The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book(s)
This week we’re looking at some of the books written about our beloved music scene. There are too many good ones to mention. We’ve taken a selection of our favorites that offer a mix of history & evolution of the Jungle scene, key artists and record labels and influential tunes.
We also have an interview with the author of Who Say Reload, Paul Terzuilli talking about the album launched to accompany the book.
State of Bass – The Origins of Jungle/Drum & Bass by Martin James
Originally published in 1997, State of Bass was updated in 2020 to cover new significant events and new perspectives looking at the continued evolution.
State of Bass covers the creation and evolution of our favorite genre, reviewing what was happening in the UK at the time from a social, political, cultural and musical perspective creating a melting pot of ideas. Martin covers the influence from genres such as house, hip-hop and reggae and views from those who were there at its emergence as to where the term Jungle came from and the apparent split between jungle and drum & bass (if there is such a thing).
It contains recommended listening lists at the end of each chapter covering the period / artists / labels related to the chapter which we love.
Quote from the book
“Jungle itself is no single thing that emerged fully formed. It’s a magpie genre that takes from the entire spectrum of music.”
There aren’t many books capturing the emergence of the scene and pivotal moments in the depth that this book goes into. A great read.
K -Mag 25 years Anniversary edition
The days of picking up a copy of Knowledge magazine from your local shop and devouring every word in it are over but K mag brought out a special edition for the diehard fans and for those who missed it the first time. This is not a best of K Mag book, more of a supersized special edition book celebrating their 25th anniversary. This is as much a collectable item as it is a large book / 160 page magazine.
It has a hardback cover but contains the usual quality interviews and articles that K-Mag has been known for.
It contains articles covering:
- why the seeds of the jungle revolution began in a terraced house in Bradford,
- interviews with artists such as Chase & Status,
- the hardcore continuum from rave to jungle, UKG and beyond
- an article from State of Bass author Martin James (above) on Jungle
and much more
K-Mag 25th Anniversary Edition hardback book is available in the Junglist Network shop.
Who Say Reload – Paul Terzuilli
In 2021 Velocity Press published the amazing Who Say Reload: The Stories Behind the Classic Drum & Bass Records of the 90’s. At first glance this appears to be a ‘niche’ coffee table book with great pictures and short chapters on either an artist, label or tune that make up the rich history of the scene but this is much more than that, full of interviews from artists and record label owners that take you back to the time and place. A must for those who want to learn more or take a trip down memory lane.
Now Paul Terzuilli, the author has created a Who Say Reload album! We talked to Paul ahead of the release.
Junglist Network: What inspired you originally to release the Who Say Reload book?
Paul Terzuilli: I’ve always been interested in the stories behind the music I like, but hardly anything had been written about jungle, especially in more recent times. There were podcasts, blogs and radio shows that were doing some great work but the internet moves so quickly that these things are often forgotten about within a week, or missed completely. The archiving of much older material online isn’t great either. I thought there was an audience for a book that collated as much of that information together as possible. I took the concept from an author called Brian Coleman who had written 2 volumes of a book called Check The Technique, where he spoke to the artists behind the classic hip hop albums of the 80s and 90s. I felt using that same format of a first person perspective would eliminate the issues you sometimes get with journalists trying to structure interviews to fit a pre-conceived narrative. It’s artists who were there at the time speaking about their experience as they lived it. I also wanted to make sure some of the less celebrated but equally as important producers were covered alongside the big names.
Junglist Network: Did you always plan to do a vinyl release or did the idea come about after the book release?
Paul Terzuilli: The idea had briefly occurred to me, but I didn’t think it would be a possibility. When the book was published Aphrodite did us a 3-part mix of all the tracks, which was amazing, and I thought that was the extent of what we could do and that was great. The discussions about an album came about not long after we published the book, but due to the mechanics of the project and the time it takes to license and manufacture it was a while before the final product was ready. Very much worth the wait though, and hopefully it gives the book a fresh promotional push.
Junglist Network: What’s your favourite track on either of the twin Who Say Reload vinyl releases? (and why)
Paul Terzuilli: I’m really happy that the Nookie remix of Omni Trio’s Soul Promenade is on there, partly because its an amazing tune but also because I don’t actually own a copy of the single and its quite rare and expensive! Another one would be Amazon II’s King Of The Beats. It came out not long after I got my first set of decks and it’s something I played to death while I was learning to mix, so I’ve got a soft spot for that one. That style of D&B from that era sometimes gets a bit overlooked I think. The DJ Tamsin tune on Volume 1 seems to be getting a lot of comments since we announced the track list. That’s another one that’s quite sought after it seems.
Junglist Network: What in your opinion makes a classic Jungle track?
Paul Terzuilli: The main thing that a lot of the classics have in common is that lively energy – its dance music so it shouldn’t be boring! – and something that makes them unique to make them stand out from the rest, whether that be a sample, piano, bassline or the way the drums and breaks are put together. It doesn’t have to be complicated either. The records in Who Say Reload were all very distinctive when they first came out.
Junglist Network: What are your plans for the future?
Paul Terzuilli: I’m currently working on a second book, possibly against my better judgement as finding time for it around a full time job and family life isn’t easy! Its slowly taking shape though. If Amazon or Netflix would like to give me a pile of money for a Who Say Reload documentary series that would be lovely.
Junglist Network: We’d love that too! Amazon, Netflix, over to you…
In the meantime you can buy the album here – https://velocitypress.bandcamp.com/
And the book here – https://velocitypress.uk/product/who-say-reload-book/
All Crews: Journeys Through Jungle/Drum & Bass Culture Paperback – Brian Belle-Fortune
As co-producer of ‘1 in the Jungle‘, Britain’s first national Jungle program for BBC Radio 1, Brian Belle-Fortune knows a thing or two about Jungle, Drum & Bass and he bloody loves it! The good thing for us, he’s captured it in a book.
There may not be another book written that manages to tell the story of the history of the genre and it’s evolution so well. The authors passion for the scene comes through on every page. It covers a lot of ground in its 272 pages.
Contains interviews and stories from significant artists taking you on a journey. In the future, this may be the book they turn to, to find out how it happened.
Honorable Mentions
DJ Phantasy – Three Generations Deep
DJ Phantasy has been DJing since the late 80’s and has had a big impact on the scene. More than you’d know. Possibly the hardest working and nicest artists on the scene. Follow him through his career as a DJ, Producer, Promoter, Agent, Manager and more with some genuine laugh out loud moments. The book tells his story which is occasionally corrected by others who have shared his journey with him such as Nicky Blackmarket, Grooverider and DJ Hype.
Catch our interview with DJ Phantasy here.
Junglist – Two Fingaz & James Kirk
Another cult classic re-print. This book differs from others on the list as it tells a fictional story of young black men coming of age among the raves and jungle music of London in the 1990s. Live the highs and lows of a weekend raving in the summer of ‘94 through others in this authentic novel.
Ditch the Harry Potter and take this on your next holiday.
Rough Guide to Jungle, Big Beat & Trip Hop
Yes, those that brought you the Rough Guide to Paris have done a who’s who of 90’s Jungle, Trip Hop and Big Beat artists. This book comes in a pocket-sized version so you can carry it around as a reference in the event someone asks you a taxing question about LTJ Bukem or Fatboy Slim…
This book, published in 1999 gave a great overview of artists in the 3 of the most exciting genres to come out of the UK and pre-internet would have been useful for discovering new artists to listen to.
