Sad news from Nebkins..
I was notified on my Facebook yesterday of the extremely sad news that Chris Savage passed away suddenly on Saturday 25th January. He was 34.
For those that didn’t know of him, Chris ran the hugely influential “Sav’s Jungle Tekno Zone” website back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s which was one of the first websites dedicated to underground breakbeat hardcore.
When i first got on the web back in the 90’s his website was invaluable to me and introduced me to the world of non-anthemy hardcore and inspired me to dig deep for obscure white labels. I spent many a Sunday evening on the phone to him when he lived at his dad’s house in Cheadle playing unknown tunes and things we’d stumbled on during our digging trips back and forth down the line. My abiding memory is hearing his dad playing piano in the background whilst we listened to twisted 1992 and 1993 hardcore. We swapped countless records and the knowledge he had was second to none.
Another part of his life back then was a mailing list where he sent mad and abstract animations around and i knew he was a very talented computer programmer as well as someone with a wicked sense of humour.
We lost contact along the way but contact was re-established a few years ago on Facebook. He had dug out his hardcore records and was interested in combining them with a new love of his – 78rpm records. He created the “Sav’s Jungle Techno and Gramaphone Radio Show” on Soundcloud in which he played the best of old hardcore interspersed with vintage oddball 78’s and his cutting wit and charisma. I urge you to download the 8 episodes he has uploaded to Soundcloud.
To say I’m shocked at his passing is a serious understatement. I was meant to meet up with him for the first time late last year in London but had to cancel due to family commitments. I’m gutted that i never had a chance to meet him in person.
Really, really sad to hear this. Ben had put me in touch w/ Mr Sav when he started making mixes again, and it turned out we had very similar taste when it came to obscure/anorak tunes. Some stuff he’d throw in his mixes I’d almost laugh out loud because it was stuff I had which I’d NEVER heard anyone else throw in a mix, and even felt a bit questionable putting in mixes myself! Despite keeping mixes to a minimum on this site, I broke my rule and posted a mix by him a while back, and just last week Chris agreed to do a special “best of” mix for the blog of some of his favorite, weirdest, most anorak selections.
I’m going to try to update this with some content from his old site once I manage to retrieve it (internet wayback machine is being a jerk at the moment), but until then here’s some mixes by him. RIP and big respect to Chris, condolences to his friends and family.
just checking a few of these out really top tune selection
sad i have to be introduced to mr sav in this way 🙁
It’s a big shame. R.I.P Mr Sav
I knew Chris well – we used to work together worked as freelancers on many a project.
I’m absolutely devastated about it – 34 years old!
I will play these on repeat while I work
Miss you mate
Al
That’s so said – I can’t believe it. I have gotten in to his mixes on Soundcloud in a BIG way since you posted a link to one on this blog. My deepest respects to his family and friends.
Terrible news, my intro to hardcore tunes on the net was through Sav’s site – and to find he’s passed, and was younger than me, is terrible. RIP Sav.
fuck..that guy was the best. His mixes and websites have been so important to me. He has a huge hand in a lot of the knowledge of hardcore and jungle that’s bounced around the internet since day dot.
Really upsetting. I knew Chris or “Sav” very briefly in 1999/00 and messaged him once in possibly 2003. I recently found he was on Back To The Old Skool and said hello and was surprised after all this time he still remembered me. My fond impressions was of a guy who had time for everyone (evident by how many people he helped with IDing tunes). He did the same for me – I would send him snippet tapes and papers with descriptions on and gaps for him to fill in the blanks. Seems so primitive now, but makes me laugh at it looking back.
He could have told me to bugger off, but he took the time to help and he Id’d a good number of obscurier and more well known stuff I just didn’t know the names of then – I didn’t have full Internet access, and it wasn’t as established as it is now – I used to have to email him through a local library. He sent my friend a few of his mixtapes so I sent him a couple of mine in thanks for all his help.
His quick-witted, fun loving and slightly anoraky nature was what endeared me and obviously loads others to his dedication and passion for Hardcore Rave, especially the 92/93 material.
It is a tremendously sad loss, and a shock; but I will look upon Chris’s legacy, the help he gave, the enthusiasm he spread and the happiness he shared and the way he helped the Internet side of Rave to ‘grow’ and flourish. A true gentlemen and unsung hero of the scene. Condolences to friends and family, you will be missed but we will try to help your spirit live on……
Absolutely stunned to discover this news.
My thoughts go out to all of Chris’ family and friends.
I knew Chris during the late nineties. The guy was well ahead of the curve. His passion for those early rave records was infectious. However, his knowledge and collection were off the scale. I had the pleasure of digging in Vinyl Exchange with him. His website was rather special, he was a great DJ and I think he dabbled in a little bit of production too.
Chris was always incredibly warm, friendly, good humoured, kind, generous, shared his immense knowledge with enthusiasm and an all round great guy. I am honoured to have met, spent time with and to have been friends with him.
In 2013, I briefly reconnected with Chris after reading about one of his mixes via this blog. Despite having not spoken in many years, he was still the same smart, warm, funny, passionate, interesting guy, just like before and was still involved in a number of musical projects.
Chris was a huge inspiration and a good friend. Long may his amazing legacy live on.
RIP Brother. You are missed X