Jay Cunning interviews Tim Reaper

Jay Cunning interviews one of the most influential Jungle DJ/Producers of our time, Tim Reaper. Tim is sure to have some great advice and interesting stories to share with the DJ community. We review this in-depth discussion on vinyl, discovering Jungle and what it takes to be a successful DJ!

Back in 2008 when Tim was doing his GCSEs, he got into Jungle and Drum & Bass, which resulted in deep research into the breakbeat-driven Jungle sound that preceded DnB. His musical interests eventually evolved to Ragga Jungle, Bukem style Intelligent Jungle and 1992 Hardcore Rave.

To become a DJ, Tim invested in second-hand vinyls and CD compilations which he ripped to digital format and played on a Traktor controller.

During the discussion with Jay, Tim talked about the cost and storage issues of being a vinyl collector and DJ. He is a self-taught DJ and his first guest mix was on Pete Devnull’s “Blog to the Oldskool” on Jungletrain Radio.

Moreover, he mentioned sending tunes to DJs through AOL Messenger that eventually led him to get signed by DJ Trace for remixing a track.

Furthermore, Tim shared his opinion on using original samples in tracks as well as integrating other styles from the music gene pool into Jungle tunes.

The conversation progressed onto Tim’s Future Retro London label which began with events themed around the new Jungle scene, its DJs/artists – however these events were halted by COVID-19; thus the label became a great way of keeping the brand going. The interview ended with a preview of new music coming out on Future Retro along with some of Tim’s own upcoming releases – you can listen to it all above!