Jungle and drum and bass: how one scene became two names

Jungle emerged in the UK in the early 1990s from the rave scene and Jamaican sound system culture. It grew out of breakbeat hardcore and split away from it around 1992 and 1993, and it was at its most popular in 1994 and 1995. Wikipedia describes it as rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussion loops, samples and synthesised effects, over deep basslines with dub, reggae and dancehall in the mix. Producers leaned on the Amen break again and again.

The people

DJs named as central to the early scene include DJ Ron, DJ Hype, DJ Randall, Fabio and Grooverider, Micky Finn, DJ Rap, Kenny Ken and LTJ Bukem. Producers include Lennie De Ice, whose We Are I.E. is credited with laying the foundation, plus Rebel MC, A Guy Called Gerald, Roni Size and 4hero.

The places

Pirate radio carried the sound first. Kool FM is named as the most important station, with Don FM, Rush and Rude FM alongside it. Labels included Moving Shadow, V Recordings, Suburban Base and Renk, and the early nights were at clubs such as AWOL, Roast and Telepathy. Legal radio caught up later: Kiss 100 ran Givin' It Up in 1994 and BBC Radio 1 followed with One in the Jungle in 1995.

Where drum and bass comes in

Jungle was a direct forerunner of drum and bass, which took shape in the mid 1990s. The change picked up through the late 1990s with artists such as Dillinja, Roni Size and Krust. The tempos and the breaks carried over. What moved was the name and, over time, a cleaner and more technical sound.

Hear the difference

Our Fifty Cuts Deep list starts with ten jungle tracks, from Shy FX and UK Apache's Original Nuttah to Goldie's Inner City Life, before it moves on to rollers, liquid, jump up and neuro.