SUPA APE / JUNGLORD / SULLY / OMNIRHYTHM / SIMPLY DREAD - UK Jungle 005

UKJ keeps the flame of old-school breaks and jungle afire with its latest four-track V/A 12″, with contributions from label co-boss Junglord, Supa Ape, Sully, OmniRhythm and Simply Dread all in tow for the inflammatory sacrifice. Unlike your usual jungle, these four cuts verge on the insane, thanks to this label’s commemorative grounding in the earliest days of jungle in its hardcore breaks and graff-adjacent days. We wager that back then, there was more room for experimentation before the “sound” got standardised and fetishised. Here’s a cogent recollection of that time – a time of vocal one-shots, dramatic classical music samples and rave stabs, sure – but above all, just a generally wilder and more rapacious indulging of the promise of what was once called breakscience; Junglord’s ‘Ready For Retaliation’ and Dread’s ‘Hard To Tell’ tend towards UK hardcore on this front, ultrafast breaks-drilling and buzzsawing away, with glee.