Kool FM: the pirate station that helped build jungle
It first broadcast on 28 November 1991, on 94.5FM from Clapton, and 35 years on it still plays jungle and drum and bass on DAB and online.
By D-N-B Desk
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History
Drum and bass and jungle history, told through the records, places and people involved.
The Amen break explained: one drum solo from 1969 that built jungle
A few seconds of drums on the B-side of a 1969 soul single became the backbone of jungle and drum and bass. Here is where it came from and who got paid.
By D-N-B Desk
Five records that mark drum and bass's climb from the underground
A landmark album in 1995, a Mercury Prize in 1997, a best seller in 2005 and a number one single in 2012. The dates tell the story.
By D-N-B Desk
Jungle and drum and bass: how one scene became two names
Jungle came first, out of the rave and the sound system. Drum and bass followed in the mid 1990s. Here is how the two connect and who built the first.
By D-N-B Desk
The labels that built drum and bass, and who is behind them
Six labels keep coming up whenever the history of the sound is told. Here is each one and the name tied to it.
By D-N-B Desk
Pirate radio and jungle: the stations that carried the sound
Before jungle had legal radio it had Kool FM, Don FM, Rush and Rude FM. Here is what the record says about the stations and when the mainstream caught up.
By D-N-B Desk
Original Nuttah: the ragga jungle record that became a classic
Produced by Shy FX with words and vocals by UK Apache, the 1994 track was one of the first jungle records to reach the UK top 40.
By D-N-B Desk
Timeless: Goldie and the album that changed the genre
Released on 7 August 1995 through FFRR Records, Goldie's debut album is widely regarded as a groundbreaking release in the history of drum and bass.
By D-N-B Desk
Hold Your Colour: how Pendulum's debut album crossed over
Released on 25 July 2005, the Australian band's first album produced five singles, and Slam was their first UK top 40 hit.
By D-N-B Desk
Hospital Records and Hospitality: how a London label built an event brand
Started in 1996 by Tony Colman and Chris Goss, Hospital Records is based in East London and runs a publishing company and the worldwide events brand Hospitality.
By D-N-B Desk
Rinse FM: from pirate station to licensed broadcaster
Founded in September 1994 by Geeneus and Slimzee, Rinse FM operated as a pirate before receiving a broadcast licence in June 2010, and it still plays jungle.
By D-N-B Desk
Jungle's family tree: from breakbeat hardcore to drum and bass
In 1992 and 1993 the rave scene split into several branches. One of them, built on breakbeats, reggae and the sound system, became jungle, and then drum and bass.
By D-N-B Desk
New Forms: Roni Size and Reprazent and the 1997 Mercury Prize
Released on 23 June 1997, the debut album by Roni Size and Reprazent won the Mercury Prize and went platinum in the UK.
By D-N-B Desk
RAM Records: how Andy C's label became an institution
Established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of Ant Miles, RAM has run for three decades as one of drum and bass's best known independent labels.
By D-N-B Desk
Good Looking Records: LTJ Bukem and the intelligent sound
Founded in 1991, the label specialised in jazz influenced, atmospheric drum and bass, and housed artists including Photek, Source Direct and Seba.
By D-N-B Desk
Metalheadz: the label Goldie, Kemistry and Storm built
Founded in 1994, Metalheadz is a major drum and bass label with one of the most recognisable logos in dance music: a skull wearing headphones.
By D-N-B Desk
Moving Shadow: from a Stevenage bedroom to the charts
Rob Playford started the label in 1990 from his home in Stevenage. It became one of the best known names in breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum and bass.
By D-N-B Desk
Reinforced Records: the 4hero label that helped launch a sound
Founded in 1989 in Dollis Hill, north west London, Reinforced was one of the groundbreaking labels of breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum and bass.
By D-N-B Desk
Ten records to start with: the drum and bass albums and singles every listener should hear
From a ragga jungle classic in 1994 to a gold selling liquid album in 2009, a short, dated route through the genre for anyone who wants to start properly.
By D-N-B Desk
The Reese bass: a Detroit sound in a London tune
One of drum and bass's defining sounds started life in a 1988 techno record. How a Detroit bass line became the growl in the dark end of the genre.
By D-N-B Desk
Dubplates explained: why a one-off acetate still matters
From reggae sound system clashes to jungle raves, the dubplate is the idea that a DJ should own a tune nobody else has. It is still how exclusivity works in drum and bass.
By D-N-B Desk
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