- Describe your sound in 3 words
Collaborative, Jungle, Vibes
- Your music feels like a revival of the British Rave scene. What is the idea behind the track?
The track is a homage to the jungle sound that erupted from London in the early 90s. A time when sampling technology was new and innovative producers were reinterpreting classic reggae soundbtyes & soundclash culture. All to a backdrop of high energy raves fuelled by drugs and a thirst for new sounds!
We both grew up listening to so much of that reggae infused jungle & hardcore that we thought it’d be cool to do something ourselves. Around the time we started 4am Kru, we met Dondeman in a music shop and he expressed the same enthusiasm for making tunes. A few days later he was in our studio and we’d finished this jungle version of his reggae track We Run Things.
- You met on Denmark Street in Soho. What are the main ingredients that make London one of the world’s leading music cities?
The volume & variety of people and cultures all living in close proximity to each other. The environment creates a pressure cooker for musicians where anything goes and new exciting sounds spread and grow quickly.
- Liam Howlett from The Prodigy, whose track “Out of space” is a clear example of a reggae infused rave track, once mentioned that at some point, around 1992, BPMs started to increase continuously, turning rave into something else, not that appealing. Do you agree? When do you set the start date of the genre, its peak and its nadir?
Liam was right. The BPM of tracks did change. Personally we wouldn’t say it was unappealing, being the jungle enthusiasts that we are. Like any genre or scene it will always evolve and divide opinions and that certainly happened with hardcore. We’re both super into that cross over period where hardcore started to meet jungle in ’92/93. But also just as much into the Balearic beats, Euro techno, Italo-pianos, & US house and hip hop from the late 80s that provided the soundtrack to early UK raves. The sheer scope, innovation & variety of music falling under the umbrella term “rave” from ’88 – ’96 is absolutely unreal.
- What is your favourite rave track ever?
Impossible question to answer due to the diversity! Trip To The Moon Part 2 by Acen still blows our mind to this day. And Parts 1 & 3 to be fair!
- What would be your dream performance venue?
Fyre Festival hahaha. Nah, Brixton Academy.
- If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?
Bring back badly photocopied A4 press releases inserted into vinyl sleeves!
- One last thing we should know about you?
4am Kru is an extended family of musicians & artists, with us (Stu & Howie) at the production helm. Shouts to Layla, Shantéh, Phoebe, Chloe, Dondeman, Nick, Rob, Derwin and the rest of the 4am family.
- Thank you!
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Soundcloud/Instagram
Secret Eclectic 