Here’s a really obscure 95 jungle EP.. Despite the record name it’s basically a Ragga jungle Record, though the music tends more towards dark stuff. Beat production isn’t amazing but definitely good enough, an interesting one to check for sure.
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Something a bit different here… I remember this tune being listed on some website a few years ago as “experimental hardcore.. for the deeper heads!” or something to that extent. Listening to the tune then I thought “I don’t get it, these beats are pretty straightforward/not that choppy? sounds pretty normal to me”. I guess I was so focused on the standard loop-y beats I didn’t notice all the bleeps, squawks and buzzing sounds throughout the tracks themselves… pretty cool and different sounding from your typical 93 track for sure. Even though I normally only post one track per release, I’m posting 2 out of the 4 on this EP because
Mix #2 is more stripped down with more of a melodic component, still pretty unique sounding though.
I’m not sure who Abreaction was, my copy has the same basic info stamped on it as in the discogs photo. Great tunes regardless!
Abreaction – The Mind
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Here’s a gem I found in my collection while pulling tracks for yesterday’s radio show… Most people probably know Sound Corp for their dark anthem “Dream Finder”, probably not as much for this tune (or if so, possibly for a different mix of it – there’s at least 2 others). This mix of Regen-Time is pretty simple, but every single element in it is excellent: a classic Public Enemy vocal sample (repeated over and over to great effect before being pitched up and down), a frantic sixteenth note melody, stompy drums alternating with a super-heavy breakbeat, and some darker synths which enter the track via a breakdown. At a little over 4 minutes, it’s over before it has a chance to get boring. Definitely one worth checking, and worth picking up as (along with most Tone Def stuff) it’s still pretty easy to come by.
Sound Corp – Regen-Time (Mix 2)
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Here’s my set from the Fright Night radio show a few weeks ago. It took a while to post since I wanted to either rerecord it or at least cut out a few dodgey parts (record skips etc less than stellar transitions). I ended up doing the latter, so this is the exact set from then minus just a couple minutes of “errr, ummm, cut to a commercial break!” This show was supposed to be about playing “the darkest, most underground jungle/hardcore you own”, so rather than more well known darkside classics, I focused on a lot of the good dark tracks I’ve posted on this blog, including:
Here’s an interesting EP which took me a while to get fully into – it sounded promising when I heard it years ago, but when I finally got around to buying a copy, none of the tracks really resonated much and it kind of sat in the back of my collection. I just found it recently though when pulling records for a darkside special (which I’ll post soon), and I’m definitely more into it now. The tunes are pretty weird and unique sounding, maybe not the most hard hitting but with lots of samples and parts coming seemingly out of nowhere. In general this focuses more on the dark side of things, though it’s far from a typical “darkcore” release.
The EP was actually released on a sublabel of the classic metal label Earache, who despite focusing more on grindcore and hardcore tried to feature a fair bit of electronic oriented stuff back then (partnering with Industrial Strength for a while, etc). Possibly since it’s on such a decent sized label, the full sleeve artwork is actually pretty nice, reminiscent of something you’d see on a rave flyer.
DJ Senator And The Bagman – Tranqued
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Here’s a weird EP I don’t see mentioned much… it’s on the New York label “Death Records” which otherwise focused on 4/4 hardcore and techno stuff (ala Industrial Strength). In fact, this EP is probably more “breakbeat techno” than it is breakbeat hardcore style – there’s breakbeats in it but the structure is much more technoey, without the typical changeups of a UK Tune. There’s also a harsh filtered techno synth line throughout. Still, gotta love that bass part, which sounds a lot like the first breakdown in “Tek Track” but is looped throughout the tune. The other side is also good but a lot longer, this tune kind of gets in and out in under 4 minutes.
Black Widow – The Stalk
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It’s kind of crazy how many tunes Karl Francis aka Dillinja put out between 1993 and 1994… between his labels Cybotron, Deadly Vinyl, Logic Productions and Lionheart, Dillinja must have either been living in a studio or super quick and efficient and cranking these tracks out. You can kind of hear the latter in this tune – “From Beyond” is just one of the many from that era, not his most famous by any means but a personal favorite as of late for mixing purposes. Listening to it, you get the sense this might have been knocked together pretty quickly in the studio, but it’s none the worse for it in my opinion.
The beats don’t hold much in the way of surprises: a couple layers of chopped amens repeating over and over with few change ups. Instead, it’s all about the music: eerie pads, reversed fx, and pitched down vocals, with more melodic elements peaking in towards the middle. Even within the the range of 93 darkside tunes, this one is a little “out there” and highlights the stranger, less overtly “dark” stuff going on in tunes at the time.
Dillinja – From Beyond
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Be sure to check the other Dillinja tracks I’ve posted from that era here, here, here and here.
Serious nasty darkside here, with co-production by Skanna. This “Lost In Time” EP highlights the darker 93 sound which is all the rage these days, in addition to being one of the tougher to find plates of that era (though far from the rarest). For some reason, I think I remember hearing that Thunderhead was actually an alias for Krome & Time, but I can’t find any info to back that up so it could just be someone else? Either way this is definitely one to track down, even if it takes you a while like it did for me… both sides are absolutely killer and it was tough to pick which one to post!
Thunderhead – Untitled
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Apologies for the crackly rip of this one, my copy of this EP has seen better days… I’m posting it anyway though since it’s a Total TOON! Also it’s not exactly cheap / easy to find. No artist behind this EP that I know of, I think it was a favorite with Ratty, at least my copy has “RATTY” written on it in marker. This track uses the SOS Band “The Finest” acapella, as used in Foul Play “Finest Illusion”, but puts it with darker music than that tune. Got to love these happy/dark schizophrenic hardcore tunes!
Total Vision EP – B1
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I think someone mentioned this EP in the comments of this site a few years back – it’s a really solid 4-tracker of darkside stuff, on a relatively small label (Three Scars only did one other EP, with DJ Pilgrim). While there’s nothing incredibly different going on here, all tracks have that nice combo of choppy breaks and dark atmospheric samples, somewhat along the lines of Intense’s ‘Genesis Project” or “Paradox” EPs. The track featured here is actually the B2 track, but in my opinion is the strongest (both break-work-wise and melody-wise). Nice sinister breakdown partway through and again towards the end… definitely one to file alongside your Intense and Love Dove Jay stuff! The artist behind this did a number of other jungle + drum n bass EPs, including this ragga jungle one which I suppose might be considered a tune if you don’t mind the buju acapella/lyrics (which I kinda do)
Silver Fox – The Dawndest Thing
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