In the first of what I hope will be a regular series of MP3 mixes from areas of Dance Culture not normally covered by this blog, Gutterbreakz is hosting a mix from the Hatfield Peverel Junglist Massive. "Who?!", you cry. Well, I haven't yet ascertained the connection with this Essex village, but the Peverlist Massive is basically one person - Tom Ford, proprietor of Rooted Records, one of the nicest little specialist record shops in Bristol. That's Tom above, slightly worse for wear, entertaining the crowd in the bar at Subloaded II at about 4.00am. Whilst the dubstep revolution was busy going on next door, Tom was taking a righteous trip down memory lane, breaking out some prime mid-90's Drum 'n Bass for a small yet appreciative (and very mashed) audience of Red Stripe-guzzling bassheads. Tom's first love is D'n'B, and his shop is full of the stuff. Now, whilst I'll occasionally wax lyrical about the old school junglists and the breakcore Amentalists, I freely admit that I know fuck all about what's really happening in modern underground Junglism. So I invited Tom to supply me with a mix of some of his favourite joints from the past year or two, to give me (and all the Gutterheadz) an idea of what's going down. Of the artists featured, the only name I recognise is Digital, but that's 'cos he's been around for years. A couple of the record labels are familiar too. Be warned: this is strictly hardcore bizzness...none of that 'ironic' Shitmat sampledelica or Amen Andrews 'raves from the grave' nostalgia here. So, if you think you can handle it...Tracklist:
Nucleus & Paradox - Think About It (Offshore Recordings)
Nucleus & Paradox - Tell Me The Truth (Esoteric)
Special Forces - Babylon VIP (Tekdbz)
Paradox - Our Future Is Extinction (Paradox Music)
Equinox - Acid Rain (Breakage remix)(Inperspective)
Digital - Natty Dread (Reinforced)
Optiv & Bulletproof - Black Cell (1210)
Digital - Hard Ears (Function)
Although Tom is a committed Junglist, his shop (pictured right) also caters for Reggae, Dub, Hip Hop and Electronica tastes, as well as being Bristol's only dubstep specialist. Currently in stock are two essential new dubstep releases: the third installment from Kode 9's Hyperdub label - Burial's "South London Boroughs" EP (also available at Warpmart) and the first release from Ital, Skream's awesome "Traitor/Angry". If you're in the Gloucester Road area this week, I strongly advise you to grab them. Failing that, if you want to order them online (or just want to tell Tom how much you like his mix) you can e-mail him.On the subject of grime/dubstep (aren't I always these days?), check Blackdown's recent experience at Forward>>, where the East and South London crews collided in a very positive exchange of energy. Great to hear that Wiley is down with the DMZ axis...who knows where it'll all lead...? Oh, and check out the clips of Blackdown's own tunes which should be doing the rounds in the near future, plus some classic Rinse FM sets . Top blog, innit...
