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Review: A Guy Called Gerald & The Jungle Drummer, Strange Brew – ‘Still in the vanguard of breakbeat science’
Few people have played a more decisive role in British dance music than Gerald Simpson. Present at the birth of British acid house, he co-produced 808 State classics like Pacific State and Flow Coma, before going solo with the unforgettable Voodoo Ray. While the Manchester-born producer deserves a knighthood for that early run alone, his pioneering contributions to jungle and drum & bass are just as important.
This revolutionary second act informs A Guy Called Gerald and The Jungle Drummer, his new collaboration with Chris Polgase. The show is a live jam featuring radically reworked cuts from groundbreaking albums like 28 Gun Badboy and the 1995 masterpiece Black Secret Technology. There’s no better Bristol venue for this sort of thing than Strange Brew, which so often hits the sweet spot between experimentation and dancefloor energy.
The Jungle Drummer
Their sporadic performances – including one we sadly missed at We Out Here – have built up a serious word of mouth reputation. Tickets for tonight’s show sold out in advance, and the venue was buzzing as The Jungle Drummer launched into his warmup set. Young ravers joined 90s veterans in the dance as the titular sticksman overlaid D&B anthems with an onslaught of perfectly executed breaks. His nonchalant performance made this look easy – it isn’t.
He was joined by Yeukai Makoni and David Simpson (Gerald’s brother), a pair of vocalists who brought a spontaneous, uplifting soundsystem feel to the show. The drummer had a well earned rest as Gerald entered the fray with the darkside perfection of 1994’s Bad Boy Ride.
Vocalists Yeukai (left) and David (right)
Both singers helped recreate key collaborations, in particular highlights from Gerald’s vocal-led fifth album Essence. David revisited his own Could You Understand and I Make It, while Yeukai riffed on Lou Rhodes’ parts from the gorgeous Humanity. At times Gerald sampled their voices on the fly, chopping phrases into insistent, rave-ready hooks. At one point there was a tease of Voodoo Ray – or was it Voodoo Rage?
The moving parts all fell into place as The Jungle Drummer returned for the final showdown. Initially dropping to a reggae groove, the producer and percussionist drove the tempo onwards and upwards into breakbeat hardcore, jungle and finally the maelstrom of drum & bass. In the last 15 minutes or so they reached a point of maximum intensity and stayed there, creating an extended moment of dark euphoria as enveloping as the peak of a Sherelle or Tim Reaper DJ set.
Far from being an exercise in nostalgia, tonight’s performance proved that A Guy Called Gerald is still in the vanguard of breakbeat science. Time to give this innovator the credit he deserves.
All photos: Hannah Burrows
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