Jungle Artists

Jungle took breakbeat hardcore's rave momentum into faster, more intricately chopped rhythms during the UK’s 1990s rave era. Its tracks often build around rapid, heavily syncopated drum loops, especially sampled breaks from funk and jazz records, with the Amen break becoming a frequent source. Deep sub-bass gives the percussion physical weight, while sampled vocals, sirens, synth effects and flashes of melody keep the arrangements in constant motion.

The music grew from a meeting of UK rave culture and Jamaican sound system traditions. Dub, reggae and dancehall inform its bass pressure, vocal snippets and spacious effects, while hip-hop and funk supply much of its rhythmic material. Jungle can be raw and densely layered, but it also leaves room for basslines and sampled hooks to cut through the drum rush.

Drum and bass emerged directly from jungle in the mid-1990s, sharing its fast tempos and breakbeat foundation. Jungle generally retains a more overt connection to ragga vocals, reggae-derived bass and the chopped-sample energy of breakbeat hardcore, whereas drum and bass developed into a broader set of production styles.