Anyone that has been following underground electronic music has certainly noticed that drum breaks have made a strong comeback these last couple of years, creeping themselves back into House and Techno. The current fascination with old school Jungle and Hardcore (I talk about this in my last article), has also made me realize how exciting the Jungle/DnB scene has been these last few years, with there being equal parts revivalism and forward thinking momentum. This year has been a wonderful one for the old school heads, and it has shown that there is still some juice left in the old sound. It has also shown that there is equally a healthy dose of experimentation, to see where Jungle and Dnb can go. So I thought I'd give a rundown of some interesting long-form releases that have piqued my interest throughout the year, and that are worth checking out.

Early 2018 gave us Street Beats Volume 2, a compilation of unearthed and previously-unreleased gems from about 1994. The compilation is brought to us by Basement Records, who've dug inside their own vaults to compile it, bringing together legends such as Peshay, Photek (know as Truper at the time), and Source Direct (going by the name Oblivion). The label has been active since about 1991 and has recently shifted its focus towards re-releases of their own old school material, which had been only available on vinyl records. Their sound is one that I'm particularly fond of. The synth work and atmosphere is ethereal and melodic, backed up by a dark and heavy backbone, with the subbass and chaotic breaks manipulation. It's Jungle with remnants of Hardcore.

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Next up we have Blunted Breaks Vol. 1, a compilation by Western Lore. The Bristol-based label has only been active for two years, yet it has made a big splash in the scene. Their roster includes some of the biggest names in "new school" old school Jungle: Tim Reaper, Coco Bryce, Dead Man's Chest, and Threshold. As the title suggests, they participate in revivalism (Dead Man's Chest covers for his releases on the label recall the old Dreamscape flyers), but they also take it upon themselves to make the old sound new again. And while some tracks go in full retro mode like Coco Bryce's "Adventures in Perception" (only betraying itself due to the cleaner modern production), others, like Earl Grey's "Levitate", try to offer something that is more fresh. Nevertheless, the music is all good.

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Drum N Bass pioneer and legend Goldie also decided to releases a compilation of his old material from the 90s, on his own pioneering and legendary Metalheadz label. To be honest, there are no surprises here. After more than 20 years, the label continues to be active and it rarely strays far from the blueprint it set in the mid-90s. 25 Years of Goldie [Unreleased and Re-Mastered] is Metalheadz through and through: full of dark, futuristic, esoteric rollers - the kind of music that heavily influenced Grime and Dubstep. While there are no revelations, the music is consistently great. Some people have criticized the mastering, but if you're not an audiophile, you won't notice whatever faults there might be. And if you're one of the older fans who've been waiting a long time for some of these tracks to be released, well, have at it.

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Lastly, we have Fifth Column, another compilation, this one by Rupture London. The label has been going on for about six years now, offering music that recalls the Metalheadz sound (right before it got rid of the drum breaks), and making it sound new again, seeing where it can go. And it has established itself as an influential force. This is a packed roster, with the likes of Mantra, Dead Man's Chest, Forest Drive West, Sully, and Henry Greenleaf making a showing. If after listening to Goldie's compilation, you still have a craving for more futuristic rollers, this one has 16 tracks worth, all of it gold.

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But Where has the Future Gone?: 160+ bpm Edition

So now that we've gone through four compilations of old school (and old school influenced) Jungle and Drum n Bass, you might be wondering where the "modern stuff" is. In many ways, the music is still the same. I remember an interview from 2006 in which Kode9 talks about the new Dubstep genre: "In an ideal world, anything goes. The thing that's consistent in the music is the subbass. It's got a good solid subbass foundation. And, as I said, in an ideal world, anything goes on top of that." So what are the foundations of Drum N Bass? Three things come to my mind: subbass, percussion, and a fast tempo (above 160 bpm). I'm not trying to say that anything can be Drum n Bass, just that there can be more open interpretations than one might expect.

First off, another (!) compilation, Samurai Music Decade (Phase 2), by the Samurai Music label. Their output could be categorized as "leftfield" or "experimental" Drum n Bass. Sonically, it takes a lot from Industrial Techno. It's dark and brooding, heavy yet atmospheric, with distant, thumping percussion

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Next, we have Etch's East Coast Jungleworx Vol. 1. A short album comprised of edits of 90s Hip Hops tracks. As the name implies, the music has a Jungle feel to it, but it also has a heavy Juke/Footwork influence at some points, and those Trap hi-hats make an appearance here and there. It's a great marriage of 90s music (Boom Bap and Jungle) with 2010s taste (Juke/Footwork and Trap), resulting in something that sounds fresh.

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Let's get out of the UK and head towards Russia. St. Petersburg's A.Fruit (aka Anna Fruit) offers an exhilarating 40-minute mix of high-tempo bass music, going from Halftime, to Juke, to Trap, to Jungle, to other weird, genreless concoctions. Does it count as being Drum n Bass? Well, what she does is very close to what Sinistarr does in Detroit, or what the Defrostatica Records crew does in Leipzig, or the Aufect gang in Vancouver. And they, like A.Fruit, are all part of the Drum n Bass circuit. In any case, when you're not sure what to classify something as, chances are that it's fresh and exciting.