Jungle Reviews – Pizza Hotline, RDNA and Waveform 17
Three Big Jungle releases reviewed by David Hickling
Our Junglist reviewer David Hicking tackles three massive releases in the Jungle and Drum and Bass scene.
Pizza Hotline & Tim Reaper – “VR Missions (Tim Reaper remix)”
Sliding between the main menu screens we have video game inspired Pizza Hotline’s “VR Missions” who gets the remix via heavyweight jungle producer Tim Reaper. London based Pizza Hotline has been making a name for himself creating a catalogue of nostalgic 1990s style video game flavoured jungle tracks taking you back to the days of 16-bit microprocessors and 3 and half inch floppy disks.
Admittedly, this is my first Pizza Hotline purchase, and before hearing this I had heard a few tracks from the producer, so it was great to finally get his music on my shows! The track starts life with a busy cowbell rhythm before growing into a pleasant synth melody. The breaks feel uniform and controlled as the cowbells give way for a warm, refined and no thrills drop.
A brief intermission of the synths gives way to an industrious yet delicate rhythm as the drum and bass rolls away diligently – the 32-bar section preceding the initial drop really showcases the meat and bones of the riddim including a subtle but effective use of the Amen crash. At the breakdown, we’re left with slightly distorted chords playing away at a patient and steady speed before releasing the drum and bass for the second drop.
This harmonic and melodic roller is refreshingly less Amen heavy than the original and in comparison to the original, reveals some interesting differences. The slight variations in the dominant melody really guide this track through its 6 and half minute journey. Tim Reaper’s remixes are often of the highest quality, and this one is up there as one of his classics.
A quality example of a new generation of ambient jungle music boasting solid drops and a prominent melodic identity.
You can find this track on the “Pizza Hotline Demo Disc 1” release featuring another track “Tokyo Megaplex” produced by Pizza Hotline plus a remix of the same track by Arcologies.
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Law – “waveform 17”
Taken off ASC & Presha’s Berlin based ambient jungle label waveforms, this track features as part of a 4-track release called “waveforms bundle 05” containing two tracks from UK producer Law, and two from Melbourne’s very own Pugilist.
Law has released tracks on AKO Beatz, Rupture and Western Lore labels previously.
The track commences with a subtle warm two chord pad sequence and some flickering percussive hits before breaking out into the classic Funky Mule break. The drums splash around in tasteful delay and tempting syncopation with assistance from a secondary synth sequence and some desolate sounding female diva vocals. Law provides some pleasing intermittent rupture between his layered breaks as he gently guides us towards the drop.
It’s around the 2 minute 47 seconds mark we find the defining focus of “waveform 17” as the breaks, synth and vocals give way to a decisive 2-bar silence.
The break crashes into the mix accompanied by the bass drop, vocals and a spine-tingling eerie delayed sound effect doused in atmospheric feeling as the break rattles away like a distant midnight freight train.
The following breakdown leaves you drenched in a whirlpool of dreamy, reverbed pads and soul-searching female vocals before giving way to an equally absorbing second drop.
If I were to define this type of jungle, I would call it deep jungle (not the label!). A style characterised by atmospheric sweeping pads, rupture, minimal breaks and punchy sub low basses, often featuring a subtle trademark pitch down at its tail.
This is a real gem of a track featuring all the elements of an authentic deep jungle experience as first developed by pioneering mavericks such as DJ Crystl, Lemon D, Foul Play and LTJ Bukem.
Pugilist’s angelic and soothing “waveform 19” is also worth a listen and provides a good contrast to Law’s eerie hair-raising “waveform 17”. If you like your Amen breaks, try Law’s “waveform 18” which includes some more soothing emotional strings.
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Rufige Kru, Goldie & Submotive “RDNA”
It’s time to have a listen to what Metalheadz label owner and jungle legend Goldie has been up to. “RDNA” is his new track under the Rufige Kru guise with help from label mate and engineer Submotive aka James Davidson, this one is taken off London Records and is part of the 5-track “Metal Giants – EP” featuring some excellent and striking graffiti album art.
“RDNA” starts off with some creaky metallic noises and industrial sounds taking you straight to the scene of a bustle of New York subway trains, rumbling through the concrete suburbia as you inhale a whiff of freshly laid spray paint upon the metal carriages – which is in fact the inspiration behind the track and EP. For those unaware, Goldie was a graffiti artist moving from Wolverhampton to New York during the late 1980s-early 1990s teaming up with fellow New York graffiti subway artists.
The drop is a dark thumping stepper in classic Goldie style with a beefed up Think break and a warm, flowing and modulating bass line with plenty of bottom end for your bass bins. The track is distinguished by a repeating two note techy stab, helping shape the track’s rhythm, in addition to the occasional bad-bwoy patois vocal sample thrown into the bustling mix.
Much of Goldie’s output has that haunting and sinister quality and this track follows that trend featuring a cast of industrial risers and metallic noises to keep the ear juices flowing. “RDNA” shows how Goldie has stayed true to his early genre-defining work, where other producers of a similar age have morphed into something completely different (and usually, inferior).
For those looking for alternatives to “RDNA” on the “Metal Giants – EP” release, the first track “Metal Detekt” is an excellent tech step drum n bass slogger. The other tracks are more drum n bass sounding with a notable difference in speed.
