Back in January, University Challenge presenter Amol Rajan became an unlikely hero when he said “I can’t accept drum & bass. We need jungle, I’m afraid.“
The teams had been asked to name the genre born from the ’90s UK rave scene and reggae sound system culture. After the writer Nathan Filer uploaded the clip to X, the moment went viral and reignited an age-old debate: what exactly makes something jungle?
Our latest film explores the story of jungle, from its myriad roots to the present day; the sound’s unique characteristics and stylings; how it infiltrated the mainstream with tracks like “Original Nuttah“ by Shy FX and UK Apache; and how, alongside the genre’s pioneers, artists like Nia Archives and Shy One are passing it down to the next generation.
00:00 - Intro
00:49 - The Musical Foundations of Jungle
02:14 - The US Electronic Influence
03:46 - The Sound System
05:56 - The Jungle Formula
06:08 - Bass
06:36 - Breakbeats &a