Tykal - 10 Times A Charm [Mixes 08]

[stardust29]

When I initiated this project, I thought I'd do two mixes & that would be it. The impetus wasn't exhausted at two though, and quickly grew to six...around the six mark it took on a momentum of its own & the goal became eight or ten. At 10 (in ten weeks), I'm done, dog-tired, ready to put my feet up & just listen to the fruits of my efforts for a while.

Overall, I envision this to be a rough equivalent of a ten chapter audio book on the development of my personal tastes in jungle after spending approximately $35,000 on vinyl & countless hours exploring as much of the music as I could get my dirty download finger on. The journey goes from ruff to ragga to skanking to diva to piano to atmospheric to hardstep to hipstep to experimental & back around the spectrum again for a second, third, fifth, tenth look...each one with a particular emphasis on the art & science of the amen break. Along the way we conducted an in depth investigation of three of my favorite artists, two of my favorite labels & five assortments of tunes I've come to love both long ago & in recent times.

The last chapter is a selection from the various vinyl rips I've posted up over the years, a "best of" so to speak, although I gather any person making such a selection would come up with something different.

One aim, which I hope I accomplished, was to help expose you to new artists, labels, tunes & styles you hadn't encountered before...and maybe even to help re-ignite your enthusiasm for jungle.

I'll still be making mixes in the future, but I plan on returning to some of my other loves, namely breakcore, 94-95 happy hardcore, 92-93 hardcore, glitchcore, trip-hop, illbient & mixed genre mixes.

I'll also be going through all the mixes & doing any minor adjustments to the levels I think necessary & re-uploading them at various bit rates, so stay tuned for that if you're interested.

For now though, as one of my favorite cartoons used to say at its close,

that's all folks,

I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.

#10

Tykal - 10 Times A Charm = Lucky Strike

http://rapidshare.com/files/15489299...trike.mp3.html
http://www.zshare.net/audio/205851673f984dd0/

01 Richie Covers - Jungle Rush '94 - Blue Ocean
02 DJ Infinity - Eternal - Intellect
03 Koda - Untitled B - Intalektive
04 Overseer- Signing On - Soundclash
05 New Vision - Don't Look Back - Fundamental
06 Niel Trix & Danny Mills - Brief Visit - Bang-In Tunes
07 Area 39 - Dreaming - Too'z Up
08 Steve C - Tranquility - Hyper
09 Stevie V. - Paradise (Formula & Dexterous D's Amen Lick) - WEA Germany
10 Herb N Decay - Revolution - Pterodactyl
11 T.Rok & J.Dub - Uh Huh - Quayside
12 Special K - Deep in Space - Madman
13 Unknown Artist - Untitled A - Ruff Element 3
14 Anthony X-Cursa - Mind Control - Rough Tone
15 Dyonis - New Day - Fragile
16 DJ Rosencrantz & MC Philistine - The Ghost of Eleanor Rigby (A Lonely Graveyard Calling Dub) - Rebelli
17 Jay D'Cruze - All Who Smoke - Free Format
18 The Halfbreed - Good Old Days - 24 Karat
19 Drazen - Ancient Future - Balkan Radar
20 "Meth/Tykal Outro Medley"

~

here's the others for easy access:

#9

For mix number 9 in the series, I've finally enacted a concept I've been meaning to for some time now: take two minor, relatively obscure labels with roughly the same number of releases and pit them against each other in a mix, not so much in a competitive sense as in a representation of both how they might complement one another & how they might highlight one another's stylistic differences.

For today we have two labels with 4 jungle releases a piece, both spanning the years 1994-1995: Artistic Vynal & Vinyl Addiction. Both start off with a dirtier sounding production style & then clean it up in the middle two releases before ending with killer finales. Interestingly enough, I would rate the releases on both in the following order: 4,1,3,2.

Here's a few notes on each:

AVR:

http://www.discogs.com/label/Artistic+Vinyl+Recordings

Based on what I can gather from discogs, it seems like Mind Therapy and Beats R Us are the same people, Eric L. and Chris L. The style of tunes seems similar enough for it to be the case, and considering that the first names & last initials are the same, that seems to be more than just a coincidence to me.

To try to describe the style, the word choppy comes to mind, as in there's a staccato dimension to the drumwork rather than the straightforward roll of your usual amens, but they manage to make it choppy without sacrificing cohesion. Something I think you have to hear to understand.

On a personal aside, AVR004 was the second jungle record I ever bought, and remains within my top ten to date, for much more than reasons of nostalgia. When you get to the end of the mix, you'll hear why.

Beginning with AVR03, the second part of Artistic Vynal's name was switched on the labels to Vinyl, hence the name change on the tracklist. Perhaps the mis-spelling was merely an oversight, but given that the discrepancy was repeated on two seperate releases, I'm not so sure. Artistic Vinyl did eventually have a fifth release in the early 2000s, but it was garage...needless to say, I refuse to play it.

Despite that, this might just be my favorite label ever...in any given day it's at the very least within the top three.

~

VA

http://www.discogs.com/label/Vinyl+Addiction+(2)

Vinyl Addiction I came to through a thorough investigation of Love Dove Jay's work after hearing a couple of his tunes on other labels. I was quite pleased so I decided to give the rest ago & wasn't disappointed. Dillinja seems to have played a part in the label, engineering at least the second release, which has a Dillinja-esque quality to the timbre of the amens, something I'm not particularly fond of, but there's enough of a variation from an actual Dillinja tune to keep me interested. You can hear slight remnants of hardcore in the first release although the drumwork is quite unlike either hardcore or jungle. The third release is a nice slice of wax with atypical ragga samples. Not exactly a stand-out label in my mind, but a good contrast to AVR & definitely something worth giving a spin around the old beanpole every now & again, moreso in the case of the fourth & firth releases.

~

Fans of the Artistic Vynal tunes who would like to delve further should check E3 recordings for some of Mind Therapy's earlier work. Fans of the Vinyl Addiction tunes should check Mask Records for a very similar roster of artists under the same names & pseudonyms.

http://www.discogs.com/label/Mask+Records+(2)
http://www.discogs.com/label/E3+Recordings+(2)

~

Tykal - Artistic Vynal Vs Vinyl Addiction

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?j2mtzrw2zmu

01 (00:00) Beats R Us - Untitled A - Artistic Vynal 01
02 (03:40) DJ Bizz - Untitled B2 - Vinyl Addiction 01
03 (07:39) Beats R Us - Untitled AA - Artistic Vynal 01
04 (10:40) Ragu & Stalker - Raw Jungle - Vinyl Addiction 02
05 (14:49) Beats R Us - Natural Born Killers - Artistic Vynal 02
06 (18:07) Akustic Research - Back Against The Wall - Vinyl Addiction 03
07 (23:23) Mind Therapy - It Ain't Over - Artistic Vinyl 03
08 (27:16) Love Dove Jay - I Just Dream - Vinyl Addiction 04
09 (31:45) Mind Therapy - What Goes Around - Artistic Vinyl 03
10 (36:33) Love Dove Jay - Stick Em Up - Vinyl Addiction 04
11 (41:39) Beats R Us - Clear and Present Danger - Artistic Vinyl 04

~

#8

Third and last in the artist showcase portion of the series, we've got Ellis Dee at the controls. By no means a comprehensive overview of his production history (this guy was releasing tunes as early as 1991, perhaps earlier, and continues to do so today)—it is, however, a rather extensive glance into his 1993-1995 hardcore & jungle efforts, centered around his masterful mangling of the amen break.

Diverse & soulful are two words that come to mind first while thinking of his tunes: there's influences from ragga, hip-hop, rnb, funk & jazz riffs, ultra-catchy vocal snippets & well-timed stutter-steps just when you're about to tell yourself the drumwork could use a little more variation. It's as if he's telling you not to doubt his ability to stay one step ahead of the dancefloor and, at just the right moment, employ the element of surprise.

A mainstay of labels such as White House & Collusion (the latter founded by himself & Swan-E), not to forget his double anthem release on Cat, he seems to have kept himself at the forefront of production tendencies throughout the development of jungle as well: his 93 tunes could be said to predict the ushering in of amen mania, his 94 tunes sound like most 95 tunes from that era, and by 95 he was hardsteppin' with the best of 'em.

Not only is he one hell of a producer, but he's a don bad boy behind the decks as well, deejaying at parties by the mid-eighties, performing as a headliner all through the nineties and releasing several studio mixes along the way. One of the few to play both happy hardcore and jungle in his sets after the scene split, he also gave a significant amount of air time to obscure & lesser known jungle tunes of his day.

Following up from T-Power and Bay B Kane, Ellis Dee rounds out the artist showcase selection. If I had to pick three artists to triangulate my personal tastes and preferences in jungle, there's no doubt in my mind that these guys would complete the hat-trick nicely.

There may be more in the future (Point Blank seems a worthy candidate), but for now we end with a pun on the name of my favorite 1992 mix, Ellis Dee's The Ultimate Trip.

(Special thanks to RLS for sorting me out with Drum Thunder.)

Tykal - Ellis Dee The Penultimate Trip

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3EPL4OTK

01 (00:00) Ellis Dee, Krome & Time - Drum Thunder - New Dimension
02 (02:56) Ellis Dee - Can't Believe It's Real - Silent Justice
03 (05:52) Ellis Dee - You Got to Believe - White House
04 (09:23) Ellis Dee - I Know - JUN001
05 (13:23) Ellis Dee - One for the Ladies - White House
06 (16:50) Ellis Dee & Swan-E - Hear Me - LS001
07 (20:04) Ellis Dee - Big Up Your Chest (Remix) - Cat
08 (23:01) Ellis Dee - Junglist Warrior - Cat
09 (26:27) Ellis Dee - I Believe - Collusion
10 (29:47) Ellis Dee & DJ Fly - Loving U - Collusion
11 (32:19) Ellis Dee - The Ride - White House
12 (34:55) Ellis Dee - One for the Ladies (Remix) - White House
13 (37:40) Ellis Dee - Ooh Boy (Bad Boy Mix) - White House
14 (39:45) Ellis Dee - Nice Up Ya Scene - White House
15 (43:42) Ellis Dee - Trouble to a Man - White House
16 (46:54) Ellis Dee - Lockdown - Collusion

~

#7

For mix number 7 we continue our journey through atmospheric amen jungle, starting where breath thins to empty space & the vastness of the universe takes precedence over our self-reference.

If you were standing on earth looking at the outer cosmos & listening to jungle through a telescope, this is what it would sound like.

I'm not ashamed to say I shed a few tears making this mix at the beauty & depth of emotion it invoked.

I wouldn't say jungle's a spirit musit in most incarnations, but it can be, & this is my attempt at showing one way in which it might.

This one's for the fallen junglists we've lost along the way.

Tykal - Deeper and Deeper Still

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MR86TGFF

01 (00:00) DJ Exodus - Can't Stop the Feeling - Skeleton
02 (01:54) Dr. S gachet & Audio Maze - The Dreamer (Gachet Rmx) - Urban Gorilla
03 (06:15) Timeline - A Part of Life - Rebirth
04 (11:50) Subject 13 - Just for You - Vibez
05 (14:42) Noise Gate - Noise Gate - Future Vinyl
06 (19:43) Sub Sequence - Drum in Space - Audio Maze
07 (22:27) System 4 - Ghetto - Rogue Trooper
08 (26:20) Four Ears - Waves of Woolf (Fauna Flash Rmx) - Compost
09 (29:30) Minx - Listen to the Way - Mo Love
10 (34:02) DJ Nee - Rainbows - Enormous Mouse
11 (38:26) Moul'e & Lucida - City in the Clouds - Code-001
12 (43:07) Mr. Monik - Atmosphere - Hyper
13 (46:38) Megashira - Microcosmos - Infracom
14 (51:42) City Connection - Losing my Mind (Lovers VIP Mix) - Labello Blanco
15 (55:45) Dom & Roland - Opposites - Saigon
16 (1:00:23) B.L.I.M. - Their Culture - Emotif
17 (1:04:13) Jason Jinx - 13th Unlucky - Jungle Sky

~

#6

Second up in my single-artist showcase, and sixth in this series of mixes, we have the only man I've ever deigned to call a Jungle God, Mr. Mel Tanur aka Bay B Kane aka Code K aka The Intelligent Jungalist aka Rinca aka Kid Thunder. Star of such labels as Ruff Guidance, White House & Kikman.

Something about the way he builds up a tune, subtly adding layer upon layer, the abrupt but velvet-smooth transitions of his change-ups & breakdowns, some of the most beautiful bassline melodies ever to grace jungle's lower register, the ace sampling choices, the seemingly simplistic landscapes that hypnotise you as you gaze out the window & follow along....as blasphemous as it may sound to most ragga-ists, I revere his work more greatly than Remarc or Krome & Time.

We start off with two 94 tunes on the lighter side of things, then we take a trek through four tunes from his The Next Step - Forwards in Reverse EP, 93 style to satisfy the hardcore/jungle crossover lover in you, then we tick off 3 horizon expansions in Let Me Go, Unfolding Perspective, and a fantastic remix of In Perfection's "Expression." Then we come to my personal favorite non-amen tune, This World. Follow that with a steady ascent into ruffness, a 95 revisit of Unfolding Perspective, three hip-hop influenced smashers, and Addictive, which as the tune says, stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain. Wrap it up with the tune that made me fall in love with him, Children of the Ghetto...and a catchy outro to ease the pain of it having to come to an end.

A trip to take you where you want to go & perhaps a little further than you expected.

Thanks to DJ Extreme for giving us the first sermon on this iconic figure; hopefully this'll be a well paired complement to his offering & something to help broaden our knowledge of one of the greats in breakbeat history.

Tykal - All Aboard the Bay B Kane Jungle Train

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KKK7U02V

01 (00:00) The Intelligent Jungalist - Double Barrel - White House
02 (02:12) Code K - If You Believe - Ruff Guidance
03 (06:34) Bay B Kane - The Voice - White House
04 (10:45) Bay B Kane - Jump Up Jungalist - White House
05 (11:56) Bay B Kane - Desire - White House
06 (15:07) Bay B Kane - Giant Steps - White House
07 (18:37) Bay B Kane - Let Me Go - White House
08 (21:23) Bay B Kane - Unfolding Perspectives - Whitehouse
09 (28:43) In Perfection - Expression (Bay B Kane Remix) - White House
10 (32:53) Rinca - This World (Bass Rub Mix) - Ruff Guidance
11 (37:46) Bay B Kane - Me A Bad Man - Kikman
12 (41:08) Kid Thunder - Scorpion's Theme - White House
13 (45:18) The Rood Project - Thunder (Bay B Kane's Tearin Remix) – White House
14 (48:22) Bay B Kane - Seconds & Hours (Unfolding Perspectives II) - White House
15 (52:38) Bay B Kane - The Breeze - White House
16 (56:57) Bay B Kane - (808) Bass Boom - White House
17 (58:49) Bay B Kane - Gangstress - White House
18 (1:01:03) Bay B Kane - Addictive - White House
19 (1:05:12) Rinca - Children of the Ghetto - Ruff Guidance
20 (1:12:59) Bay B Kane - Every Single Wish - White House

~

#5

Mix #5 of my summer/fall 2008 series continues on in the vein of "Learning to Breathe, No Oxygen Requied"...keeping the vibe atmospheric for the most part, although the first half leans more heavily on vocal tunes and coats the throat with a significant swallow of ragga before venturing into the night, high on mosquito bites & pure druken beats.

Dedicated to everyone up to their neck in the undergound.

Tykal - Further Excursions through the Underbrush

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YDR2H8YK

01 (00:00) Universal Love - Deeply - Red Legged
02 (03:48) Nemeton - D.E. (vox) - One Little Indian
03 (08:50) Jack Ruby - Ophelia (VIP mix) - Rumour
04 (11:36) Just Jungle - Double Crisp - Trouble On Vinyl
05 (14:32) Unknown Artist - Untitled - Cult
06 (18:23) Timmi Magic & Lee Strange - Original Dancer - Pterodactyl
07 (22:17) Booyaka Crew ft MC Det - Junglist Massive - SOUR
08 (26:00) Dub Culture ft Mikey Brooks - When the Party's Over - Pterodactyl

09 (29:56) Ultravibe - Will They Ever - Back to Basics
10 (33:26) Unknown Soldier - Homage to Catatonia - Pandisc
11 (36:45) Fantasy UFO - Reach Fantasy (Dark Fantasy Rmx) - Red Legged
12 (40:07) Eko - Where Does It Come From - Whitehouse
13 (42:04) Biobreaks - Fat Girls - Riot Beats
14 (44:38) Rhymeside - The Driver - Mob Handed
15 (48:28) Loggi - Shine Your Light of Love - SOUR
16 (52:47) Sentient Origin - Bring Back That Feelin - Unreleased
17 (57:22) Tora Tora Tories - Maxwell's Wallet - Cookie Jar

~

#4

In my ongoing series of Saturday Jungle-Church sessions, I figured I'd start a round of artist dedication mixes next, bringing together what I view as the best jungle work of a single artist...and roughly sketching the history of their development.

First up: Marc Royal aka T-Power aka Atomic Dog. I don't think he needs any introduction.

Starts off with one of my favorite records to use as an intro, The Elemental, then a tune from each of his early hardcore/jungle fusion records on Soapbar (which don't get enough play imo), then his seminal intelligent/jazzy work, Mutant Jazz...then we span his three releases under the pseudonym Atomic Dog on Deep Thought Records (amen mastery at some of its finest)...then we venture into his remix work, beginning with his epic version of DJ Soul Slinger's Abducted, then three of his remixes of some of Shy FX's legendary tunes (which take greatness & turn it up a notch)...and we end it off with my personal favorite jungle tune of all time, the Mecca & masterpiece of T-Power's musical genius: Amber.

Tykal - T-Power Wants to Hyperfunk You

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SMKKZ1E3

01 (00:00) MC Det - Intro Live At Dance Matrix, Tokyo - SOUR
02 (00:04) T-Power - The Elemental - SOUR
03 (02:48) T-Power & The Sandman - Ode To A Dead Man - Soapbar
04 (06:39) T-Power & The Sandman - Oedipus Complex - Soapbar
05 (09:07) T-Power & DJ Skie - Brave New World - Soapbar
06 (13:25) T-Power vs. MK-Ultra - Mutant Jazz - SOUR/Jungle Sky
07 (16:55) Atomic Dog - Natural Born Killaz - Deep Thought
08 (20:21) Atomic Dog - Natural Born Killaz (Rebirth) - Deep Thought
09 (22:21) Atomic Dog - Step Into Lite - Deep Thought
10 (26:26) T-Power - Police State - SOUR
11 (29:14) DJ Soul Slinger ft MC Det - Abducted (T-Power Remix) - Jungle Sky
12 (33:39) Shy FX ft Gunsmoke - Gangsta Kid (Hyperfunk T-Power Mix) - SOUR
13 (38:00) Shy FX ft UK Apachi - Original Nuttah (T-Power's Auditory Illusion) - SOUR
14 (41:47) Shy FX ft David Boomah - Who Run Tings (T-Power Rollers Mix) - Ebony
15 (45:57) T-Power - Amber - SOUR

~

#3

since the burst of musical creativity is still flowing, i figured i'd keep making mixes until it burnt out. the latest offering focuses more heavily on a single sub-style, my personal favorite, atmospheric jungle. if man could live on jungle alone, this would be my preferred diet. amens of course, and some vocals, but these tunes tend to rely more on melodies to foreground and lift up the other elements.

if you're a producer out there, please, make more tunes in this vein.

enough said, i'll let the music take over from here.

Tykal - Learning to Breathe, No Oxygen Required

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OZLY45RT

01 (00:00) Slam Collective & MC Olive - Heaven & Hell - S.O.U.R.
02 (03:10) Gin & Tonic - Right Bullet Right Time (Remix) - Whitehouse
03 (05:53) Special Red - Together Forever - Underdog
04 (08:39) Brown & Dangerman - Dreams of Another World - Stronghold
05 (12:19) DJ Dance - Indi Bass - Wardance
06 (16:24) Dr. Jay & DJ Rush Puppy - Untitled - Firm Handed
07 (19:18) DJ A.K.A. - Thailand - Soapbar
08 (22:14) Loxy & Technician - Roll Call - Whitehouse
09 (25:57) DJ Spatts - Rock Me Slowly - Section 12
10 (29:11) The Imposter - Joys of Life - 2 Strong
11 (32:05) Oktiv - Sure Feels Good - Sound Asylum
12 (34:26) DJ Demo & Mickey Skeedale - Hustlers In Hardcore - Vital Element
13 (39:37) Fugitive - 70 Billion People - Underdog
14 (42:16) FBD Project - Journeys - Bang-In Tunes
15 (44:43) Megashira - Mental Strength - Infracom
16 (47:57) Benjamin Pecek - Light Reflections - Slowbow

~

#2

as promised, here's the follow up to part 1. same guidelines as the first, only a little harder & not quite as dirty this time around. dark in a different direction. bit of atmospheric to set the vibe, a few shakes of female vocal tunes while stirring throughout, three or four dashes of ragga in the thick of it & a special ingredient to top it off.

ruff, in a word. this completes the set. hope it's an enjoyable taste for you.

Tykal - hard, fast, dark & dirty (part 2)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?elsibrp6wn5

01 bassline generation - music (remix) - zyx
02 drumdriver - skyy ('95 re-edit) - unity
03 time square - feeling inside - ibiza
04 justice - ivory - low price music
05 co-accused - shadow - cookie jar
06 harlequin - fuck you & your family - ruff element
07 hyper-x - jacks back - cookie jar
08 mr. monik - pressure - hyper
09 jucksey nice & fusion - no resistance - kemet
10 soundman & uk apachi - tek heed & tek check - s.o.u.r.
11 time square - 2 london girls - ibiza
12 unguided lights ft mc det - can't sample det - s.o.u.r.
13 justice - hard bass - low price music
14 unknown - jodeci alone remix - je
15 tubba - clint eastwood - unreleased

~

#1

it's been 3 years since I last made a mix, so I figured it's about time I dust off some tunes, finish sneezing, and get to work. this I envision as part one of a two part mix, sort of a follow up to my "dat old hardcore jungle tekno shit" series, and what I would like to put on two sides of a mixtape if cassette players were still prevalent. called hard, fast, dark & dirty, for a tune to qualify it had to contain at least two of the four elements, with a particular emphasis on darkside tunes & tunes with "dirty" sounding amens (as most of what I play is already hard & fast). starts off slightly dark & atmospheric, turns to some underplayed ragga tunes in the middle, and ends up deep in the lightless belly of the underground.

props to the cavedwellers & wasteland walkers, here's part 1. part 2 soon come.

Tykal - hard, fast, dark & dirty (part 1)

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2...2d4016ab1a6266

01 uk tribe - junglites (mix 1) - ava aura
02 harri & eddie - untitled - one touch
03 dj atom - energy sauce remix - auralsense
04 sdr & subsonic - the future - shoebox
05 black cat - untitled - blackcat
06 unknown - r.kelly 12 play remix - je
07 j.c. & paul ibiza ft merlin - ramp with people - ibiza
08 studio ii - entertainment - redskin
09 g-flex & the bandit - party ak47 - s.o.u.r.
10 shy fx ft uk apachi - original nuttah (t-power auditory illusion rmx) - s.o.u.r.
11 code k (bay b kane) - ryde n' slyde - white house
12 jason mouse - ruff note - dubshack
13 harri & eddie - devil in the dark - one touch
14 uk tribe - dark love (amen mix) - ava aura
15 mind therapy - murder tune - e3