UNADULTERATED POSITIVITY - POST 1 of 3

The majority of what I post on this blog involves moaning. That's a fact. Well, to redress the balance I present to you 3 POSTS OF UNADULTERATED POSITIVITY! Starting with...

DRUM AND BASS AND ITS UNPARALLELED ABILITY TO MAKE THE WHOLE FUCKING 'FLOOR JUMP AND SHOUT

I used to be obsessed with Drum & Bass. I was totally immersed in the scene. I wrote my dissertation on D&B and its status as a musical subculture. It was pretty much all I bought and all I listened to for a while. Passion is a great thing.

Back in the day what really did it for me was getting into the nitty gritty of the music, the producers, the labels and the scene, plus attending virtually every D&B night I could. Since then, my taste has re-broadened and my devotion subsided. Variety is a great thing, too!

I have, however, maintained a healthy love for da jungle. These days what really does it for me is the effect that the sudden appearance of drum & bass on the turntables can have on an up for it crowd. I saw a documentary about the Millenium Dome New Years 2000 party, with its multitudionous arenas covering all styles of dance music, in which one of the promoters was interviewed. "I've been in this game since the beginning and seen it all - rave, house, garage, the lot. And let me tell you, there's nothing quite like it when the drum & bass tent kicks off". Amen!

I remember the first gig I went to after moving to Brighton was DJ Craze, the hip hop/D&B scratch god. He played a wonderfully paced set, starting slow and building up the pace and energy with chunky beats and turntable dexsterity. About 45 minutes in, the tempo was creeping up and the huge crowd were oozing with anticipation. People were literally baying for D&B. A ripple of cries for "DRUM & BASS!" started up and spread through the crowd. Craze was ready and soon dropped the first 160bpm+ beat, neatly cut into the half-speed hip hop. There's something about a bar of a chugging hip hop beat followed by a bar of frenetic, rolling drum & bass kicks and snares. When the tune proper finally dropped, the whole crowd lifted 2 foot of the floor and screamed and yelled. Fucking awesome.

Similar scenes have unfolded (minus the baying) at all sorts of festivals, clubs and gigs I've been at over the years. It brings back a nostalgia for me, as well as getting into my bones and making me dance my ass off. And laugh a lot, too. Theres something wonderfully silly about it - the music, the reaction, the energy, the aggression, the passion... it makes me laugh!

The funniest scene i witnessed was at last years post-Pride free party at Black Rock. There were 3 sound systems, only one of which was loud enough for the majority of the wasted and party hungry crowd's attention. As we arrived they'd clearly just fired up, and they were blaring jungle out of the rig. I was chuffed, but some of those around me were beside themselves with joy. "FUCKING YESSSSSSS!!! DRUM AND BASSSSSS!" They cried, faces contorted into screams of energy, joy and OTT eagerness! "ITS ALL ABOUT THE ROLLING BEATS MAAAN!" one guy shouted at our group. Then, spotting that we were clearly enjoying it too, followed it up with the immortal line "HE FUCKING KNOWS IT!"

In relaying that tale in the past I've been asked, "what did he know?! That it was drum & bass?!" Well, yes, but from my days as a scene-obsessed D&B head, I remember well that the presence of other people who get the rhythm and energy of the music - which, lets face it, isn't for everyone - has a certain power of unity and way of reinforcing and strengthening the scene. That's what our OTT reveller meant and that devotion is the backbone of the D&B subculture.