Jungle Explained: “It’s not earthbound, it’s more outer space”
What you see above is a picture of me, taking a chance. Or playing with time portals, possibly, but anyway – here’s the story:
I have made The JUngLE calendar for two years in a row now. That’s 48 chapters packed to the brim with blasts from the past and more than a thousand pictures. It takes a ton of hours to collect and arrange that amount of pics. “Doing another round of JUngLEkalenderen is unrealistic”, I thought. “I know December is coming up, and it’s sort of a tradition now, but it’s completely unrealistic”.
But as Will Smith says: “What’s the point of being realistic?”
And he’s pretty succesful.
(Here’s one of the youtube videos where he says that. Forward to 6:00)
Also, being a junglist, I like an impossible challenge and just tend to run straight towards it when I see it, basically, so here we go, junglist, trancers, music lovers and all you other people with eyes and ears and JUngLE curiosity and time traveling urges out there: This is
The JUngLE Calendar III
– and THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL!
You’re about to meet the stars of the JUngLE calendar. Up close and personal!
First up is the one and only Nico DeFrost – musician, producer, christianit (that’s a person living in Christiania for all those unfamiliar with that Danish word), tv-star and proud owner of a friendly horse. Or proud friend of a friendly horse, would probably be a more Christiania-like way to say it. They’re hanging out, anyway!
You’re meeting Nico today because he will be appearing tonight in the final episode of the entertaining and well-produced four part documentary Christiania Uden Filter – watch it, I highly recommend it.
So get ready for a one on one with the fabulous Nico DeFrost. We will be going to outer space, back to the legendary Prodigy concert in 1995 (a nerve-wrecking story!!!!) and to Ibiza! INTERVIEW TIIIIME.
So, Nico – when did you become a junglist?
In the 90s – at a party in The Grey Hall in Christiania. I had heard jungle before because my dad was living in London, and I heard jungle coming out of every store and every hairdresser when I visited him. But the first time I really understood jungle was on that night in The Grey Hall. It was the best thing with horns and white gloves everywhere and a real raver vibe. And everything was covered in army nets. I hadn’t experienced that kind of vibe before. That’s when I realized it. I realized that jungle was me.”
Why do you love jungle?
I love jungle because it’s very high energy and it has double rhythms so that you can move fast and you can moce slow to the same kind of beat. And I love it because it’s not earthbound, it’s more outer space. It’s a little bit dangerous without being scary. Plus it’s very positive. Even the dark tunes. It’s like flying in a space ship and you’re kind of landing on a new planet and it’s a little bit dangerous but it’s not like you’re afraid, really.”
How does raving make the world better?
Raving makes the world better because people get an out of body experience – a possibility to move without thought, without thinking about what other people are thinking. For me it’s like a spiritual thing. It’s a break in normality, a place to meet new people and a place to recharge.”
How are you spreading the jungle gospel?
I have been dj’ing since 2001. And when I’m producing in my studio I like to inspire musicians that normally work in other genres to do crossover projects with jungle vibes in them. I have done jungle things with people like Lucy Love and Lukas Graham. One of the newest things I made was this track with the Canadian hiphop rapper Unknown Misery (he’s called Mizo when it’s jungle), Joseph Agami og Jazz Malaika:
https://www.beatport.com/track/bring-it-back-original-mix/7998345
What’s your favourite tune?
Document One – Run the Block. Because it has this funky jazzy oldschool vibe from the 90s that I miss. I can choose a new favourite every week – there’s so much good music.
What’s your best party moment ever?
I have to say it’s not a jungle moment. It was Burning Man 2015 in Nevada – Black Rock City. It was the most creative party I have ever been to. My second best party moment ever must be when Prodigy played in The Grey Hall in 1995. I was stage managing the gig and they put up all the equipment and then they started the sound check and the sampler didn’t work. I was asked to get an AKAI 2000 sampler before 14 o’clock or the concert would be cancelled. I had 20 minutes. So I called the nearest music shop, and the sampler arrived in a cab ten minutes later. That was an intense moment in my life. Followed by the best music I ever heard.
That’s very superhero of you, Nico!!!! Saving a legendary concert where so many Danish junglists and junglists-in-the-making met each other back in the day!!! Or didn’t meet, but met later on. Everyone was there, anyways. Here’s a pic of you in secret superhero mode to celebrate:
And so, superhero’ed up, we ask the final question: What’s the best thing that happened this year?
That was my holiday in Ibiza with my mother in January. I realized that I hadn’t spent a whole weekend with her for many years. Time flies by so fast. So I had to make it happen. And in January we got to spend two weeks together in Frank E’s house in Ibiza. That’s the best thing that happened this year.
Awww. Thank you, Nico. ❤
You can catch some of Nico’s work if you go watch Nøddeknækkeren (The Nut Cracker) at Docken. JUngLEkalenderen highly recommends it! (and fondly reminisces about that jungle party in Vega waaaaaay back when Steen Koerner and crew did a breakdance show. Here’s the flyer:
Nøddeknækkeren at Docken is the breakdance version of the classic ballet and has been watched by 190.000 people by now, so that’s certainly becoming a bit of a christmassy tradition as well. It’s on from December 1st (yes, today) to December 30th. Nico has made three of the tracks. One of them is drum’n’bass, of course.
Tickets and trailers here: http://www.noddeknakkeren.dk and here (trailer).
And don’t forget, junglists, for even more Nico: Watch Christiania Uden Filter tonight – it’s on at 21:30 on DR3.
More JUngLE
Would you like a JUngLE calendar rerun? Scroll through previous episodes (that’s the complete season 1 and 2) right here: JUngLEkalenderen.
Or choose these reruns featuring Nico:
How to be a Junglist: The Dancefloor Moves
Blasts from the Past: The Dressed-Up Junglists
Christina Majcher 
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