabs and amens from one of the scene's hidden gems, the ever so talented Beagle

Curious-Sky High [Bad Habit Muzik]


Simply a massive tune tune from Curious, rolling 140 Jungle with infectious pads, anthem status!!!!

King Yoof-Soundboy Love [Sub Slayers]


King Yoof turns out yet another amazing track with the dub reggae 140 Jungle vibes of 'Soundboy Love', a timeless summery riddim

There were plenty more highlights in 2014, once again, big ups to every artist, label, DJ, promoter and fan who has supported the scene this year!!!

1 Year Anniversary for Bad Habits trackitdown.net feature

In the space of one year, Bad Habit Muzik have had phenomenal success, a consistent run of No1 spots on Trackitdown's Breaks chart featuring the cream of the crop from the 140 Bass/Future Jungle scene and it doesn't stop there. Just this week Bad Habit Muzik dropped their new release which sky-rocketed to the number one spot in both Deep House and Breaks charts.

Bad Habit have showcased a diverse range of sounds from the euphoric 94 Jungle style of 'Bad Magic' by Disrupta & Sonic Fixation to a string of quality releases in the 140 style by Strange Rollers including the incredible remixes of U.S Hip Hop/Electro Legends, The Imperial Brothers and Knights Of The Turntable vocalist Dani B through to 100me's future jungle track remixed by Radiokillaz 'From Within' featuring the vocals of Rachel Wallace of Suburban Base fame.

With regular reviews in DJ Mag Breaks Charts they continue to push the scene forward.."we have achieved 14 No1s in 15 releases which again is something we pride ourselves and the choice of artists and producers we work closely with..(an industry record I think?)". Chris Nurding

https://www.trackitdown.net/news/show/105799.html

Year In Review 2012

Its truly been a very productive year for the scene and I think everyone involved can deservedly give themselves a pat on the back for sheer hard work and dedication. The established imprints(and you all know who you are!!) have continued to put out quality releases all through the year, not only that, but they have also brought new producers into the foray and kept the scene fresh and innovative, big ups to all the major imprints laying down and maintaining the foundations.

There have been a number of new imprints that have really shone, 3 of which are Bad Habit Muzik, Digital Acetate and Boomsha, all 3 labels have put out some simply amazing releases and are going to be even bigger in 2013, I urge you to go and check their back catalogues on the download stores if you haven't already.

Also, a massive shout must be given to the growing movement of Future Junglists over in the U.S.A, a big big shout out to WE Recs, Dub Chamber, Woofer Cooker, Tonz Of Drumz and Kings Connect and all the DJs and producers involved.

There have been a few niggling issues such as some people's objections towards the name of this sound and a small debate about which name is preferable. Some have misunderstood the '140' tag as being a creative block but in my honest opinion, all the above mentioned scenarios are to be expected and exist within pretty much every genre of EDM. The reaction to Future Jungle has generally been positive, after all, its a 'join the dots' genre and holds appeal if you like Old Skool, DnB, Jungle, Breaks or Dubstep. There is also a common factor with FJ and the faster paced 155-160bpm Hardcore Breaks/Nu Skool sound and the 170bpm Breakbeat Hardcore sound and each individual style has contributed to the success of the other, that's the way I see it.

So, in summary, 2012 has been a year where Future Jungle has cemented itself, its drawn interest from many different camps, there's been an insane amount of really good music that would be impossible to mention here in a single post, likewise I just wouldn't be able to mention all the great producers and imprints here either but big ups to each and every one of you, thanks to to all followers of this blog too. It seems the standard has been set this year and if we can continue like this and even go better than that in 2013 then big things beckon. Promoters like Bad Habit, Ruffneck, Sub: Cult and Breakdown have all pushed the FJ sound in their events, what needs to happen now is the big 'Old Skool' promoters take a plunge and incorporate this sound into their events in order to get it the masses. FJ is Rave music for 2013, just like Old Skool was made by the Pirate Stations and Underground Raves, in the same way, Internet Stations and Raves can play their part in supporting today and help take this to the next level.

As previously mentioned, there's been so much in the way of great music that I suggest searching the following tags here:  http://futurejungle.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/essential%20releases

http://futurejungle.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/free%20mix

http://futurejungle.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/free%20download

And finally my own contribution, after going through 2012's fine tunage, I got it down to 2 podcasts which total 3 and a half hours, even then, I'd honestly say, what I have compiled is a fraction of all the great tunes released this year, all of which are equally as good as what I have played, see the tags above, check out all the great mixes and radio shows, its the only way i can really do justice to such quality sounds in one blog post. Here's to even bigger things in the year and indeed years to come. Last but not least, big thanks to Jon James and ravedownload.com, to the peeps at trackitdown.net and www.hushmag.co.uk for their support of the scene.

2012 Future Jungle Retrospective Vol One by Deepintheunderground on Mixcloud

2012 Future Jungle Retrospective Vol Two by Deepintheunderground on Mixcloud