Jungle Music

Most media subcultures are defined as being created in direct opposition to a dominant culture, and have specific and distinct characteristics that define them as antagonistic. However, all subcultures do not fall into such exact categories, and those stemming from music genres are sometimes not antagonistic from their conception. Different genres of music are often deviations created from several different musical forms, and thus the subcultures inspired from them are not always directly opposed to a dominant mainstream. The jungle subculture began as a counterculture to techno and the rave community in the U.K. As the junglist movement grew and took shape under the influence of hip-hop and reggae culture, it turned into an antagonistic subculture.

The early nineties underground club scene in the U.K. was the birthplace of jungle music. However, rather than being created as a subculture to oppose the dominant mainstream, it began as an offshoot of the hardcore techno music that was popular with ravers at the time. Jungle was a new type of sound characterized by fast tempos and heavy, intricate basslines. The music established a dedicated following of fans with a mainly techno-inspired style. Ravers started listening to jungle music in the same underground dance clubs that used to play techno. The same rave fashion and popularity of ecstasy became part of the early jungle scene.

Jungle music always had multiracial listeners, and it began to attract more African-American British youth who brought the influence of their own culture to the music. The influence of hip-hop as well as reggae music and culture can be found in the way the jungle subculture adapted in the early nineties. Hip-hop influence can be seen by "the immersion in DJ culture, drum breakbeats and the attitude towards musical priorities of rhythm and texture" (Missingham). The music was directly affected by the hip-hop breakbeats that jungle DJs began to use. They also began using dub reggae basslines influenced by reggae music, which were slower than typical techno music basslines. The primacy of rhythm over melody was also a reggae-inspired aspect of jungle music. An antagonistic characteristic of jungle music "resides in the way it overturns Western music's hierarchy of melody over rhythm. In jungle, the rhythm is the melody" (Bradley). These influences helped to create a more distinct sound.

The influence on jungle music in turn worked to re-create cultural aspects. Fashion, slang, and the junglist attitude were altered by hip-hop and reggae scenes in the U.K. Original junglists came from the rave scene. Thus the typical junglists were happy, Ecstasy-popping Caucasian youths who dressed in brightly coloured clothing and furry hats. As African-American youth became involved, they brought a different style and attitude that helped to differentiate the jungle subculture from the rave scene. Members began dressing in camouflage and wearing baggy cargo pants and sweatshirts, following hip-hop style. Hemp, dreadlocks, bandanas, and wooden bead jewelry were integrated into jungle fashion as a reggae influence. Another major change was the use of drugs. Influenced by reggae culture, ecstasy lost popularity and cannabis became the principal drug used by junglists at dance clubs where the music was played (Bradley).

As the jungle movement was established and influenced by hip-hop and reggae cultures, it turned from a counterculture of techno into an antagonistic subculture. Junglist youth were reacting to the social conditions of urban Britain at the time. "Jungle's militant euphoria is fueled by the desperation of the early nineties...jungle paints a sound picture of the social disintegration and instability...jungle contains a nonverbal response to troubled times, a kind of warrior stance. The 'resistance' is in the rhythms" (Reynolds). By 1993, the recession in Britain forced inner-city youth to endure unemployment and an inefficient welfare system. At night they escaped to the underground jungle clubs in defiance of the mainstream culture that was facing reality with mere acceptance. Followers of jungle music did not react violently to the social conditions as other notable subcultures chose to. Rather, they immersed themselves in a different lifestyle that was separate from the norm.

The jungle subculture also defined itself against the music industry's media infrastructure. Mainstream music was based on commercialization of artists and their music. Jungle, on the other hand, was opposed to the commercialization of its music on every level. "Jungle sustained itself through its infrastructure of pirate radio, small independent labels, dingy, off-the-beaten-track clubs, and specialist record shops" and "in defiance of the hegemony of the CD, jungle was all about vinyl" (Reynolds). Jungle's underground economy went against all the ideals of the music industry in the 1990's. The subculture's members fueled this antagonism. Hardcore junglists took great pride in the music created by DJs and valued its roots. Many jungle artists were rejected by members of the subculture when they reached commercial fame. Junglists felt as though they could no longer relate to them as mainstream artists.

As the nineties progressed, the jungle subculture increased in popularity and spread across Europe to North America. By 1997, it had gained widespread acceptance and became better known as drum and bass. Since then, the music has formed into several different sub-genres, such as techstep and jump-up (Ettlinger & Fraser). However, the antagonistic subculture opposed to the mainstream music industry's values still remains strong. Jungle music shows and events are still held in underground locations rather than popular mainstream dance clubs. Jungle DJs and MCs play live on underground radio stations and over the Internet. Jungle artists continue to stay true to the subculture's original values of opposition to commercialization. Jungle emerged as a counterculture to techno and the rave scene in the U.K. in the early nineties. However, as the music evolved through hip-hop and reggae influence, the junglist movement developed into an antagonistic media subculture. The jungle subculture remains strong today. With the increasing progression of technological innovations in the music industry, it remains to be seen if jungle will dissolve into the mainstream.

Bradley, Lloyd. Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 2001.

Ettlinger, Nancy & Fraser, Alistair. "Fragile empowerment: The dynamic cultural economy of British drum and bass music." Geoforum. 2008.

Missingham, Andrew. "Big Tings Ah Gwan: Junglist Music Takes Centre Stage: An Introduction to Jungle Music And An Enquiry Into Its Impact On The London Jazz Scene." Popular Musicology Online.

Reynolds, Simon. Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. London: Routledge. 1999.