Jungle Confessions: “I fell completely in love with the entire thing”
Posted on December 20, 2016 Leave a Comment
What happens when you’re introduced to jungle at the tender age of 15? For today’s main character, it has meant a lifelong commitment with no digressions. It’s all jungle, and jungle all the way.
So what does it feel like, being made entirely out of jungle? It’s time for a Q&A with the one and only Mariii, aka The Jungle Monster!
What a teenage room in Vestamager looked like in the 90s.
When did you become a junglist?
“In the beginning of the 90s. My first party was the one at Rugbyklubben, which seems to be the case for many of us. It was my cousin Tino who brought me along; I was 15. I had never seen anything like it, of course. Up until then I had only been to kids’ parties. Everyone there were a bit older than me, and it was all very exciting! I think I have been to just about every single jungle party since then. And I have never really been going out in any other way. I’ve never been to an ordinary disco, really. It’s just been jungle parties for me, all the way. I fell completely in love with the entire thing.”
The young teens warming up to a jungle rave at Det Blå Pakhus in Amager, 1996 (probably).
Why do you love jungle?
“I think it all made such a huge impression on me because I was so young. Big up to my cousin Tino for introducing me to jungle! He has done me a big favour with that one. He borrowed all the records from Nis and Chris and copied all the tunes onto cassette tapes and wrote down all the names of the tracks. That has been a big help for me later on when I’ve had to search for old tracks on youtube. Just brilliant. For me, it’s just been like one long crush that never stopped. It’s mad just how much jungle moves me. I’m forever in love.”
Yup, you can say that again. The Jungle Monster just had to express her Jungle Love SO MUCH that she got a reminder burnt into her skin.
THAT MOMENT where Mariiii reveals herself as the Jungle Monster for the first time. Find the entire shocking story at the end of today’s post.
How are you spreading the jungle gospel?
“I have handed out tons of flyers and made tons of copies of cassette tapes for people back in the day. At school, one of my classmates had one of those double tape recorders which was such a massively cool thing to own back then, and I borrowed it and copied every single tape that Nis and Tino gave me and handed them out to people. We spent hours and hours copying those tapes. And whenever I met someone new I made them listen to jungle and invited them to the parties. A lot of people said yes.”
What’s your favourite tune?
“It’s impossible to say. But since it’s you asking, I’m gonna say Warpdrive with dj Crystl. It’s truly one of my all time favourites. It’s a very unique track. But there are simply too many to mention. Check out my youtube channel for more; I have a huuuge list. And I’m uploading all my old tapes, too.”
Some true babyfacin’ at the Notting Hill Carnival in London, 2000.
What’s your best party moment ever?
The One Nation flyer.
“One of the parties that made the biggest impression on me ever was my first trip to London with Caspar. We went to a One Nation party. It was 1998. Stevie Hyper D was mc’ing. And all the big dj’s were playing.”
“More recently, the All Jungle party here in Copenhagen was fantastic. Especially the first one in February. That was too mad. It was a massive surprise entering the room and seeing it so packed. That was big.”
“And I have to mention the Ribena party we went to in London in 2014 with just 100 people in a basement in Shoreditch.”
Oh yes.
“That was just unbelievably awesome. They played some tunes that I seriously thought I would never get to hear again on a dancefloor. They were really digging up some truly rare things from the bottom of those record bags.”
The tale of that adventure is right here: How to be a Junglist: Going to London
What’s the best thing that happened this year?
“The All Jungle party in February. And something Welsh.”
Mariiii, Mugge and Aske hanging out at Christiania Radio, 2005.
If you could timetravel to any point in time right now, where would you go?
“I would go back to the parties at Operaen on Christiania. That was just the best time, being a teenager and taking it all in. I met so many people at Operaen that I still know today. I would like to be at one of those parties again.”
Early teen pic of Mariiiiiii dancing to Cypress Hill in her Vestamager teen room.
What’s the dark secret noone knows about you?
“Well. Tim Driver inspired me with his revelation about Phil Collins, so I’m going to say Rick Astley. I love Rick Astley. I still think he has made the best pop music ever. I have this endless fascination with British culture. I’m definitely an anglophile. If a guy opens his mouth and English words come out he immediately becomes 10 percent more hot in my eyes. No, more like 35 percent.”
Do you want more of Mariiiiii aka The Jungle Monster? Check out the horrific story of her sneaky skin switching techniques in this horror story: Blasts from the Past: Jungle Bells 2005
Lots more Mariiiiii here: Blasts from the Past: Garden Party People
If you wanna revisit the Ribena party in London with us, it’s right here: How to be a Junglist: Going to London
And TONS of hand-picked tunes and uploaded cassette tape mixes from back in the day on her youtube channel right here: Maruskimus
“Whiiiii, I’m a Disney princess with a super-unrealistic waistline. EAT IT, SUCKERS!”
Jungle Feelings: The Blade Runner special
Posted on December 19, 2016 Leave a Comment
“A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard”.
This is the opening line of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” by Philip K. Dick, the book on which the movie Blade Runner is based, and it would go on my list of “Best first sentences in books ever”; but I’m not making that list today. I’m making the 7 best jungle/drum’n’bass tunes with Blade Runner samples.
Why?
Reason number 1)
Because today is the 19th, and Blade Runner is supposedly taking place in 2019, so there. JUngLEkalenderen likes number magic.
Reason number 2)
Because the official teaser trailer of Blade Runner 2049 was JUST released today. As in like an hour ago. IS THAT A COINCIDENCE? Most likely not, as nothing seems to be a coincidence in JUngLEkalenderen.
Reason number 3)
And last but not least, because this is how much space Blade Runner – The Director’s Cut took up in my teenage diary when I watched it on Monday 7th of December 1992 at the MGM Cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue in London.
“I’m looking out the window at all the city lights. I just watched Blade Runner – Director’s Cut so now all that neon and all those lights from the distant windows seem even more interesting and frightening and beautiful. Why is it so fascinating, all that neon and rain? I will never be done with this city. I feel like I haven’t even started yet”, I wrote.
This is the next page with Harrison Ford climbing those rooftops in L.A. anno 2019. That’s three years from now. As you can see, I wasn’t just into intelligent, cyberpunk’ish sci-fi, but also into Keanu Reeves.
But we shall stick to the Blade Runner samples in this post. Even though there might be some good tracks with samples from Point Break out there – and definitely som Matrix ones. But today is Blade Runner time!
Dj Fav: Lost in Time
A zoom of my diary will show that I have written All those moments will be lost in time like tears in the rain in the blue globe above Harrison Ford.
That pre-death rooftop monologue by Rutger Hauer/Roy Batty has been sampled extensively through the years.
Back then I thought the Roy Batty character was super scary, but I could relate to his sadness: That all the stuff he had seen and experienced would be lost. What a shame.
My own human solution to the android problem was trying very hard to write down EVERYTHING I experienced so that I could hold on to it, somehow. It took me years to give up on that impossible mission.
Jonny L – More Life
On that note: This is my absolute favourite Blade Runner track. The I Want More Life! sample. Rutger Hauer’s modified voice. Drums EXPLODING in desperation. What a tune. The masterpiece of the list, for sure.
Dom & Roland – Deckard’s Theme
Quality drum’n’bass from Dom & Roland. A very very very dark mood from a very cold future.
Trace and Nico – Replicant
Finally some Harrison Ford voice on top of a cold techstep tune. I really like the fact that Blade Runner 2049 is starring both him AND Ryan Gosling. Bam.
Dom & Roland – Through the Looking Glass
“A new life awaits you in the off world colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure”. Dom & Roland does it again. This track sounds like evil machines breathing.
Shroombab & Polarity – Bad Motions
Favourite thing: The very discreet “Time to die”, almost a whisper. Lots of very oldskool sounds in this one – and let’s just rejoice in the fact that someone uses the artist name Shroombab.
Breakage – Questions VIP
Favorite soundclip: “It’s not an easy thing to meet your maker.” I wish more artists would sample movies ALL THE TIME!
Extra bonus for the gamers:
In the MOST EXCELLENT point’n’click adventure The Dream Machine (highly recommended!) the main character (Victor) wears an exact copy of the shirt that Harrison Ford is wearing in Blade Runner. Everything is handmade in the game, so there’s room for that kind of ultra fandom stuff. I interviewed the creators of the game back at the release, and they explained their choice: “It’s just the nicest shirt ever”.
More games? Read Gamers and Ravers: The Amazing Similarities between the Two Worlds
Do you want more tunes? Try out The 7 most romantic jungle tunes ever
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Find all three seasons here: JUngLEkalenderen
Blasts from the Past: Distorted Afternoons
Posted on December 18, 2016 Leave a Comment
You might remember the collection of blasts from the past on day 6 of JUngLEkalenderen, focusing on the Pirate Party Pack boat party on the 4th of June 2006 – Blasts from the Past: Pirate Party Pack.
This all took place during the 2006 edition of the Distortion festival. Which means that the weekend was, to no surprise, quite eventful, as most weekends were in 2006.
So let’s jump into the time machine and go back to the very same weekend, only two days earlier, and enjoy a collection of moments from June 2nd – at Nadsat in Hyskenstræde where we had a blast celebrating the release of the summer edition of the Citadel magazine combined with a Copenhagen Label Collaboration launch.
Tim Driver has found a chair by the decks and is totally not moving for the rest of the event.
Guests are arriving and the magazine is being examined.
Other guests prioritize the bar.
And the Heineken is free.
This should have been in the babyface collection, despite the stubble.
Some real babyfacin’ here, tho.
Copenhagen Label Collaboration is handing out goodies.
Kim Kemi keeps a firm grip on the furniture while the free beer keeps flowing.
Citadel writers admire their own witty work.
While the street starts to get crowded.
Undisturbed by the crowds, Daniel has found a magazine and has started reading.
Meanwhile, Madvig teaches the new generation to dj.
Some people still prioritize the bar.
Undisturbed, Daniel keeps reading Citadel.
Two androids arrive from the future to clean up this mess.
Klaus Boss immediately tries to teach them the important handsign for CITADELSK which means ‘beyond excellent’.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, other weird hand signs are thrown, junglist style.
Citadullerne have their own way of making sure that people do not forget what the hand signs look like and what they mean.
Undisturbed by blondes having fun, Daniel has finally found the restaurant section of Citadel, and the world around him truly disappears.
Lækker Later crew etc. arrives.
Time to compare shoes and shinbone tattoos.
Lars Gregers has no idea what hand sign Klaus Boss is going on about.
Look at all this new, amazing technology!
Undisturbed by the roaring crowds around him, Daniel keeps reading.
And so, the police arrives.
Hot policeman listens intently to Dennis.
Hot policeman lets other people do the paperwork.
But things continue in their own merry way.
Everyone’s happy.
Sponsored beer is cold.
Mika fights the power.
Aaah, the delicious sound of hard work on print.
And all the hugging and kissing begins, as per usual.
Do you want more hugging and kissing? – jump to Jungle Feelings: The Love and Kisses Special
Do you want much more Citadel? Go to Blasts from the Past: The 4Ward Show
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? No fear, all 3 seasons are here: JUngLEkalenderen
Jungle Confessions: “Going to raves was mind-expanding”
Posted on December 17, 2016 Leave a Comment
Today we’re giving it up for the one like CRS – the radio show machine!
CRS at the Rolodex party – DNBZone.
CRS has been doing radio shows pretty much none stop since the 90s and has only taken one break from the airwaves: That was in 2008 when a shoulder operation forced him away from the decks and off the air for a month or two.
Let’s dive into the Q&A!
Shoulder working just fine here! At the Kraken party at Stengade, 2007.
When did you become a junglist?
“In the beginning of the 90s. I was involved in a lot of other of music stuff back then – punk rock, metal, hiphop – and I still am. It was in the the milieu around Ungdomshuset with Rolandoposen and Deutsche Club. It was all so new. All the music bubbled with energy. And I was so young and took everything in.”
Super old scan! Babyface selection potential! Private party at Svingsen’s Jungle Hut.
Why do you love jungle?
“It still makes me happy, just like it did in the 90s. And I love doing my radio shows, playing neurofunk and some of the newer stuff for a dedicated crowd. Check us out on bassjunkees.com every Friday! We’re on ustream, too, now – we just got a webcam in our studio.”
Oldest known scan of CRS behind the decks. Thanks to Mariiii for this rare pic.
How are you spreading the jungle gospel?
“I started out on Christiania Radio with Nis and Caspar in about 98-99. It was the Jungle FM days with Delroy and MC Chris and MC Darren and Nufound and Mark the Chef and Nico Defrost. And then, in 2000, Ok Preston and Fares stopped their radio show on DTU, so I took over. It was called CheckItOut. I made a jingle with a sample from Jungle Syndicate.
Then I started producing with Pyro – and then I met Phono who runs Leet Radio and Leet Records, and so I started doing internet radio in about 2003.
A small intermezzo pic of Pyro and Chriszka the Time Traveller with a Leet Radio flyer.
Now I do a show on bassjunkees.com every Friday from 20 to 22 – with regular visits from local dj’s and artists. Big up to the artists sending me tracks so that I stay in the loop!”
How does raving make the world better?
“It’s an outlet of energy. When I was younger it was like a release, and you could spend the entire next day just thinking about how mindblowing it had been. Going to raves was mind-expanding – meeting people and being part of the rave scene. And it wasn’t just about jungle and drum’n’bass, I mean the entire techno scene, like the Simplicity parties with Morten and Bjarke and the first Deutsche Club parties at Ungdomshuset, too.
CRS enjoying the vibe at the Rum’n’Bass party at Stengade.
What’s your favourit tune?
“I have like a top ten of tracks that I love in equal amounts. Can I mention four?”
Yes, but I will choose the one I like best to go on top of the list as the featured one.
[…insert small break…]
Okay, that was easy:
Optive and Bullet Proof – Camouflage
And here are the other three, with links:
Messiah – Conflikt, Raiden – Falling and Noisia og Upbeats – Dead Limit.
Group hugging backstage at the Kraken Party at Stengade.
What’s the best thing that happened this year?
“It was the Black Sabbath concert at the Copenhell festival. I hadn’t seen Ozzy for 15 years. I saw him at Pumpehuset with the Ozzy Osborne show, playing solo. But this was my first time seeing Black Sabbath. And the last, I reckon, given that the tour was called ”The End”. They stop at New Year’s, and that’s that. They are like 70 years old.”
CRS and Chriszka the Time Traveller feeling the music at Culture Box 2007.
What’s your favourite track that’s not jungle?
“This might come as a surprise to some people, but I’m gonna say Gang Starr – Full Clip.
Many see me as this punk/metal guy, but I’m into much more than that. I think he’s a great poet.”
If you could timetravel to any point in time right now, where would you go?
”We have to go back to the 90s, when I’m like 18 to 20, hanging out at Ungdomshuset at Jagtvej 69. Those were great days, and they made me into the person I am today. I’ll never forget it. There was so much music and so much going on. Nice winds of change were blowing across the globe, too. The world was in a better place politically, in my opinion. I can understand why the young people of today feel that current times are tough.”
Blitzed at the Temper D party at Culture Box in February 2005.
Thanks, CRS!
And we’re not gonna publish this without including the best pic of CRS ever:
This is CRS having a meet-up with Freddy Krueger.
Do you want more CRS?
Don’t miss the Random Friday shows on bassjunkees.com every Friday from 20 to 22 (and up for downloads afterwards: (Here’s the last show: https://www.mixcloud.com/randomfriday/crs-randomfriday-16_12_16/))
And catch him here on soundcloud: soundcloud.com/crs_dk
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Scroll through ll three seasons right here: JUngLEkalenderen
Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special
Posted on December 16, 2016 Leave a Comment
It’s time to have some time travelling fun. Let’s rejoice in the fountain of youth that true junglism bestows upon us and dive right into the ultimate BABYFACE SPECIAL!
So where does this eternal youthful glow come from? Witchery? Dark magic? No. High bpm’s, high pulse and never leaving the dancefloor until the very end.
A true classic, soooooo rare. The babyface group hug! Warming up for Just Jungle at Eigens Ballroom. Teenage room style furniture. Way before digital cameras entered our lives.
Bobby “Babyface” King II shows up behind Daniel Dreier at Nadsat.
My most babyfaced jungle pic. We’re just about to jump into 1995 at the The Harder They Come rave at Stonebridge Park Complex, London. Footnote: That’s the only rave I’ve ever been to where the music was so loud it actually hurt my ears. Troubling volumes.
The most babyfaced picture of dj Nis that I have. This is in the kitchen were Nis now plays about with a new fountain of youth: veganism.
Blitzed babyfacin’ in front of Jolene, Kødbyen.
Okay, the 11-year-old dj is NINE YEARS OLD in this picture!
Rune RK, 2000F and Dr. Disk do some extreme baby facing in this gem of a picture scan. We’re at Jungle Fever IV, January 1995, Operaen, Christiania.
Chriszka the Time Traveller babyfacin’ and Adidas’in, junglist style.
Children smoking cigarettes.
Advokatorex’ best babyface pose. At the Raw After After After party, August 2007.
Svingsen wins this babyface trilogy battle. Old scan, private party.
Okay, Kristobal wins the entire babyface competition right here. At Stengade. Photo by Vitus.
Mariiiii puts on a babyface to fool the world after her sneaky jungle monster exorcism.
Babyfaces and aliens (and me taking a short nap) at the Silo party at Islands Brygge.
World famous dj and producer Axl Rise does a real baby face while toying with sound effects.
Babyfacin’ at the Public Service festival at Strandgade by Luftkastellet. Possibly 2004.
And the outro: A babyface arrival by Casparados.
More time traveling? – Check out Blasts from the Past: The Raw After After Party
More veganism? Go to Jungle Confessions: “I Get Goosebumps on My Legs Thinking About That Party”
Did you miss out on yesterday’s post? Here it is: The 7 perfect games for junglists
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Scroll through three years of JUngLEkalenderen
The 7 Perfect Games for Junglists
Posted on December 15, 2016 1 Comment
It’s an interesting day for games, because
1) any European vaguely interested in the mainstream of mobile gaming has now been waiting for more than 10 hours for the release of Nintendo’s new mobile blockbuster Super Mario Run
2) I just got an invite to the world premiere of the Assassin’s Creed movie
and
3) right now, the 6 new games made by students from DADIU (The National Academy of Digital Entertainment) are being celebrated at Filmskolen in Copenhagen. Again this year, the games reveal a healthy sense of humour (a Danish trademark that we should be proud of), so check them out here; anyone with an Android tablet can download them for free).
With all that in mind, JUngLEkalenderen will spend this day diving back into the landcapes where gamers and ravers meet.
(If you missed the last one, here it is: Gamers and Ravers – the Amazing Similarities between the Two Worlds.)
Here it is, your indispensable guide: The 7 perfect games for junglists.
RECORD RUN
This mobile game is an overlooked gem, made by Harmonix, the people behind Rockband and Dance Central. It’s a rhythm runner, where you sprint along the pavement, dodging parked bikes and garbage piles and fire hydrants and men reading newspapers and other obstacles to the rhythm of the music of your own choice. Yup, that’s the true genius of it. You can run to the beats of your own iTunes music collection, which makes it a great choice for junglists. Just choose your own tunes!
For some reason, Back to Your Roots (Friction & K-Tee Remix) makes a perfect running tune for me in this particular game.
You have to collect as many vinyls as possible, while running, jumping and sliding along the pavement. When you’re doing really well, all the obstacles start dancing along to your beats, which is super cool.
Extra junglist point: The game begins in a record shop jam-packed with vinyl albums. And it’s free. Download here.
GRAND THEFT AUTO III
This is a classic. I never really did get up to much mischief in GTA III. I just found myself a car and drove around the streets of Liberty City, listening to the pirate station MSX FM 101.1, hosted by DJ Timecode and MC Codebreaker.
140
Things get dubsteppy.
This 2D platformer game is made by former Playdead lead gameplay designer Jeppe Carlsen and has an awesome, dubsteppy soundtrack by Jakob Schmid. Just listen to some of the bass lines in this clip, headnodders: carlsengames.com/games/140/
The game was released on Steam in 2013 and recently hit the consoles.
THE LONDON HEIST
If you have access to a Playstation VR headset, you will already have tried The London Heist, which is part of the demo pack. I have tried it every time I got the chance to do so at gaming conferences and such, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the car chase sequence on the London motorway every time.
You are in the passenger seat in a getaway car after a coup, chased by bandits that you can shoot at while you mess about with your soda and stuff in the glove compartment and such. And tadaaaaa: The car radio is tuned into a pirate station! No idea which track is playing, though, since I’ve been too busy hanging out the car door shooting people and stuff. Fun! You can google translate my (p)review here: Playstations VR headset is out – here are the games.
Wipeout 2097
A flow classic. More games should have soundtracks like this. The futuristic racing game Wipeout 2097 is packed with tunes, from Photek and Orbital to an instrumental version of Prodigy’s Firestarter.
Devil May Cry
The entire soundtrack is by Noisia, so there…
DJ Hero
You need some extra gear to play this one on your console, and it’s getting pretty old, but I had insane amounts of fun playing DJ Hero back in the day – especially with tracks like this. Not so much when you were forced to mix tracks by Blackeyed Peas. (Tip: The drum’n’bass action in the video above starts at 3:47).
Outro
And I’m just gonna end this with a screenshot from Playdead’s newest game Inside, because it’s so incredibly darkside.
“We’re not gonna die, we’re gonna get out of here!”
Yeah, sure.
If you’re a gamer or a raver, don’t miss Gamers and Ravers – the Amazing Similarities between the Two Worlds.
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Scroll back through three years of entertainment right here: JUngLEkalenderen
Jungle Confessions: “I had to stay on the dancefloor until the very end”
Posted on December 14, 2016 Leave a Comment
Whohooo, this is gonna be fun. It’s time for a Q&A with Sofus the Amazing Shape-Shifter! Sofus is many things, so I will let the pictures and my comments speak for themselves and get right on with it. You will love this. I do.
When did you become a junglist?
It was at Nis’ party at Rugbyklubben in Christianshavn.
OMG, everyone was there! THAT’s where I would want to go in my time machine!
Yeah. I can’t have been very old… I must have been 15. I found the flyer in Loud, the record shop in Hyskenstræde. That’s where I spent my pocket money bying vinyls. The party was an eye opener. There was a lot of trance, too, at the time, and compared to trance, jungle had this chaos of beats that seemed difficult and very complex to me in the beginning. Even though I was listening to death metal, too. But jungle was way more freaky. It was a storm that just came and took me.
My first rave ever was around that time, too – at Pakhus 11 in April 1994 – the Seawolf party where Photon made the visuals. I still have the poster in my flat.
OMG again! You have to take a pic and send it straight away.
Will do.
Sofus sent the pic. Whohooo.
Why do you love jungle?
“It was the unpredictable bass and the unpredictable rhythms that got to me. In trance, the bassline was very dominating and monotonous, but in jungle, it just jumped about all over the place. I liked the tunes where everything was shifting constantly. Jungle challenged you with new beats all the time. You distanced yourself from the repetions of house and techno. I felt very inspired.
And back then, you needed a space where you could just go berserk. It was some kind of teenage rebellion where you just went to the raves and made a point out of being the last man standing on the dancefloor. Now, it’s a lot easier for me to leave a party or a rave when I feel tired. But back then, I stayed ’til the last drop of blood – every time . It wasn’t exactly like doing sports, but it was something like it, and you felt super cool and kind of like a cyborg and definitely very future-like!”
I know exactly what you mean!
“Sometimes I had these inner struggles on the dancefloor where I was really tired and had to sit down for a bit, but I always got up again. I had to stay on the dancefloor until the very end. That became a big challenge when I lived in Berlin in 2002 and 2003. Because their parties never end. It was the same thing with the underground outdoor parties in Denmark – they sort of never really ended, either.
There’s something euphoric about it, the fact that the body can just keep going. It’s a meditative quality, almost shamanistic. All of us doing this tribal dance together. A collective consciousness. You are actually doing it for the community. You don’t just go home, you stay and dance until the end.”
Exactly!
“And afterwards you feel really proud and sore in all your muscles for days and days afterwards.”
How does raving make the world better?
“When you’re at a rave with a lot of people you don’t make a lot of conversation – you use your physical body to express your feelings and the sounds in the music. We don’t use our language but the bodies and the rhythm and pulse of the music instead. And you start to recognize eachother when you’ve experienced a thing like that together. You feel connected. There’s a poetry of the body – a compassion and inner knowledge that we’re all in tune with each other. When you get home from the raves, you feel that there has been a bond, that we turned into a tribe. That’s why afterparties are so popular for ravers. It’s hard to let go of that bond. And all the things you didn’t get to say while dancing… You can get to say all that at the afterparties.”
What have you learnt this year?
To be persistent. To keep the focus even when projects take a lot longer than I expected. That has really been a thing for me this year. To keep going, to not let go.
Sofus being persistent at the Ohoi! 6 year anniversary.
If you could timetravel to any point in time right now, where would you go?
I would like to go back to Love Parade in 2006. There was a whole Danish crew on a float with Kim Kemi and Daniel and Patrick Bateman and Rune RK playing. I would like to go back there and experience that one more time.
That’s what THAT moment looked like.
What’s the best thing that happened this year?
The Somewhere Festival at Boesdal Kalkbrud in Denmark.
Awesome answer! I have a whole selection of photos of you from that festival. Perfect. Here’s one:
Secret junglists sharing a moment at the Danish floor at the Somewhere Festival.
“That was one of the best outdoor event of 2016. It was a super awesome location, at the old Camp Electric spot, and I liked the fact that there were 3 stages: One Danish, one German, one Swedish. Joint forces from 3 nations. I would like to see more of that kind of collaborations at festivals. It was awesome.”
Sofus posing for my iPhone on the German floor at the magnificent Somewhere Festival.
What’s your favorite jungle tune?
Awwwww!
Sofus having a laugh at the German floor at Somewhere.
What’s the most exciting thing about 2017?
“I would like to go to Burning Man in 2017. I have started planning. I have an art project that I would like to unfold there. We are working on it.”
Sofus the Amazing Shape Shifter and Chriszka the Time Traveller working on it at the most awesome Dyssen party in 2008.
Thank you, Sofus! That was awesome.
And I’m just gonna end this with one more picture from the Somewhere Festival so you can see how beautiful it was.
Want more romantic jungle tunes like Sofus’ favourite? Go to my list of the 7 most romantic jungle tunes ever.
This is a good day to reread the 7 best things about being a raver.
It would also be a good day to reread The Secret Junglists.
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? No fear, it’s all here: JUngLEkalenderen
How to be a Junglist: The Hand Horn Special
Posted on December 13, 2016 1 Comment
Today’s post is dedicated to Kristobal, boss manager at the venue Pumpehuset in Copenhagen. The hardworking people at the popular venue has just managed to land an awesome deal with Københavns Kommune which means that the venue in its current form (which is top form and still evolving) is safe and sound all the way until the year 2024 – which is a VERY CHRISTMASSY YEAR, we might add, so JUngLEkalenderen approves in many ways.
So here’s a pic of Kristobal, conveniently placed in front of a sign that reads December 13th!
IS THAT A COINCIDENCE? Of course not. Nothing is a coincidence in JUngLEkalenderen.
And here’s the article on the good news, all fresh: http://politiken.dk/ibyen/byliv/art5737045/Spillested-reddet-Pumpehuset-får-usædvanlig-julegave-fra-kommunen
The crew at Pumpehuset likes their basslines to be deeper than deep. And they like their music to be dark, mean, sometimes unpleasant and sometimes downright weird – and we salute that. I mean, JUngLEkalenderen doesn’t salute a genre like hardstyle as such, to be honest, but we salute the fact that somebody is musically curious enough to explore the uglier soundscapes, too.
So today, let’s give it up for Pumpehuset, home to many drum’n’bass parties, high quality death metal extravaganzas and cosy long table afternoons under the chestnut trees. We celebrate this with a post dedicated solely to a handsign that’s immensely popular with both the junglists and the metal heads.
THE HAND HORNS!
So what IS this sign, here expertly shown by Feltman at the reopening of Jolene in Kødbyen 2008.
Is it used to invoke the Horned God? Does it bring trouble or peace? It definitely seems to bring peace to Sulu here, as invoked by JSL.
It’s earliest known use can be seen in India – by Gautama Buddha (born 567 BC), for the expulsion of demons and removal of obstacles like sickness or negative thoughts. It still works in 2007!
Some people would say it just means “Rock on” or “Hell, yeah” or “Good times.” I mean, that’s what it looks like on the surface while we’re dancing through the afternoon sunshine on our way to a Hatesphere concert at Roskilde.
The cartoon version of John Lennon also uses the sign on the cover of the “Yellow Submarine” album from 1969, and theories speculate that he wanted to signal an interest in Aleister Crowley. That’s definitely what we’re doing here. With a sprinkle of Buddha, of course. We’re backstage at the Kraken party, 2007.
Here’s an entire room working on the expulsion of demons and removal of obstacles, Buddha style, while warming up to DNBZone. 2008.
A rumour tells us that if you dont keep you thumb in while doing the gesture, it means “I love you” in sign language. So here it is, shown in a double I Love You version by JKamata, surrounding Kristobal with love and flowers – at a summer party at Dyssen.
Here’s a handful of junglists having a great time with the handsign at Roskilde Festival 2008.
Okay, fair enough, it was actually the Slayer concert, but there are junglists in there, somewhere, for sure.
Here’s another relaxed version thrown by Garridge Bwoy. That’s the one that actually means “I Love You” . According to rumors. Can anyone confirm this?
Another double at the Hatesphere concert, Roskilde Festival.
Aaaaand let’s finish off with a sharp one, thrown by dj Hype at Stengade 2008. We can’t look at this picture enough. JKamata does wonders for it.
More hand sign specials? Jump right in: How to be a Junglist: The Hand Sign Special
Want more metal? Go to JungLE Confessions: It’s against all odds, and it’s fabulous
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Go here: JUngLEkalenderen
Blasts from the Past: The Fashion Week Special
Posted on December 12, 2016 Leave a Comment
You might think that junglists only go to The Grey Hall in Christiania if there’s a jungle rave on. But oh no. We would go to a proper trance rave, too, if there was one. And the Christmas market. And the roller disco. And hey, a fashion show.
Welcome to the Completely Unexpected Junglist Fashion Week Special. We’re going to a Vibskov fashion show in 2008 – and then on to Nadsat, a club cool enough to be named after a language in a book.
(Or, okay, maybe they named the club after the language spoken in the film, BUT STILL.)
Okay, so junglists don’t only squeeze into The Grey Hall to go to Nis’ rave parties. This is what we look like waiting for the Vibskov fashion week show.
This is what a blitzed line-up of people look like photographed with a digital camera from 2008.
Wait, maybe this is a trance party after all.
Nah, too many people sitting down, not a trance party, definitely a fashion show.
Super busy high fashion junglists ready in their seats, waiting for the show to start!
The show is on. Maybe this is a trance party after all.
No, wait, THAT’S CARSTEN JENSEN RIGHT THERE on the catwalk. It’s not trance, then.
Audience and a piece of Drop’s forehead.
Drop just loves a good old fashion show.
Fashion mingling time.
A junglist fashion pose. Or we could call it: A Benetton moment.
What the back rows at a fashion show in The Grey Hall looks like.
And theeeeeeen, we’re off to Nadsat, the nightclub that once resided in Hyskenstræde, where we are greeted by two lovely dj’s dressed in fashionable shades of grey.
It’s fashion week, so there’s champagne, all the time everywhere.
And blond people everywhere, being hugged.
Nadsat bathed in blitz light. Nothing looks amazing bathed in blitz light.
Well, apart from Sofus the Amazing Shapeshifter, of course.
Kim Kemi og Daniel likes the blitz, too.
So what IS Nadsat, then? Nadsat is a mode of speech used by the nadsat, members of the teen subculture in the novel A Clockwork Orange. It was also a club in Hyskenstræde – from 2005 until 2009 – focusing solely and stubbornly on high quality electronic music (JUngLEkalenderen appreciates this. We like stubborn.)
“Quaint,” said Dr. Brodsky, like smiling, “the dialect of the tribe. Do you know anything of its provenance, Branom?” “Odd bits of old rhyming slang”, said Dr. Branom … “A bit of gipsy talk, too. But most of the roots are Slav. Propaganda. Subliminal penetration.” Drs. Brodsky and Branom, A Clockwork Orange, page 114.
Whohooo, Daniel Dreier arrives at the decks in Nadsat while Kim Kemi finally gets to wear his fashionable cake hat.
The dancefloor is getting juicy, apparently.
Daniel Dreier has an intense moment with the mixer.
And Luis has an intense babyface moment on the dancefloor surrounded by his droogs (that’s the word for friends in nadsat. The language, not the club).
Do you want more Blasts from the Past? Don’t miss Blasts from the Past: The Dressed-Up Junglists, where everyone is wearing really interesting outfits.
Do you want more Nadsat? DO NOT miss Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition. Tons of pictures from a packed evening.
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? No fear. it’s all right here: JUngLEkalenderen
Jungle Confessions: “It was a secret community that you wanted to be a part of”
Posted on December 11, 2016 Leave a Comment
Day 11 is dedicated to Nufound – star of many enthusiastic dancefloor snapshots, builder of bikes and last but not least, the man behind what several JUngLE calendar regulars have called ”Best thing to happen in 2016”: The All Jungle parties at Loppen, bringing back the oldskool jungle vibes from the 90s. Big up Nufie!
Nufie feeling it at Culture Box. Photo by Miss Popo.
When did you become a junglist?
“Someone brought a walkman and a cassette tape with jungle on it to school in ’93. . It was at Det Fri Gymnasium at Christianshavn. And I was thinking ”what iiiiiis that…?!” I couldn’t make heads or tails of it at first and I had been playing music all my life up until then, in bands and such. The tape was a mix. It was probably made by Nis or Opiate. And then I went to one of the first parties at Operaen. I was about 18 at the time.”
Nufie loosing at Trivial Pursuit because Svingsen and Chriszka the Time Traveller ARE WINNING.
Why do you love jungle?
“I think we were missing some sound that we could truly identify with back then. There was American hiphop and American heroin rock and you wanted to identify with it, but you couldn’t, really. And then this new sound just came in from London and it just matched us completely. That was us, that was what we were! The sound was wild, it had lots of energy, you could dance to it all night. And it was something noone had ever heard before. So completely new and crazy. It mixed all the genres. Rock and hiphop and everything. Hard beats and lots of humour and crazy samples. There you were, as a teenager, not really knowing where you belonged, and there it was, this community from London showing you the way. It seemed slightly dangerous, too, compellingly dangerous. It was underground, it was secret. It was a secret community that you wanted to be a part of.”
Nufie feels part of the community at the Seba party at Culture Box, 2006. Caught by Vitus.
How does raving make the world better?
“There’s a special unity to it. Thousands of people meeting to enjoy something that really means something to them. And you can see it in the eyes of the others. You don’t have to know them, you can see it in their eyes that they feel the same way. It gives you hope. That’s what it was like for me in the beginning. I didn’t know the people I would be raving with that night. But I had the flyer, so I knew where the rave was, and I would get ready listening to jungle at home and then just go to the rave and walk in through the doors and it felt like a private invitation.”
Nufound and Chriszka the Time Traveller feeling it synchronically at the Kasra party at Culture Box. Caught by Miss Popo.
How are you spreading the jungle gospel?
I’m doing the All Jungle parties at Loppen – dedicated to reviving the vibe from the 90s. Because it was so good back then. There are so many people who remember the parties from back then, and they all show up. And those who are too young to remember or too young to have been there themselves get a chance to experience how awesome it is. There’s something really special about the old vinyls. The genre has so much to offer, still. And we promote the parties with flyers like in the old days, too. So that people can hold a physical object in their hand representing something to look forward to. I miss that, now that everything is digital. So I’m doing the parties to revive the vibe from back then. We have to keep going – there are so many good dj’s in Copenhagen, and so many great people. We will do a couple more decades of this, haha. The next All Jungle is on May 20th 2017. Last time we focused on 1994-95. In May we will go even further back, to ’91-’93.
Intense dance floor moment at Culture Box. Caught by Miss Popo.
What’s your favourite tune?
Dream Team with Stamina.
It has all the elements of a proper jungle tune. Sick breaks. Crazy drums. Sirens, horns and ragga samples. It’s my fave.
What’s your best party moment ever?
I have to say all the parties at Operaen. But that’s quite a span of years. And the big parties in The Grey Hall back then. With a massive stage and MC’s. And some of the very very first RAW parties. They had a really awesome vibe.
Nufound floats above a very junglistic group hug.
What’s the best thing that happened this year?
“Definitely All Jungle. I had been missing that vibe terribly, and we succeeded in recreating it. I had to do the parties, because I really felt that something was missing. We had so many great years at Culture Box, too, and then it was all gone. I found an old mixtape with Dj Jeffy. It was called Jungle Spliff. And then I started bying all the vinyls from that mix on Discogs. It was all 93-95 tunes and I was at my decks mixing them and I justr thought ’fuck, this is crazy, we have to do a party and play this again. It will work, definitely’. And it really felt like jumping into a time warp, shooting us all 20 years back. It was an out of body experience. It was in the original part of town, at Christiania, and it was the right dj’s, the right lights, the right everything. And we just wanna pay tribute to the old tunes. So many other people play the new stuff. Oldskool jungle is… they were pioneers. It just hits you.”
What’s your favourite track that’s not jungle?
“It’s a classic, but Jean Michel Jarre, Oxygen part 4. It has that spacey dreamy feeling to it that I find important. It lifts you to a different place. Lots of other tracks and genres do that, too, but this piece in particular. If a spaceship comes by and takes us all they could very well be playing this track in the lounge.”
What have you learnt this year?
“That we sould pollute less. I was travelling in Vietnam at the beginning of the year, and I just got home from Kenya, and we really have to take care of our environment more and watch out for the global warming. We saw som sick stuff in Kenya with lakes that have risen 20 meters and roads that have disappeared. We went to this place that used to be pink with flamingoes and they had all migrated to somewhere else. We all have to start with ourselves. I do little things. I never throw my cigarette butts anywhere. And I use the bike.”
Nufie and Chriszka The Time Traveller, surrounded by nature, like proper junglists.
What’s your favourite JUngLe calendar post?
The 7 saddest jungle tunes ever. I’m a sucker for sad drum’n’bass tunses. My own favourite sad tune is Simon V – When Fancies Speak. Man, that’s sad.
Listen to Chriszka the Time Traveller’s selection of the 7 saddest jungle tunes ever here.
Do you want more Nufound? Check out his soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/cbakpedersen
And put down the date of the next All Jungle party at Loppen in your calendar: 20th of May 2017. Good music and good vibes guaranteed.
This post would be appropriate to reread today: Flyer, flyers, flyers everywhere
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Go to JUngLEkalenderen
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