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