Music / Clubs
Interview: Jungle Thunderclap
January isn’t the obvious time to launch a club night, but three weeks after New Year is more than enough time to spend not going out. Besides, Jungle Thunderclap looks essential for lovers of ragga-jungle and breakcore.
“The difference between this and a typical drum & bass night is partly that the music is mainly reggae, ragga, dub and hip-hop influenced,” explains Markham ‘Ambisinister’ Doswell, “but mainly because of the atmosphere. A typical d&b night can be off-putting because of people’s rude boy attitudes. Nights similar to this seem to attract a very friendly, open-thinking crowd.”
Brewhaha founder Mark and co-promoter David ‘Potatox’ Garcia have bagged the perfect headliner for their first party at Blue Mountain. U.S producer Aaron Spectre is a big beast of underground rave music who’s had a rabid following in Bristol for well over a decade. “I’ve been a great fan of Aaron Spectre almost since I started DJing,” says Mark, “and there’s always great hype when he makes an appearance in Bristol”. While his metal-meets-breakcore project Drumcorps has taken precedence in recent years, Spectre was originally known as a ragga-junglist and it’s in that capacity that he appears on this occasion.
The local supports – Parasite and Ironside – should also be known to Bristol ravers. They were both residents at Toxic Dancehall, one of the great cult club nights of the ’00s, and Armin (Parasite) runs the label Death$ucker Recordings, which released Spectre’s 2005 classic Evil Most Foul EP. “I’ve known Ironside from back in the P.R.A.N.K party days,” says Mark, “and attended probably all the Toxic Dancehall and Bashout nights too. Ironside and Parasite are my two favourite Bristol jungle and breakcore DJs.”
Mark and David have previously put on parties together at The Crofter’s Rights but the move to Blue Mountain is a big one. “I really like the look of it now it’s been done up,” says Mark, “and the sound is better too with the edition of some new bass bins. It also has wicked 180 degree visuals done by a friend of mine, Jiminy ( Enjoy Kaos), which is paid for by the venue. If it goes well at the Blue Mountain we’ll make it a regular thing there.” If you like your music raw, punky and cascading with Amen breaks, this one should be in your diary already.
Jungle Thunderclap, Blue Mountain, Friday, January 22. See the Facebook event page for more information.
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