Art by Chriszka

Blasts from the Past: The Continuous Jungle Revival

Posted on December 1, 2024     1 Comment

Here’s a fun fact: If you’re obsessed with a music genre and you stay obsessed, you will live through more revivals of it than you can imagine.  

Obviously, one could argue that your particular favorite subgenre probably never really went away but was alive and well the whole time somewhere out there. That’s how I feel about the psytrance scene (the proper kind), which has gotten itself a MASSIVE comeback in Denmark in the last years – but has been alive and well in other European countries for decades on the vibrant psytrance festivals. 

But let’s focus on jungle today:

I have dived into the archives and realized that we’re not just living through a considerable oldskool jungle and drum’n’bass revival right now; we had a BIG one in 2005. And another one ten years later.

THE REVIVAL OF 2005
Let’s take a closer look at the one in 2005. Here’s the entertaining proof: I wrote an article about it in CITADEL in February 2005, titled ‘The Big Drum’n’Bass Revival’:

Zoom in, or read the translation:
“As early as September 2004, it became quite clear: 2005 will be the year of the long-awaited drum’n’bass revival in Copenhagen”, I write with conviction.

And continue:
“And February 19th is set to be the big day for all the bass-thirsty darkside jungle fanatics who’ve been sitting at home sulking, plotting, crying, waiting, crossing their fingers, and hoping that something would finally happen. February 19th marks the day when jungle is officially back in the capital.”

The article, continued:
“Drum’n’bass had a good run in Copenhagen from the mid-90s onwards, with highlights like the explosive party at Roskilde Festival 2000 (back when Roskilde still had the guts to take bold, exciting risks with the lineup in the techno tent — and on a Saturday night, no less!).” 

“But by the end of 2001, the number of parties started dwindling, and the last couple of years have been a walk through the desert for the jungle heads of Copenhagen. An hour here and there just isn’t enough when it’s all about the flow. And it is all about the flow.”

“Drum’n’bass is one of the most fascinating genres when you’re into mixing skills, and on February 19th, enthusiasts with such priorities can finally relax and just enjoy the ride through the tunnel. The evening’s lineup guarantees mixing expertise from seasoned perfectionists who have been around since Copenhagen’s drum’n’bass scene was very young—it’s going to be dark, hard, and intense.”

The article, continued:
“All the junglist massive will definitely be there, but for all of you out there in need of a new experience in techno land (and who haven’t yet discovered this sublime and sense-bombarding genre) this event is highly recommended—especially if you miss those kinds of raves where it’s all about dancing until you drop, with plenty of smiles and enthusiastic shouts on the dance floor, and where the perfectly mixed sets are so insanely powerful and overwhelming that you don’t even have the time to hit the bar, and the only water you get are the droplets of condensation falling from the ceiling by the speakers in the front. Not to be missed.”

The article, continued:
“The sharp lineup in the main room — Vitus, Jimmy F, N.I.S, Drop, Pyro, and CRS & MC Nufound — will keep things at a constant boiling point for the truly hungry bass junkies, while Nico DeFrost, Casper LT, and Nathan Curry serve up simmering liquid vibes downstairs.”

More 2005 fun:
On the same page of the CITADEL magazine, right below this article, is ANOTHER drum’n’bass party – kicked off by dj Sakena (back when she was called SakenaRibena) with a liquid set!

Obviously, I immediately had two jump into my photo archives to see if there are any pics from these events, and lo and behold, I felt lucky! There were lots! From the 5th!

Or so I thought, but quickly realized that the ones I found were not from Feb. 5th at Culture Box, but from the 5th of MARCH 2005 at Culture Box: An OHOI! party with Mark One as the headliner. But we all look so happy in the pics that I’m gonna post them here anyway:

THE NEXT REVIVAL, A DECADE LATER
Thanks to the hard work of DJ Drop , we had a good run with lots of drum’n’bass parties at Culture Box and Nadsat in the following years (Drop ran the monthly DNBZone club nights in Copenhagen from 2005 to 2009, booking everything and everyone from Future Prophecies and Rolodex to Vicious Circle, Temper D and EBK).

But then came the next drought.

Until Mariiiii and Chriszka had enough – in 2014 – and kickstarted their own oldskool jungle revival by going back to London where said revival was already in FULL swing. Overwhelmingly so, in fact. We came for one oldskool jungle party, but ended up at three. THREE oldskool jungle parties in one weekend! They don’t mess about in London.

You can read about our entire London adventure here: How to be a Junglist: Going to London

As per usual, London moves first – and it takes a few years for Copenhagen to catch up.

But DJ Drop called it again in 2016: The Jungle revival had hit the Danish capital.

And I quote (from an interview I did with Drop in 2016):

“What’s the best thing that happened this year?
“The jungle revival in Copenhagen! – kicked off by the first All Jungle party. The oldschool feeling is back, and it has hit Copenhagen, too. It’s beautiful! There were so many of the old crew at the All Jungle parties, and a lot of new faces, too, and then there’s the jungle stuff going on at Bolsjefabrikken, on top. To me, all this was completely unexpected. My faith in a healthy, thriving drum’n’bass scene in Copenhagen took a serious blow after giving up on DNBZone, so I’m really happy to se it.”

You can read the entire interview with Drop here: Jungle Confessions: It’s against all odds, and it’s fabulous

And you can read about the All Jungle revival party here (LOTS of good photos!): Present time: All Jungle

An inspirational quote from my text: “We want jungle. We want amen. We want complicated drum patterns.”

The ten year revival cycle
So here we are, folks: A revival in 2005, one ten years later, and then the current one. Should we conclude that it ebbs and flows in a ten year cycle, or should we just agree that the jungle revival is now a permanent state?

I’m gonna end this here with some recent proof that the third(?) jungle revival is currently ON:

Proof number one:
My own birthday party a year ago (oldskool jungle all over).

Proof number two:
DJ Storm doing stormy stuff at the Strøm Festival this summer:

…and the crowd enjoying it:

Proof number 3:
My own oldskool jungle sets, of course!
Find them and follow me on soundcloud.com/chriszka – I would be delighted!

And proof number 4: The Drum And Bass Klubben Bladerunner party that we should all attend on December 13th!

(AND as bonus proof: Two parties this upcoming weekend as well: There will definitely be some oldskool jungle vinyls at Breakbeat Therapy on the 7th! – (and probably at the Drum N Bass Night at Folkets Hus on the 6th, too).


JUngLEkalenderen revisited
For more time travel, junglism and deep dives into rave culture, find all JUngLEkalenderen entries ever here: JUngLEkalenderen (long scroll).