Radio and Reading

October 2009

Brian Bell-Fortune

Tell us a bit about yourself………

I'm a nurse, writer, DJ, husband and father.

Why did you decide to write All Crews, the most informative text yet on the UK Jungle Movement?

Because the people in charge of the media weren't interested about the Truth about our Jungle Drum & Bass culture.

The book details the rise of Jungle, from its early roots deep within the underground rave scene, to its creative peak in 1995. How easy was it to speak to people Hype and Grooverider (Jungle Pioneers) Did they take you seriously?

It was usually really easy to speak to the ‘Greats'. Hype just chats away, being funny – even when he didn't think he meant to be. Rider was more difficult. I interviewed most people round their houses or music business. With Rider I met him at Sony Records. I think he was the first DnB artist on their mainstream label. On my way into the building two breathless assistants asked, “So who's your favourite Spice Girl?” Wasn't feein' it. Grooverider can give very short answers, so it was more difficult to get a flow going. You can read the bit where he disses my questions twice and I just have to carry on. Makes me laugh. But he did come out with some gems. Did they take me seriously? Well they all gave me their time and supported the book to the max literally from day one.

You were responsible for organizing the BBC One in The Jungle sessions in 1995. They were landmark shows for the time. How did you get involved with the BBC in the first place?

Iwas out partying an listening to Kool loads. Radio One was losing loads of listeners, so I basically wrote to them with the name: One in the Jungle and a list of which artists to feature and that they should have MCs. I basically walked in off the street.

The BBC were reluctant to contribute much to the sessions. What do you think of 1Xtra now, 13 years on from the books initial publication? They're tripping over themselves to promote underground dance music!

1Xtra has supported the Drum & Bass scene really well. I'm saddened by their decision to drop Flyte and L Double. And I'm not sure that they should confine their DnB shows to Wednesdays, but they're still representing. Bailey has a three hour show and Crissy a four hour session every week. On the wider point we should be pleased that 1Xra are pushing underground music. As far as I can see, they're doing it better than any other station. They left Kiss FM behind years ago. Just need DAB in the car.

The chapters covering your pirate radio adventures are nothing short of amazing. Do you miss those days, what do you make of today's internet broadcasting stations?

In my article for Knowledge mag's last print edition I wrote, 'Pirate radio changed my life.' From discovering new music, scenes, to playing on them, to writing about them - they've been instrumental in my life. Without Kool and the likes, there wouldn't have been a One in the Jungle or All Crews. I miss being on pirate stations but am happy to have played a part. I did take my young son Zyon on to Origin FM. He loved it crawling around the studio and being cuddled by Tali MC.

Isn't Zyon your DJ name?

It's all about the next generation. He's almost three. We were driving around and he asks, "Turn music up." I catch him in the rear view mirror, nodding his head, face screwed into the jungle. On the internet side, I haven't found an Internet station with the same vibes as the pirates. But if there is one, please let me know. Rightly or not, broadcasting illegally does add an extra something.

Brian Belle-Fortune

As far as historic texts on the scene go, yours is a massive contribution. How do you feel about the impact the book has had, and will continue to have through the years?

It's difficult to gauge the impact from this end. Having said that, I do see comments on the Net and even get 'fan mail' through Facebook. It's funny that when the 2004 version was published, a guy from Harvard posted a rather sneering message on Dogs on Acid - 'No one is likely to learn anything from this book.' The irony is that as well as loads of punters and artist love All Crews, loads of students value it. One guy said, "I used All Crews for my dissertation and got a First. It's my highest mark ever." Comments like those are really humbling. It's good to know All Crews is still and will still contribute to OUR music. I can say that I gave it my best.

You were also label manager for London Sum'ting Records. Tell us a bit about how that came about.

I'd just left MTV and had started writing All Crews and Ron offered me a job as his label manager. To be honest it wasn't a good experience - work wise. DJ Ron, by his own admission, was all over the place. Rather than being a good CEO like he dreamed, he started not turning up for DJ bookings, missing flights, not concentrating on producing music, spending money on champagne and takeaways and not paying me. It all ended up in court. Although I won, Ron skipped the country to avoid paying his creditors. On the positive side, it was good to spend time in a place where the likes of GQ, 5ive 0, SL, Frost and all the Jungle greats hung out. A fair few stories which are in All Crews came from that office.

What are your connections with the scene these days?

Not as many nowadays as I'm not out and about as much as I used to be. But I catch up with people and go out every now and again. Being a father and having MS changes your priorities. On the MS front I'm having treatment for a relapse; so I'm sitting in hospital, typing this with a drip in my hand. That said I've been down Fabric, KoKo and Jungle Fever on my electric scooter - number plate 'M1 GO5H.' Funny how being disabled puts you at the top of the VIP list. And for all those thinking of rocking up to the next rave with a walking stick - beware the bad karma you'll attract down the way.

Can you give us your 5 favourite Jungle DJ's, and reasons for choosing them?

Bailey, Krust, Rider, Shy FX and High Contrast. They've all reached me on such a deep, inspiring, emotional level. They've played such memorable sets. Even now I can still feel their impact when you're all on a level, the place is well hyped and you catch someone's eye and you're both thinking, 'Fuckin' hell.' Bailey's done that so many times. His birthday session down Herbal a couple of years ago was seminal. Krust played a set at Glastonbury back in '98/'99 and Oh Mi Gosh was it a blinder. He played track after track of mischief. Seemed to go on for ages and had that added dimension of being outdoors. Rider? Where do you start? The best, best moment for me was when he had his night Grace down at club Herbal on Sunday nights. He played Makoto's Golden Girls and the reaction was extraordinary. The crowd demanded and he must have given it four or five rewinds. Shy brings da noize standardly. And High Contrast brings some leftfield tracks standardly.

Please state your top 5 Jungle tracks, again with reasons for choosing them.

Inner City Life - Goldie's classic set the standard for what could be done with Drum & Bass.

Metropolis - Adam F designed this gem for Metalheadz seminal night the Blue Note sessions.Probably one of the best tracks played at what was certainly the best Drum & Bass club - Ever.

The Lighter - DJ SS. Memories of my first Jungle Fever down Bagley's with Det, Navigator and other Kool artists pushing it to the max and everyone on the floor going completely Kraaazeee.

Makoto's Golden Girls - as above.

I'll cheat with tune five and dedicate it to all the wicked tracks across the spectrum which there's no room to mention here.

Jungle is enjoying a modern day renaissance, particularly overseas in places like North and South America. What do you think about keeping the original Jungle style alive?

It's a natural progression. I always knew in my heart that this music was and is strong medicine. The original Jungle lives in the music produced today. Aside from the re-mixes of classics, Jungle's spirit lives on in its beats.

Modern Drum & Bass is also taking a step back into the world of the Amen. Do you think the younger D & B artists are familiar with the history of the scene, and show a good depth of knowledge of the old skool in their productions?

Thankfully artists didn't have to pass a history exam before they could make tracks. They'll learn to express themselves and any historical influences through their music. Tracks live or die on the decks and dance floors. The important thing is the quality of their beats, whatever their musical heredity. This might be sacrilegious but if Pete Waterman (producer of Kylie etc) recorded a badass Jungle tune which killed it on the dance floor, that would be the most important thing. Most of you will be too young to remember when Waterman and co. did a track called Road Block. They killed it on the dance floor and fooled a lot of top name DJs in the process.

On the music front. I have to have a moan about the present MC situation. I know I'm probably in the minority here. But there's been a few times I've been forced to leave. There's often two guys passing the mic without a break. What's the point of producers crafting their tunes with digital gems when it all gets smothered with verbal Marmite?

What might you say about All Crews to a young D & B raver if you were describing your book?

All Crews is as intense, subtle, innovative and explosive as the scene itself. If you haven't got it yet, you need to get it. It's the Drum n Bass bible. ...Was that the sort of thing you were after (:-)

How did the guys at Knowledge get hold of the book ?

Before writing version two I knew I'd need a backer. I'd advertised in Knowledge and always got a good response. I liked the magazine and what they were doing for the scene like their Drum n Bass awards. They dealt in words. I dealt in words, so I made them an offer. It was a natural partnership; one I'll always treasure. We shared the synergy of All Crews being published at the same time. And Colin, Rachel and Sara certainly got the book out there far further than I did on my own. I hope people will continue to support them in the on-line version.

Are there any plans for a regular re-print?

That depends of the demand. And I know stocks are running low. Loads of copies go out in the run up to Christmas.

Have you got any plans to write a follow up?

Afraid not. Those other priorities...

Tell us a bit about your future plans in general…………

Kate's due our second kid at the end of January. It's a girl. I might be leaving teaching student nurses at great Ormond Street children's Hospital and joining a government level type body called the Health Protection Agency - caring for most of North and Central London.. One time they're tracing people affected by the plutonium used to kill that former Russian spy who died in London. Another they were tracing early victims of Swine Flu. And I'm getting back to writing about my hospital stuff. On the DnB front I get occasional requests to help someone write their own Jungle story. I've been approached by one of the Jungle dons to write his warts n all story.

Shouts/thanks/words of wisdom……………………

Always to my wife Kate and little Zyon; the Knowledge crew and Bailey every time. All at Kool and Rude and to all the bouncers, staff and punters that have been so helpful to this nutter who insists on going raving on his electric scooter.

Have a dream. Work at it hard. And make it a reality.

.............................................................................................................................................................

Matthew Collin - Altered State

Tell us Matthew, what was the initial impetus behind the book?

The early days of acid house and the rave scene were amazing times, and it was a joy and a privilege to live through them. I wanted to document a spectacular period in British youth culture which not only changed my life, but the lives of many others, and to tell some of the remarkable stories behind it – some of them so unusual, it's sometimes hard to believe now that they really happened at all.

It's interesting that the book focuses on Ecstasy and its effect on society rather then the music itself. Why ?

It's a book about the wider culture and about what this intense period really meant, rather than specifically about music. I wanted to explore how Ecstasy and the dance music movement affected British society because I found that more fascinating than just writing about records and DJs. ‘Altered State' does cover the origins of house, techno, garage, drum'n'bass etc, but it focuses more on their cultural roots and significance. Luckily, a great book about the musical side of the rave era also exists – ‘Energy Flash' by Simon Reynolds, which I highly recommend – and there's also a good one about the history of DJ culture, ‘Last Night a DJ Saved My Life' by Frank Broughton and Bill Brewster.

The book was first published in 1997. What sort of reaction did it receive initially?

Embarassingly positive. Mainly, I think, because it was the first book to cover acid house, E culture and the rave scene in a serious way. Or perhaps it was just because it had a nice quote from Irvine Welsh on the cover?

Where you offered an advance on the book, or was it purely a labour of love?

A labour of love with an advance attached. Most major publishers in London were approached in an attempt to get the book commissioned, but they all rejected it. Some said that dance culture was just a passing fad which was already on its way out (this was in 1993); others insisted that “ravers don't read books”. The project was eventually signed up by a small, independent company with a reputation for taking chances (Serpent's Tail) – in other words, exactly the right publisher for ‘Altered State'.

There were a number of other researchers working on the project. How did that work?

I started working on the research for the book with my good friend and long-time nightlife comrade John Godfrey (we worked together on i-D magazine during the acid house/rave period in the late 80s; John now lives in Sydney and produces documentary films for Australian TV). We asked other friends to help with interviews because we were both holding down jobs at the time.

You must have amassed a fair amount of publications (Ravescene Magazine for example). Were they easy to find?

While working at i-D, we had already collected most of the obscure rave publications and articles published in youth/music magazines. What was harder to find was American coverage of the E scene in the US in the mid-80s and obscure crime reports in local newspapers about raids on raves. There was no web at that time, so it meant long hours trawling through old papers on microfilm at the National Newspaper Library in London.

The book starts with an amazing introduction to the underground Disco scene, the precursor to the rave scene itself. How did you manage the research of that section?

I was fortunate to have already done some research on the origins of the music during reporting trips to Chicago, New York and Detroit in the late 80s. But a lot of time was also spent searching through old magazines and listening to old tunes.

So tell us about your interest in the scene. Were you an original raver?

In the mid-80s, before acid house, I lived in Nottingham and used to go to The Garage club, where DJ Graeme Park would mix hip-hop, funk and the brand-new sounds of house and techno which were just starting to filter through from the States. Those early house and techno tunes sounded so new and different back then - so raw and radical. Graeme Park was a huge musical inspiration at that time; he transformed sonic perceptions and got people ready for the electronic dance era.

Where were you living during the period '88-'89, and what events did you attend?

I moved from Nottingham to London at the start of 1988 – right place, right time. Original acid house clubs like Spectrum, Future, RIP and Shoom were pulsing with ecstatic energy, and because I was writing about dance music for various magazines, I had the chance to witness the early scene from a dancefloor perspective at its most intense and fresh. The Hacienda in Manchester was also incredible at that time – creative energy was breaking out all over the country. In 1989, the huge illegal outdoor raves started – Sunrise, Energy, etc – and the scene entered its most spectacular phase, when the pirates and the outlaws were setting the agenda.

Can you tell us a bit about your favourite DJ's or tracks across the years?

The original Chicago housemasters; Graeme Park at The Garage in Nottingham and later at The Hacienda; Derrick May, Detroit's techno alchemist; garage mixtapes by Tony Humphries from New York radio; Centre Force FM and the rave pirates, Kool FM and the jungle pirates, Freek FM and the garage/2-step pirates; the DiY sound system and various other idealistic outlaw collectives; and of course all those anonymous DJs playing unknown white labels at outdoor raves all over the place... too many to mention...

At what point did you move away from raving as a lifestyle?

I was always a journalist – a participant observer, to use a bit of sociological jargon – so I'm not sure how much you could call it a full-on ‘lifestyle'. For me, the British dance scene became less interesting in the late 90s during the superclub era, when it seemed to be more about marketing than music – club culture had almost become a branded product rather than a creative experience.

Also at that time I was also writing another book, about cultural resistance to the authoritarian regime of Slobodan Milosevic in the former Yugoslavia. My guide was one of the country's best DJs, Gordan Paunovic, who worked for a rebel radio station called B92 and was one of the instigators of the club scene there, so many nights were spent in subterranean nightclubs listening to underground dance music...

The climax came when the Milosevic regime was ousted by a revolution. One of the people I interviewed for the book described the revolt as “one of the craziest parties in the history of the world - the parliament on fire, the sound system playing techno, people dancing in the streets, not knowing whether the army would move in”. Spectacular times, yet again. (The book is titled ‘This is Serbia Calling: Rock'n'Roll Radio and Belgrade's Underground Resistance', in case anyone's interested.)

I now live in Tbilisi, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, where I work as a freelance TV correspondent for Al Jazeera. Occasionally I still get the opportunity to write about underground culture, but not as often as I would like.

What is your take on the scene today?

Great electronic dance music is still being made and underground clubs still thrive, of course, but some of the passion, mystery and creative innocence of the scene has inevitably been lost now that it has been going for so long. However, it's not really for me to judge what someone who is experiencing all this now for the first time should think: it's up to them to enjoy and then take the culture forward.

For the benefit of our younger readers, please give our readers a brief introduction to the book in your own words, and please tell us about the parts you are most proud of.

‘Altered State' is the story of the early years of acid house, Ecstasy and the rave scene in Britain in the late 80s and 90s, told through the stories of those who instigated and lived the culture: the origins of the music and the drug, the early acid house clubs, the outlaw raves, the pirate radio stations, the police raids, the drug busts and the government attempts to crack down on the scene. It's a chronicle of wild and intense times, and while there isn't one particular section I would choose above others, I am delighted that the book is still in print and being read, more than 20 years after the birth of the culture.

Is the book any more or less relevant now more than a decade later?

I couldn't hope to give you an answer – only the readers are qualified to judge that.

Any shouts/thanks??

To those who're still keeping the faith...

kranky Digital Radio

KrankyDigital is Australia's premier Internet based Rave station, with a host of DJ's creating live mixes that span the entire length and breadth of the scene, from Hardstyle & Happy Hardcore right through to Dubstep and J-Tek. As we are huge fans of Kranky's Wednesday J-Tek show, we thought it would be a nice idea to find out more about the station and what it might have to offer the Old Skool community............

Noobdles, Daddy Earl & Kranky

What was your main reason for starting the site?

"Krankydigital.com was founded back in November 2006 by myself and a close friend of mine who DJs under the name Noobdles – we were somewhat disillusioned by the lack of any decent underground electronic music radio stations based in Australia, either FM or Internet based. Unlike the UK, there is no pirate radio culture in Australia, with strict licensing and large fines/penalties involved that make it prohibitive. Also the sheer size and geography of the country doesn't lend itself well to pirate FM transmitters – for example, my home city of Brisbane is the largest city by area (not population) in the southern hemisphere, and the total area of the UK would fit into Australia over 59 times!

Kranky vs Noobdles @ Collision Part 1

Kranky vs Noobdles @ Collision Part 2

Therefore, we took it upon ourselves to give something to the community and create a non-profit internet based radio station focusing on electronic dance music that doesn't get representation on local commercial stations, such as Old Skool, J-Tek, Drum n Bass, Jungle, Hardcore Breaks, Hard House, Happy Hardcore, Psytrance, Hardstyle, Trance, etc – and create a friendly community for local and international DJs and listeners alike. One thing we wanted to do was to bring many different genres of electronic music together on the one station, unlike other stations elsewhere in the world where they focus on a very limited range of music – we wanted our listeners to be able to sample the huge variety that there is in electronic music today.

Kranky vs Noobdles @ Collision Part 3

Kranky vs Noobdles @ Collision Part 4

We also wanted to make sure that advertising was kept to a minimum, with absolutely no advertisements being played on the stream, just music! Since our humble beginnings we've now grown to broadcasting 24hrs a day 7 days a week, with over 30 DJs playing live mixed shows from all over the world. I'm really excited that we're about to celebrate our 3^rd birthday, which will be a marathon broadcast towards the end of the year with DJs flying into Brisbane from around the country"

DJ Noobdles

What is your average geographical audience? (UK etc)

"Based on statistics gathered over the last three years our geographical audience covers a huge number of countries around the world. The top five countries for website traffic and listeners to the station consist of:

30% Australia

24% United States

10% United Kingdom

4% Germany

3% Canada

We also see traffic from countries like: Netherlands, France, Italy, Poland, Brazil, Spain, India, Mexico, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Israel, New Zealand, Finland, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, Indonesia, Czech Republic, Russian Federation, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland, Malaysia, Norway, Ireland, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania and more!"

Kranky, DJ Hype & Noobdles

Do you run the station from home? How does it work? Do you need to supervise every night? For those that have no idea (me included) could you take us through the process, say if I was gonna play a set?

"Like most internet radio stations, there's no need for a centralised studio - DJs broadcast using their own turntables and mixers out of their own homes and studios. In the very beginning it was necessary to provide a lot of supervision to make sure that everything was running smoothly, but fortunately that is not the case any more, and once the DJs have been set up and we've made sure everything is working the first couple of times for them, they can jump on and broadcast without any of the admin team having to be present.

Kranky vs Noobdles @ Collision Part 5

For DJs to play a set, they run their mixer into their computer's sound card line-in as they would if they were recording a mix, but they use software like Winamp/Shoutcast or Oddcast to broadcast live. They just need to log into the website with the interface we've built and start their shows!

We pride our station on only playing DJ mixes by our resident DJs, and not single tracks – with live mixed shows making up about 40% of the week, and the rest of the week previous shows are replayed so that people who missed out can hear them"

3D Graffiti Krankydigital Logo - created by Brad of Graffiti Technica

Where did the name Kranky come from?

"A few years back I was working in a call centre… if you've ever worked in one, you'll know how painful it can be! I had a habit of cursing and spewing out insults loudly after every single call I received – my workmates gave me the name, and it was well deserved! Despite the fact that I'm not working there any more, the name has stuck"

DJ Kranky

What are your future goals for the site?

"Well, ideally the ultimate goal we'd like to see is for the station to move to having live DJs playing all day every day, rather than relying on recordings of previous shows to fill in some of the gaps. This is a huge undertaking though, as we have to listen to countless demo mixes, and spend a large amount of time maintaining the weekly schedule, and managing the DJs timeslots, which can often change due to their own work and personal responsibilities.

We're happy to keep the station non-profit and community based though, so we're not looking to become huge and commercial, as that will detract from what we stand for. Another on-going goal is to see more DJs from other countries besides those that are already represented, joining the line-up and bringing their own styles and local preferences to the international stage that we provide. And obviously, we'd like to see more listeners from around the globe tuning in, saying hi in the chatroom, and getting into the discussions in the forum too!"

Nice one Kranky - We'll be listening in for sure!!!!

www.krankydigital.com

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