FANTAZIA TAKES YOU INTO 1992

I never went to this event as I was at some dodgy rave at Wonderland Arena in Hackney, but I’m eternally grateful for the tape packs that captured some of that era’s most amazing sets! One of which has consistently been in my all-time top 5 – Top Buzz! The pioneering collective consisted of Mad P on the mic and Jason Kaye on the decks, together they were the foundation force behind the Jungle Techno sound. Never afraid to do things differently and play tracks no other DJs would, the Top Buzz collective always delivered a Top Top Top Top Top Buuuuzz!

The Top Buzz set from Fantazia Takes You Into 1992 was the last set of the night and for me was the defining set that saw the birth of Jungle Techno.  The Buzz fused sounds of Hardcore, early Jungle and 4/4 style Techno belters, with just a sprinkling of classics thrown in for good measure. Add to this, the unmatched lyrical genius from Mad P and the deafening sounds of thousands of ravers giving it everything they had, you have yourself one of the defining sets of that era.

Whether you like or whether you hate we,
You have to respect Top Buzz ability.

A TRIBUTE

I’ve done many tribute sets in my time, mostly for events & promotions that no longer are, but when we lose one of our underground soldiers then the tribute sets take on a whole new level. In March 2023, Jason Kaye left this world to grace the next and left behind a legacy that will burn bright forever. With his set from Fantazia alongside Mad P & Mikee B being one of my all-time fav’s, I wanted to create a vibe based around that set that I can only hope did some form of justice to pay respects to one of the pioneering founders of our scene. RIEP Jason Kaye.

TOP BUZZ – FANTAZIA TRACK LIST

There are a variety of sites that have the track list from that night, but I found a few inconsistencies in them so I set out to not only create an accurate one, but also to link Discogs listings and links to buy the digital versions officially (not all are available, but the ones are found are listed below).  To sense check I got these right I even mixed the record into the tape playing on my laptop to ensure I had the right version! I may have got some wrong, but I’m pretty sure these are all right.

In addition to this, I’ve also created a walk-through video of all the records that were played that night that gives a little background and history to each track that was played that night.

The post Fantazia Takes You Into 1992 | Top Buzz track list appeared first on Hardcore Junglist.

INTRO

Parallax Recordings has been around for a few years and initially started out with reissues but quickly moved on to releasing original Hardcore-Jungle influenced music. We caught up with Vali, the man behind the label, to dig a bit deeper…

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your musical journey.

I’m Valentin, better known as Vali from the NME Click (spoken ‚Enemy Clique’), a 4-headed Drum&Bass Crew that exists since 1994. I am also a freelance graphic designer and illustrator and did sleeve artworks for labels like Metalheadz, CIA, Dispatch, Basement, Impact and many others. I am 42 now, live in Berlin and run the Parallax label.

I grew up as the youngest of 3 kids in a musical household in Ulm/South Germany. Both my parents are classical singers and multi-instrumentalists, so there always been instruments (my dad even self-built a Cembalo), equipment and jam sessions in our house. I learned the guitar and was a soprano and alt singer in a boys choir until my voice broke.

There was no key moment how I found into music as such, it was always around me and I was naturally drawn to it for as long as I can remember. I was a regular at the local library, renting Best-Of and pop albums on cassettes, reading music magazines and built knowledge on that. I was always keen and wanted to learn about styles and artists from a kids age on. Through my family, I got to know more about the pop/rock side of things (Beatles, Supertramp, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Jazz, a bit of early Synthesizer music and the likes) and I remember I spent whole afternoons going through their vinyl collection, looking at covers, the fascination for vinyl started early.

The entrance into DJing and Jungle/Hardcore:

I started skateboarding at around the age of 8 and was into loud music with electric guitars. At the end of the 80’s I discovered the (for me) early Rap stuff, like Beastie Boys, Too $hort, 2 Live Crew, NWA and Public Enemy (I was shocked when Chuck D taught me that the whites stole the rock’n’roll from blacks, that was early education about racism that I had not experienced until then) and remember all the other skaters shouted at me when they saw me in my Public Enemy hat. I was hooked and became a massive Hip Hop head, writing graffiti and tagging, spending ages learning dance moves from VHS tapes and taking part in dance battles. To me, it was one big bubble though. It didn’t make a difference if it was „Hardcore Rap“, Hip House, early Dance or Rave stuff, it all was one big pot and it didn’t occur to me the world would need different labels to put on it one day. Around that time I remember I spent whole nights under the blanket, secretly recording „dj megamixes“ until I fell asleep. The mixes were often made on computers with fake computer scratches and I remember every time an MC came on I paused the tapes as I didn’t want the presenter on. I never thought you could do that with two turntables and that a MC was part of the concept lol, so my first attempts were trying to scratch with the reel to reels of my poor dad and I even spent days doing edits and mixtapes with pause buttons on a double cassette deck (if you would free the button slowly you could create a glitch effect). I was absolutely tapping in the dark. But I wanted to learn more about tunes and titles and pre-internet, it was hard for a kid to get any info on it. When I first saw a DJ live I was hooked and wanted to learn that straight away. You have to know there weren’t many dis around in the early days and a set of turntables and a mixer were expensive, not to speak about records or the knowledge about blending. Around 1990 I always went to the youth centre in my small village, watching the older busting moves and trying to copy them on the big mirror there until my mom came in and pulled me out on my ear. I also watched the local DJs playing the dance stuff there. One day, I even went to one of the DJ´s houses (he also still lived with his parents) and just rang the bell and asked if I can have a look at his record collection in the hope he would pass on some knowledge to me. He let me in and was very kind and just acted like it was just normal, but he must’ve thought I was an absolute freak! I was always around older skateboard kids and they took me with them on my first house parties and to record nicking with big sport bags in the chain stores in the nearby city, it was mad times!

There was one key moment that got me hooked on Hardcore especially: It was the first break at school and I went for a ciggy with my mate Önder (we got to know each other at a school party when we wanted to fight, but then dance-battled against each other and still are best friends and dj together today). He took out his walkman and said „check this out, you’ll like it, I promise“. I put the phones in and blasting into my eardrums was the first Knite Force EP – ‚The Luna C Project‘, the one with the Roxette sample and Sublove´s Remix that goes „..there´s an invisible intruder that go inside your mind..“. I was sold pretty much straight away, sucked in by the energy. I loved the breakbeats at neck-break speed and the b-boy elements referencing my roots, the speeded-up hip-hop vocals and what grabbed me most was the creative and cheeky sampling. From that moment on I was fixed like a junkie, I wanted to hear more. The first releases I remember I hammered excessively was the Prodigy – Experience, album (I knew bits and bops before, from radio and the youth centre, to me it was just rave, I never asked further what the music was called),  Blame – Music Takes You, Criminal Minds – The Criminal, DMS- Vengeance, the first Joint LP by Moving Shadow and Suburban Base, the Happiness vs Darkness compilation by Jumpin& Pumpin, Orca´s 4AM and the likes. So guessing from the tunes it was probably at the end of 93 or early 94, taking into account I might not have heard them on release date and it needed time until they wandered over to Germany on youth’s overdubbed tapes.

In 94 we got lucky as the local DJ Naughty sold my mate and me two crates of 92/93 Hardcore. For something like 100 Euros we were in for a treat: XL, Production House, Reinforced, Moving Shadow, Suburban Base, Basement, Formation, Lucky Spin, it was all there, but also a lot of obscure whites that I couldn’t find out the name of until the internet was around a decade later. We practised without any idea of arrangements or mix structure on cheap belt-driven turntables until some more experienced djs took us under their wings and showed us the ropes. We literally traded weed against time to use other people’s Technics decks, I even did a free graffiti on one of the guys wall.

Listen to Parallax recordings and many other emerging Hardcore Jungle labels and artists

But being technically bad didn’t stop us trying to attract people and talking club owner into giving us nights. But it was always just a handful of attendants and we got laughed off by everybody for playing that strange „jungle“ music when everybody was into Techno and Trance in Germany. The scene was literally so small, we thought we were the only ones liking the UK breakbeat stuff. In the back of a music magazine, I found an announcement of a Tuesday night in Stuttgart called ‚Massive Sounds‘ put on by the Fever Cru, which was an hours drive. I quitted school at that point anyway, trying to live off graffiti jobs and the sale of illegal substances and often went there, but it was small. Then I found another announcement in a magazine: A beach club in Forst/ Heidesee named ‚Vibration‘. We went on a 2,5 hour drive by chance (7 people and a bong in the car, you know the ones..) and that night changed it all. When we arrived at the car park you could hear the basslines, everywhere you looked were jungle ravers with the trunks open, blasting loud Jungle. As soon as you entered the club the bass was rattling so hard your stomach went upside down, you had to jump to not puke.  It was UK line ups each week, the dance floor was open at the back, leading straight to a lake that was the chill-out. The most perfect club ever, I loved every minute there and met a lot of my Mannheim friends there. We were around 15/16 and it was always a gamble if they let us in, often hitchhiking back in sweat-drenched clothes. We went raving around Mannheim all the time from 95 onwards and ended up playing the big raves in Mannheim like Kings Of The Jungle, Phace Club, Made In Germany etc.

I was in Blackmarket and Nicky handed me more whites from under the counter the longer I stayed

Things kicked off from Halloween 1997 for NME Click, the definite key moment and the hour zero for Drum&Bass in our hometown. We got one shot and played the whole night on one floor on a massive rave and it was packed! I just came back from school camp in London, fully armoured with the freshest UK pressings and whites (I spent every free minute digging through shops, the teachers were close to sending me back home as I was always missing). I remember I was in Blackmarket and Nicky handed me more whites from under the counter the longer I stayed. There was even a moment when everyone was panicking as I left my backpack in a corner unattended and they thought it was a bomb!!! Anyway, through the strength of that night we got a weekly residency in a cinema after the flicks stopped (you could play video games on the massive screens), that led to a residency in another town (worth a mention the „ConFusion“ parties with scratch-crew OTM, when we mixed, cut and scratched Drum&Bass on 4 turntables). Things snowballed and we had a booking agency with good connections outside the Drum&Bass world, we had two weekly radio slots per week, a pub residency during the week, the future looked bright. We started our own event-series „Touchdown“ and „Echoes From The Future“, broadcasted live, did the „Feel!“ open-air festival and had vinyl with our music on out on DSCI4, Basswerk, Shadybrain and a few other labels. It looked like we could make a living out of this, I was young and DJing like 4-5 times a week. By writing for magazines and having our website early on the guestbook was used as a forum. We built a Drum&Bass scene in our hometown Ulm/ Germany that was centred around us and had everybody that rang a name within the scene playing at our events over the years. What goes up must come down, the scene got  a lot smaller later on, but we are still active, do the radio shows and events (well, not  during the pandemic) and even want to bring the festival back.

So, there were many highlights and many favourite moments in that career. I´d say playing radio was what I liked most as I could draw 100% tunes I want to play when I want to play them, you don’t have to make a floor work. Apart from that every new milestone was a highlight: The first residency, the first radio show, the first own event, the first booking abroad, the first time ordering records from the UK by checking online lists (trying to communicate via phone with hard-to-understand-Englanders, sending cash  money in envelopes and having records returning weeks later). These were different times. But most of it all I always loved the experience of raving, meeting old and new friends and playing tunes to people. We all need this to return!

How did the idea of Parallax Recordings come about?

There was never a masterplan or any plan at all to start a label. Will Irvine of KVA/ Sublogic decided to do a joint release after I got him in touch with the „On 1 Crew“ and asked him if he wanted to repress their „Bad Dreams“ tune. He asked me what label name I want to use and since I did small illegal Oldskool parties here in Berlin I named the label after the parties – Parallax. I thought it was a one-off thing but soon after I found the Technosaurus guys and they had fantastic unreleased music. I couldn’t pass that chance by. Will helped me by passing on his contacts to me and I did this double pack as the second release on Parallax fully on my own. From then I was hooked. The Total Dark release followed and showed another side of the Parallax sound, that it can be versatile and loosely centres around Hardcore and Jungle from the early 90ies. I started buying and playing a lot of new Hardcore around that time too. I can’t recall how I got in touch with Tim Reaper anymore, but we got along well and that led to the Dead And Buried EP. Looking back now, it’s almost as if the label came to me. It was always just a labour of love, not done with the aim to make money, but to put those tunes out that I as a collector would love to buy. But it keeps on growing, so thanks to everybody that supports the thing!

What does the label stand for?

The label’s approach is DIY. I do it all on my own – from A&Ring, manage mastering, cutting and pressing, designing the artwork, do the (online) promotion, calculate pricing and (trying to) do controlling, do the packing and sending out – and love (and sometimes hate as it can be difficult) to decide on every detail.

Although being relatively open in regards to styles and tempo I still strive for a Parallax sound of its own. Being a DJ for some time now I know quickly if a tune sits well on the label or what needs to be changed to give it the Parallax approval. I always ask myself: Will I play it myself? I aim for tunes with teeth that work on a floor. I like elements and arrangements that stand out, surprise you and make a tune remarkable, so you remember it once you heard it. At the same time I don’t like too pompous tunes. Ideally, the arrangement doesn’t take too long till it gets to the nitty-gritty, so it´s easy for a DJ to work with, but at the same time isn’t too formulaic. I like it rough and a bit manic, but also melancholic and retro-futuristic. Too obvious horror samples can be just as cheesy as a chipmunk vocal and long and meaningful film samples mostly don’t work for me, they at least have to have a good sound to them, so they work in a club environment even without anyone getting the deeper meaning. And I rather have a rolling beat than something chopped to death to prove the skills of a producer (<- I probably get slayed for that haha).

On the aesthetic side, I am influenced by comic artists Frank Miller and Dave Nords (the designer for Suburban Base) and the typical hand-scribbled look of the early 90ies Hardcore. If it works with one colour that’s perfect, strip it back to the core. If you look at the back catalogue there’s no colour, it´s all black and white. It´s also strictly black vinyl too, it wouldn´t make sense any other way. This approach gives it a distinctive look, uneasy and militant. I don’t like the corporate and minimal look many labels go for. I understand they want to mirror the quality in their products, but personally, I find it boring. I want the craziness and creativity of the music to shine through when you look at the packaging. How it sounds that’s how I want it to look, unpredictable with a strong recognition value. And hopefully, there are always small details to discover to keep it interesting.

Tell us about getting the first release out.

That was rather boring from my side.  You’d have to ask Will Irvine as it went all through his shop. I only connected him to the artists and did the artwork.

The Technosaurus EP was the first real release on the label, and that story is rather interesting. Technosaurus aka DJ Techno Brewster & DJ Iceman are probably best known for their hit „You Gave Me Nothing“

They had a second release on their Invention label that was rare and as hens teeth, the „Dream On Tangerine“ EP. When I found one of the producers through his Facebook page it turned out they even had a third release that never passed the test press stage. Both of them were really nice and approachable, but also terribly slow, it took about 2,5 years to get this out, sometimes months went by without any reply. I doubt I´d have the patience today but I was very persistent. Anyway, they found the masters of Invention 2 & 3 and we used a mint vinyl of the first release to restore from (big ups Dave Elusive for ripping and restoring). I picked basically all tracks from the second and third releases of Invention and as there were 3 mixes of ‚You Gave Me Nothing’ on the first I picked the strongest one and the additional tune ‚One Day We All Be Free’ and had an EP I was sure would fly out. I spent way too long on the design, I wanted to pay homage to the typical Hardcore look of the era (Suburban Base/ Strictly Underground). Also I wanted it to be a bit tongue in cheek. Of course with a name like Technosaurus it always had to be a Dinosaur theme. I found the idea of a T-Rex with very short arms, trying to play an Juno 106 synth very amusing. But I never got response from anybody, I guess most people didn’t pay enough attention to see the joke behind it. The EP also took longer to sell than I expected. But then what again did I expect? That people run into my door when I just starting out as a label? With a very obscure release that only some beardstrokers ever heard of? If you take that into account it did quite well and in the end sold out too. It stood the test of time quite well and looking at it now, its still one of my favourite artworks on the label. The selection is strong and a lot of thought went into it. I’m still happy with it. I also still have 200 sleeves that I overproduced, but I doubt the demand for a further repress is there.

What’s been a notable release for your so far?

One of my proudest moments was releasing DJ Lewi’s „You Better Run“. I had it on an old DJ Hype from Roast in 95.

After buying all tunes from the mix I couldn’t get my hands on this one. I even bought the Afterhours EP/ elt.1 (which was really hard to get hold of/ expensive until Kemet repressed that last year), only to find out that its not the right version, it missed the Tim Dog samples. When I thought all was lost and I’d never get hold of it I left a comment on the listing of the dub plate, asking if somebody has it for sale to contact me (DJ Hype certainly never answered to my begging messages via social media networks haha..) Now how high is the chance that happens?  But guess what? It worked! From about 2 dubplates in existence I got hold of Kenny Ken´s copy. For unbelievable 350 pounds!!! There I was with my holy grail and the most expensive „record“ I ever bought. Now I could’ve been selfish and have an exclusive forever. But I decided to contact Lewi and test waters if I could restore it professionally from the dub plate and put it out. Lewi first didn´t even remember he made this version with more vocals and it took months of persuading him. In the end we found a deal he was happy with and so Skunk Assassin in Vienna did an amazing job in restoring it. After a planned Remarc remix didn’t happen I asked Pete Cannon for a remix and he delivered a beast in no time. That release flew out within two weeks and I still get weekly emails of people asking for it.

You have a brand new LP out Message From The Parazone with an amazing selection of music and artists – tell us the Parazone concept and story.

The project began with just a various artists 4-tracker I wanted to put out, I got the first tracks in January 2019. At that time there wasn’t a bigger concept. But I got hold of more and more artists and great music that I decided to put it all out as an album as tenth release, the introduction of the roster of artists that I want to work with on Parallax. At first, I didn’t think about it, but when others said to me that it´s the ultimate snapshot of our contemporary Hardcore Jungle scene it really struck me. Of course, it will never be a complete picture, there are so many great producers missing. But I’m really proud of this project and how it turned out. I always liked the idea of having something special as the tenth release. I didn’t know it would take me so long so that it’s also the fifth birthday of the label was a coincidence. I was overwhelmed by how many of the artists were totally up for working with me, none of them was complicated. I’m very glad I did this project, it was a great learning curve and put me in touch with so many of the producers I adore. And it puts me in a good position for the future output of the label. There are already some solo EPs in the works with some of the artists that contributed to the project. The project already drives so much attention to the label, which is great. I also put a lot of thought into the visual concept. It has a dark and mystical feeling to it and the story centres around the meaning of ‚Parallax‘ in a cinematic/ graphic novel way.

Order MESSAGE FROM THE PARAZONE on Big Cartel or Bandcamp

Now that it’s about to come out finally I can reveal that I have material for another 4 records and toying with the idea of making it a longer running series, I just can’t let go of this conceptual project. I like the idea of having releases with mixed artists. I think for buyers it’s more interesting as more diverse. and for me as A&R it’s always easier to find a track I like by somebody rather than four tracks at once. I’m just very picky.  Also having the risk of a whole release by one artist that eventually isn’t as established might not sell as easy.  Although I hope people take Parallax as a quality stamp it would be a bit vain to believe people would buy anything because I put it out.

Thoughts on the current scene?

This year appears to be a bit calmer than the last years before. Everything is on hold, waiting to kick off. The situation is created by the pandemic and pressing plants that are booked out. My broker just told me my pressing plant don’t take on new customers and pressing times are about 25 weeks! Still, I think there’s a lot bubbling under the surface, I can’t wait to see what’s happening when clubs re-open. There’s a lot of positive energy around in our micro-scene. You can tell the innocence faded a bit and scene politics come into play here and there. I always try to stay away from it, I just want to have fun and put out good music, I’m highly annoyed if certain people want to dictate a direction or play gatekeepers. Anything goes! Tim Reaper is doing really well and getting recognition and press left-right and centre. I think he has already done a lot for the scene and he is a key player in shining a light for people from the outside trying to find a way in. Don’t forget how hidden we still are, if you aren’t a collector in that field for years you will have a hard time getting an oversight of what’s happening. That’s why it’s so healthy still. It’s a lot of nerds with a lot of knowledge, I love it! Big ups on the other labels doing a tremendous job. Kniteforce have an unreal output, Brent Aquasky, Bill Vega and Robin MPS are on the frontline putting out quality represses and I’m glad to see Dave Elusive is back, firing on all cylinders with his 92 Retro label. Big ups 8205, MJazz,  Future Retro, Globex Corp and 7th Storey Projects, Green Bay Wax, LORE, AKO and the Reinforced camp, InnerCore Project, Demonic Possession/ Deadbeat, Cantina Beats, Modified Magic, Sound Entity and all the other labels that keep pushing it to keep the scene alive! Of course, you can only lose if you start to mention some people as you leave out others. So maximum respect to everybody who takes the risk and money to release music and add content to this small scene, as well as the DJs and radio stations that do the footwork, keep it going!

Rub your crystal ball, what’s the future looking like for the label?

Right now I have a hard time believing it can get bigger for Parallax than the current moment. I worked 2,5 years on the album and put literally everything I had into it – all my money, energy, creativity and time. I am over the moon how it is received and now, due to it being a small success, it opens up more possibilities to let the thing grow.

Next up on the label there will be the ‚Body Journey‘ EP by a well-known Jungle producer under the synonym ‚DJ Mindhunter‘. Four tracks of pumpin dark 93 style Hardcore Jungle, all made on the Amiga. This will be shortly followed by more artist EPs, but I’m not a big fan of showing my cards, I like to surprise people. There is more, also on the repress and collaboration side of things, but it’s too early to speak about it now. I was so focused on the album, now full steam ahead!

I am unsure if the follow up to the album will come in the form of 2×12“ EP´s or another 4×12“, but I don’t want to wait too long and have them out latest next year (fingers crossed).

I keep on putting out merch. Besides the usual shirts, there are sometimes slipmats and caps and I want to have record bags and bombers with embroideries, hope I can find the right balance between quality and pricing to be able to offer fair products. Watch this space!

I started out by releasing only music from the old era, strictly on vinyl. By now we also release currently made music, as long as it sounds authentic to the old era. All new music will come out digitally too, I think I owe the exposure to the artists. I want the world to take notice of them and get them as far as I can.

Where can people find you?

Parallax Big Cartel Shop
Bandcamp
https://www.facebook.com/ParallaxRecordings
https://www.instagram.com/parallaxrecordings
https://soundcloud.com/parallaxrecordings
https://www.mixcloud.com/valinmeclick
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo4HKD2TF8htbomkJa-wDNQ

We accept demos!

PARALLAX RECORDINGS SHOWCASE MIX

The post Label Spotlight | Parallax Recordings appeared first on Hardcore Junglist.

INTRO

Started in 2020 by Paul Kingsize, the initial aim was just to get a few tracks out there. Cut to 2021 and Time Tunnel Recordings is on a solid path to being a foundation pillar for the emerging 90’s influenced Hardcore, Jungle D&B scene.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your musical journey!

I’m Paul. Many know me as Paul Kingsize or simply Kingsize. My love of music started long before hardcore even existed. My dad was a rocker and bombarded me with hard rock and metal all through my early years. This got me listening to similar stuff through the 80s. I started to go to a lot of Indie clubs in 1991 and they would play some electronic stuff. The likes of Future Sound Of London, The Orb & Leftfield were what got me aware of other stuff going on. From there it snowballed. Prodigy, Spiral Tribe, Acen etc and then just like that, I was in. The concerts gradually got overtaken by the raves and I was out raving all night most weekends.
Decks followed, then pirate radio and eventually, come 1996 I started to produce. I have had tracks on Slipmatts Universal label as well as some others. Over the years I also ran Class A Records, Dimension 4 Recordings & Panic Project.
I fell out of love with it all in 2004/2005 and pretty much disappeared until 2013 when I started to put some nights on. It was around this time when I started to really miss the old days. The producing, the nights out, the mix sessions etc.

How did the idea of Time Tunnel recordings come about? & What does the label stand for?

Well, it was never an aim to start a label to be honest. When March 2020 hit, the whole country was told to stay indoors, so the studio got fired up. Initially, all it was was just a chance to finally have some time to put down some of the ideas that had been floating around for the past 5+ years. 8 tracks were completed within 2 or 3 months and the friends they were sent to spoke really highly of them. Then the penny dropped. Maybe something can be done with these.
All the tracks were done at my home studio. When they were being made it was always about making them the way they would have done in the early-mid 90s. So despite having VSTs and plugins coming in from all directions, the plan was always to limit what was used. Back in the day, I would have just used a sampler, 1 synth, plus a couple of FX units, mainly because most of the time that is all I had. I tried to stick to that as much as possible. It’s a challenge. But using the old techniques and keeping things to a minimum, it’s kept things authentic.
Something else that I wanted to do was keep things authentic visually. I liked the labels who would use their logo on the record labels and just change the colour for each release. Keeping the music and artwork simple and effective was always the vision.
The aim was to provide a product to the listeners that would fit perfectly in with anything that would have been bought back in the early 90s. Almost as though they had walked through a portal into the past, a Time Tunnel if you like.

Tell us about getting the first release out.
4 of the 8 tracks were chosen, it was always going to be a vinyl release. There was never an option in my head to make this a digital-only venture. For me, the music would have been wasted doing digital-only. This music needs to be documented in a physical format.
I had not been involved in pressing vinyl for about 15 years. I had completely lost track of it all to be fair. After having a chat with my old buddy Chris @ Kniteforce he pointed me in the right direction.
Bandcamp and social media was great to help get us up and running. Years ago it was just a case of press, send out TPs to big names, hope they played it and then give the whole press to a distributor and then wait a few months to see how it did, that was our experience anyway.
It was nice to do a pre-sale and see people commenting on the clips that were put up. Things were looking positive!
Only 200 were pressed of TUNNEL001. They were all gone within 3 days of us taking delivery of them. Very happy indeed.

What’s been a notable release for you so far?
Despite TUNNEL001 selling out quickly and TUNNEL002 being the highest seller so far on the label, the release that has seemed to gather the most attention seems to be the recently released TUNNEL004, the first solo Kingsize release for nearly 15 years.
The tracks seem to have resonated with people. Both tracks are filled with pianos and pads, but they are not happy hardcore. The way sales are going, this will end up being the highest seller from the first 4 releases that’s for sure. There have been a lot of positive comments about the release which is a real boost.

Thoughts on the current scene?
I think it’s fascinating what is currently going on. It seems to have been bubbling under the surface for many years with people making stuff in an older style and bringing BPMs back to what they were. The whole covid situation has really boosted it all. Producers have had more time on their hands to fire up the studio and punters have been using the money they would normally spend on going out to buy vinyl. So it’s created a nice thing. The thing that is missing is the clubs. Once they open, I think it will blow up, I really do. To hear these tracks we have all been making on proper systems is going to be great.
The stuff being put out by Over/Shadow, BlueskinBadger, VNR and many more is all fantastic. Anything that FFF, Tim Reaper etc touch is pure gold for me. Obviously, the amount of fantastic music coming is not limited to these guys, I would be here all day listing all of their names.
These are exciting times.

Rub your crystal ball, what’s the future looking like for the label?
Well, we have a lot lined up. TUNNEL005 is due in the late summer, that’s a great 4 tracker with such a variety of music on it. Then we have the first 2 releases in the Remix series coming out. The response on the clips has been phenomenal. All 4 remixes over the 2 releases have really seemed to get people excited. The Blame remix on TUNNEL006 is going to be massive!
We have releases lined up all the way through till TUNNEL010, which will be something special.
We are planning a merchandise range, this will be available later this year. Something else we want to do is organise some kind of pop up stall/shop. Whether it be just us or with other like-minded labels I’m not sure. I really like the idea of meeting the people buying the music and creating a record shop vibe like back in the day.

Thanks for your time Paul! Where can people find you?
Bandcamp – Facebook – Insta – YouTube – Soundcloud – Twitter

The post Label Spotlight | Time Tunnel Recordings appeared first on Hardcore Junglist.

Having only launched in 2021, Violet Nights Recordings has already made a huge impact on the growing underground scene dedicated to revitalising, and continuing, the seminal 90’s Drum & Bass atmospheric sounds. And with only 3 vinyl releases (there are many more to come!) it’s time to find out what’s behind the VNR movement…

Who’s behind VNR and how did the idea of the label come about? 

The label is owned by me Neil Johnston (DJ Flash) and Clinton Harcup (DJ Chippie).  We are both lovers of the full spectrum of D&B including all of the sub-genres that you can think of, but we have always felt the strongest pull and the deepest love for Atmospheric D&B.

Like most relationships these days we met online. We are both members of the various social media D&B forums.  Clint was putting on D&B events and I suggested that we should do something together in the Atmo space.

A few months later, we met to sketch out some details and we realised that we had EXACTLY the same taste in music, and after a couple of hours in the pub we had made plans to host regular events and to launch a vinyl record label. Since then, it’s been full steam ahead. Launching a label was something that we both dreamed about doing. Sometimes in life, it’s a case of meeting the right people at the right time.

We feel so privileged to be involved in this new era for D&B.

Flash, What are the cornerstones that make VNR what it is?

The biggest cornerstone is the people that buy the music and contribute to the group online. We have a vibrant community of people who love the scene and the music, and we are overwhelmed by their constant enthusiasm and support. It’s not easy or inexpensive supporting music that you love – but without them, there is no scene, no music and no label, so hats off to those guys.

Musically we have an ethos, but we’re not too prescriptive. We believe the term Atmospheric casts quite a wide net. The principles would sound something like high production levels, musicality, funk, soul, stirring pads and shimmering vocals with cosmic, spiritual vibes.

We are extremely proud of the stable of artists we are building, and the music they are producing is incredible.  We get so excited when we receive new tracks. It’s a huge buzz to hear these tunes and to know that they exist. Then it hits us that not only are we going to own them on vinyl, but they’re actually coming out on OUR label.  We feel so privileged to be involved in this new era for D&B. We have to send a huge shout to our brother Blame. He has been heavily instrumental in so much of what we have done so far, and we can’t thank him enough. Musically, he is a genius. As I often say ‘Blame, nice guy, bad man!’. It’s not just his tracks we have signed, he is an important sounding board in all that we do aesthetically. His input has influenced the way VNR looks and presents and is priceless.

Any plans for a VNR night?

Absolutely, we are working on this right now. We are lucky enough to have some amazing DJ/Producers involved with VNR and we are looking forward to unleashing them and their music on to a suspecting public.

Check out the latest New Music shows featuring Violet Nights Recordings and many more

The first release set the bar high with Blame and just kept on giving, how’s it been going so far?

It’s been going fantastically well, and it’s been really exciting to see the first three releases sell out.  Our ethos centres around a ‘no B-sides’ policy and we will always try to make sure every release has two killer tracks.

Blame, the label was launched with the epic Understanding And Knowing & In My Soul, how (and when) did you come about creating these?

Back in 1996, I needed exclusive dubplates for my DJ sets. These dubs were so hard to get hold of because the big DJs had a monopoly on all the unreleased bangers. So I decided the only way forward was to make my own! I never released these tracks at the time because they were what gave me the edge in my DJ sets. As the years went on I forgot all about them, and it was only while searching the vaults (aka a box in my garage) that I rediscovered the tracks. Amazingly the DAT tapes still played perfectly,  and as soon as I mentioned to VNR that I’d found them, a meeting was set up and we sealed the deal on the spot!

Chippie, Big Grey Wolf was your first release on VNR, tell us what this tune means to you.

I genuinely believe that energy and vibrancy in music is in no way linked to tempo

The post Label Spotlight | Violet Nights Recordings [VNR] appeared first on Hardcore Junglist.

…they often say, and it’s no different when trying to find the music you love from back in the day in either digital or vinyl form. The fact is, there’s a very healthy re-press and second-hand market out there, it’s just spread all over the place instead of in one tidy record shop!

I still buy a lot of records and as a result, I often get asked where I buy them, so I decided to put all the stores and links together in one place for an easy one-stop place to get your beloved Old Skool Hardcore, Rave & Jungle.

NOTE: This is by no means a final list, I’m positive there are plenty more links to be added and I’m more than happy to do so to spread the word. Please feel free to drop a comment below with recommended links or get in touch via the contact page.

CLASSIC HARDCORE & JUNGLE

LABELS

21st Century Impact (DJ Seduction) – Direct
ADR & Universe (Dave Charlesworth) – Bandcamp
Creative Wax – Bandcamp
Deep Jungle – Bandcamp
Face Records – Beatport
Ibiza Records – Bandcamp
Jedi Recordings – Bandcamp
Just Another Label – Direct
Kemet Records – Direct
KLP Records / DJ Monk – Bandcamp
Kniteforce Records – Direct – Bandcamp – iTunes – JunoDownload – Beatport
Liftin Spirits – Direct
Lucky Spin – Beatport
Metalheadz – Direct
Moving Shadow – iTunes – Beatport
RAM Records – Direct
Reinforced Records – iTunes – JunoDownload – Beatport – Bandcamp
Ruff Guidance / Bay B Kane – Bandcamp
Skeleton Recordings – Bandcamp
Sound Entity – Facebook
Suburban Base – iTunes – JunoDownload – Beatport
Trouble On Vinyl – Bandcamp
V Recordings – Direct

ARTISTS

Acen – iTunes
Altern-8 – Bandcamp
DJ Pooch- Bandcamp
DJ Red Alert & Mike Slammer – Beatport
DJ Zinc –Bandcamp
Fat Controller – Direct – Beatport
FBD Project – Bandcamp
Force Mass Motion – Bandcamp
Jack Smooth aka Ron Wells – Facebook (he posts all his releases here)
Justice & Mercury- Bandcamp – Couple of represses from back in the day and a few new bits as well
Krome & Time – Bandcamp
Manix – Bandcamp – iTunes
Nookie aka Cloud 9 – Beatport
Orca – Beatport
Pascal – Beatport – iTunes
Seduction – Bandcamp
Shades Of Rhythm – Bandcamp
SL2 – iTunes – JunoDownload – Beatport
Slipmatt – Direct – The full SMD collection and more!
Synchronome – Bandcamp
Tango (RIP) – Bandcamp

ONLINE RECORD SHOPS, RE-PRESSES & RE-MASTERS

Discogs – A really obvious one but my go-to for 90% of the records I buy!
Juno Records – Can be a little tricky discovering tracks on here but worth keeping an eye out as they do stock re-presses.
Vinyl Junkie UK – All the new releases for Hardcore & Jungle in one place!

8205 Recordings – Bandcamp
Blueskin Badger Records – Direct – Instagram – Discogs
Deep Jungle – Bandcamp
Disc World – Direct
Flashback Records – Direct
Flex and many more!
HardcoreJunglism.com – Direct – Massive selection of artist/label approved digital (and now vinyl) from the likes of Dillinja, Foul Play, Cool Hand
Keeping Vinyl Alive – Direct
MPS (Music Preservation Society) – Bandcamp – These guys have done a great job re-mastering and re-releasing some classics, also check their Facebook Group for requests.
Music Mondays – Run by the cheeky chappy of Hardcore, Billy ‘Daniel’ Bunter, A great selection of old and new records as well and Rave autobiographies!
Ninety-Two Retro – Run by the Elusive Dave Birch, the releases are fairly spread out but when they come, they come BIG!
Redeye Records – Direct – Like with Juno, you’ll need to hunt through to find the gems, but worth it.
Take It From The Top – www.takeitfromthetop.co.uk
Two Twelve Tens – Direct
Underground Music – Bandcamp – Selection of represses from the likes of Ellis Dee, Cheeba City, Bogwoppa, Criminal Minds, Skanna, and more!
Vinyl Fanatiks – Direct – Bandcamp – A project run by Brent from Aquasky to bring back some major classics and underground bangers!

NEW HARDCORE & JUNGLE VINYL & DIGITAL

Here’s a selection of sites making new and authentic Hardcore & Jungle

4 The Core Recordings – Bandcamp
Ako Beatz – Direct
Flash Cats – Bandcamp
Good2Go DMR – Bandcamp
Hardcore Vinylist Records – Bandcamp
Pete Cannon / N4 Records – Bandcamp
Seventh Storey Projects – Direct
Sneaker Social – Bandcamp
Spandangle Selection – Direct
Sub Code – Bandcamp
Parallax – Bandcamp
Peace On Wax – Bandcamp
Trigger Happy – Bandcamp
Tru Unity – Bandcamp
Violet Nights Recordings – Bandcamp

The post Where to find Old Skool Hardcore & Jungle Vinyl & Digital appeared first on Hardcore Junglist.

There’s a HUGE amount of historical digital music out there that was encoded in low-quality bitrate but there are some gems out there as well.  But are they what they say they are?  How can I trust them? Can they be improved?  You bet ya last white dove they can….

THE SOURCE – NOT KETCHUP!

First up: Nothing will ever beat purchasing a file that’s followed the official and correct path: Original track from the label/artist, from the original DAT that’s been professionally mastered to today’s standard and uploaded to a legitimate site.  But we live in the real world and if I was to hazard a guess as to how many tunes were released in 1992 and how many are available to buy now that have followed said path, we’d be lucky to get near 3-5% – which leaves a fuck lot of tunes out there you want in your collection!

Of course the quality of the file matters, but what trumps this is WHERE IT CAME FROM.

To check out where you can buy these files check the Where to find Old Skool Hardcore Vinyl & Digital article

So reality check over, let’s tackle a few key questions that you should be asking yourself in order to get the best files and get the most out of them as well…

MY COLLECTIONS ALL WAV BRUV, I’M GOOD

No, you’re not, well not 100% anyway.  The reality is a lot of these low encoded MP3’s have been opened up by some bright spark who thinks ‘saving as a WAV’ will bring all the magic back.  It will not.  Once encoded at a low level your stuck with it.  “But I open it in Ableton, did this, that and the other to it” – well done you, all you’ve done here is polish a turd and shove some diamonds in it – at the very core, it’s still shit.  Sorry bruv!

So how can you tell if your files are any good or not?  Well, there are 2 free programs out there that I’d recommend be an integral part of your music review process: Spek.cc and Fakin The Funk, I mainly use Spek simply because it’s crazy easy to use as you just drag and song into and open your eye balls! Fakin The Funk isn’t complicated by any means, I’ve just not got into it but it does look good.  I should mention Spek is in beta but it works great for me.

What Spek (and FTF) are great for is highlighting those tracks that started their life as a low quality MP3 and then been saved as something higher.  Once you’ve downloaded the app and it’s open you simply drag the file into the app and shit loads of pretty colours show up – but what to they mean?

Here’s a break down of the same song that’s been encoded at different levels to explain what you’ll get from each one.  I should mention that I’m no audio engineer, but I don’t have to be – it’s clear what you see below when you encounter a problem file:

ENCODE 1: Original file, from original DAT, re mastered to todays standards – the ultimate digital file!

As you can see below the pretty colours (professional engineer talk) are hitting above 20kHz, we’re looking very good!

ENCODE 2: Same file as ENCODE 1 but re-encoded at 320kbps

The pretty colours are capped at 20kHz, certainly not the end of the world, but there’s some degradation for sure. I’m not getting into the MP3 vs WAV debate – I’ve played 320’s in my sets for the last 15 years and no one’s ever come up to be and said: “bruv, I just heard you play a 320 mp3, me and the misses are out of here!”

ENCODE 3: Same file as ENCODE 1 but re-encoded at 128kbps

Here’s where the damage is caused, our beautiful pretty colours have had their heads chopped off! This is going to sound fine on your crappy, out of the box, iPhone headphones, but sound systems will shit them out for brunch. Delete and replace immediately.

ENCODE 4: The 128kbps re-encoded as a WAV file.

If you’ve understood what I’ve shown you in the above 3 images then there’s really nothing more to say!  This is where you find out that the lovely WAV you thought you had,  turns out to be nothing but a piece of shit that’s taking up precious space on your hard drive.  Delete and replace immediately.

ANY THING ELSE I CAN DO?

There sure is, there’s a great program called Platinum Notes that’s going to help us with the final step.  Now I’ll be upfront with you – I avoided this program like the plague for years as it basically claims to set all your music library to one audio level, in essence, you may think this is great, but as a label owner for nearly 15 years I know how much time, money and skill goes into professionally mixing and mastering a track and I don’t want a program to just whip through a cut what ever DB off its loudness, just so I don’t have to mess with the gain while DJing – that’s a humans job to balance your mixes and your over all set.  Rant over!

With that said, a lot of the files are encoded in decent quality, but just at a low level.  This is where Platinum Notes comes in to ramp up the volume, retune (great for those early 90’s tunes) as well as expand the dynamics if needed.  Like Spek, it’s a simple as to use as you just drag the file into it and away it goes.  There are options to mess with the settings but I’ve personally not found anything better than the preset.

When I put a decent quality vinyl rip of Orca’s ‘My Brother’ into Platinum Notes it boosted the overall level by 3.7dB – nice swan!

NB: I’d strongly recommend A/B testing the original and PN’d file to see if it has done what you want it to do (make it louder!).  

Finally, if you’ve got some basic production skills then you can use a program like Ableton to boost gain, EQ etc as well as warp the beats to cater for all those time signature inconsistencies.

COMMENTS?

Got any comments or thoughts?  How do you prep your digital files?  Let me know below!

The post Hardcore Digital – Getting the most from your digital music files appeared first on Hardcore Junglist.

As well as my own show, there’s a wealth of regular podcasts out there that are keeping the ‘Hardcore Will Never Die’ statement alive with their regular shows.  Here’s who they are, and where to find them:

Basement Phil – Mixcloud
Billy ‘Daniel’ Bunter – Mixcloud
Kniteforce Radio – iTunes
Slipmatt’s ‘World Of Rave Show’ & ‘Slip’s House’ – iTunes – Mixcloud
Stu Allen – Mixcloud
Uncle Dugs (Weekly on Rinse FM 11-2pm Every Friday) – Mixcloud

HARDCORE, ON MY RADIO

As well as the regular podcasts, there are still many shows globally that are preaching the good word of Old Skool, Hardcore, Rave, House & Jungle.  Check them out here:

Dream FM
KoolLondon.com (Rat Pack, Billy Bunter, Slipmatt, Tamsin, Mark XTC, Congo Natty & more)
Hardcore FM
OnlyOldSkool.com
OSN.com
OldSkoolSundays (Glenn Aston & more)
Origin FM

ANY MORE

Yes I’m sure there are many more out there that I’d be glad to add to this list, please leave a comment below with DJs name and link to show and I’ll get it added – nice one!

The post More Old Skool Hardcore Rave & Jungle Podcasts appeared first on Hardcore Junglist.

Taking care of your records is paramount! Making sure they are clean and well stored means you’ll getting years of play out of your precious collection, but how do you do this on a budget?  I’ve done some research and for less than £100 you can get yourself a decent set up that will get your record collection sounding great. 

WHAT DO I NEED?

Personally I use the Knosti record cleaning kit, it’s currently on Amazon for around £70 and has been hailed as “The best manual record cleaner out there” by thevinylfactory.com. Unfortunately, the immediate downfall of the Disco Antistat (known as the ‘Knosti’ elsewhere) is that, straight out of the box, it doesn’t perform that well. The fluid isn’t great for your stylus (I’ll show you how to make your own fluid for a fraction of the cost), the funnel and filter pads are not well designed, and the instructions aren’t thorough enough. On the other hand, the cleaning bath/trough is great, the clamp protects the labels, and the rack is well designed in that the support pads don’t touch the record’s grooves.

In addition to the Knosti, you’ll need the following:

• 2 large lint free microfibre cloths. The more the better, make sure they’re at least 12″ square. Test them on a CD case to make sure they don’t scratch.
• 5L of distilled (de-ionised) water.
• 1 empty bottle with a spray-gun attachment.
• 1 measuring jug.
• 1 Y-shaped funnel.
• 1 pack of unbleached coffee filters.
• 1 carbon fibre brush.

You’ll also need poly-lined inner sleeves and, most importantly, a home-made record cleaning solution.  There are various types of mixtures people recommend but we’ve found this one works well:

MAKING YOUR OWN SOLUTION

• 700ml lukewarm water
• 2 drops of washing-up liquid
• 1 cap of distilled malt vinegar.

Pour the fluid away and make up a new jug for every batch of 10-15 records, If you don’t want to make it yourself, get Plane Groovy’s ‘Vinyl Clear‘.

METHOD

Use a clean area with lots of light and wash your hands!

1. Clean the record on the spinning turntable with the carbon fibre brush to remove excess surface dust. Check YouTube for instructions on how to correctly use these brushes.

2. Following the Knosti instructions, fill the trough with your own solution or Vinyl Clear (you’ll need at least 500 ml to fill the trough so use the measuring jug), put the clamps on the record (not too tight, but tight enough so that liquid doesn’t run down the label), wash the record. I turn the record 20 times in one direction, then 20 times the other way (give it another 10 each way if it’s really dirty!).

3. Lift the record from the trough and allow the excess liquid to drip into the trough.

4. Hold the record over the sink by the still attached clamp and spray the record with distilled water at eight points per side. The idea here is to remove the solution as you don’t want any residue left over on the cleaned record. The spraying method does a surprisingly good job of jetting the solution off the record, I give it a spin over the sink to let the water go round the record. It’s important that you don’t rinse the record with tap water as it could leave mineral deposits on the record (especially if you have hard water). Some users buy a second trough from the other place and fill that with distilled water. I find the spray-gun method works fine and it’s cheaper than buying an extra trough.

5. Remove the clamps and place the record on a clean microfibre cloth on a clean flat surface. Place a second microfibre cloth over the record to create a sandwich. Press down lightly on the cloth so that the water is absorbed. Turn the record over and repeat this drying process for the other side.
Note: You should not rub the record in order to dry it, just press down with the cloth on the record and it will absorb the water.

6. Place the record in the Knosti rack for the final air dry. Be careful when putting the record on and taking it off the rack so as not to scratch it. Feel the white tips, they’re well positioned but a little sharp! You can either place balloons over the stands or tape over the white tips with electrical tape which is soft and won’t scratch your record if it makes contact.

Repeat steps 1-6 until you have filled the rack. It will hold seven records. Once you’ve placed the seventh record on the rack, the first record should be completely dry.

NOW YOUR VINYL IS CLEAN AND DRY

1. Carefully remove the dry record from the rack. Feel the label and outer edge of the record to check that it is completely dry. If you’ve followed the above method correctly the record should be pristine and free from dirt, fingerprints, and dust. Obviously, nothing fixes a scratch. Even brand new records will come out looking (and sounding) better.

2. Place the dry record in a new polylined inner sleeve. Keep any printed inner sleeves as they have collectible value. Bin (or sell) the old paper sleeves. There’s no point in putting your freshly cleaned record back into a dirty sleeve!

When you play your cleaned records they should only require a dry sweep with the carbon fibre brush before and after each play. You only need to perform the above wet cleaning method once per record as long as you keep your records clean.

Make sure you wash the trough out in warm water after use and let it air dry completely. Filter the Vinyl Clear back into it’s bottle via a funnel and coffee filter. Keep the Vinyl Clear in the fridge. You’ll notice the Vinyl Clear depleting gradually over time. You should always ensure that the trough’s brushes are completely submerged in Vinyl Clear (500 ml). I top up with distilled water when supplies are low. You could also consider filtering the used solution into a separate bottle, so as to keep your un-used solution free of residue. If you are using your own solution then you can simply pour this down the sink, a single batch should be enough to do up to 15 records. 

CONCLUSION

This method is cheap and a bit messy, but it works so well. It’s a rather therapeutic experience and far more personal than using a record cleaning machine. Seeing second hand records, previously covered in a layer of grime, come up sparkling is very pleasing. The best thing is the sonic benefit, you can really hear the difference that a good clean makes. There is a regained sense of clarity and subtle detail, the noise floor is greatly reduced also. I wouldn’t say it’s “night and day”, but the change is quite audible.

GOT ANY TIPS FOR US THEN PLEASE LEAVE THEM IN THE COMMENTS BELOW

[Additional credits: R. Cowlin & Mich O’ Phull] 

The post Cleaning Vinyl Records On A Budget appeared first on Hardcore Junglist.