Tim Reaper did an AMA for the r/jungle subreddit recently. This was an opportunity for fans to ask the legendary Jungle DJ, Producer and Label Boss anything and they did not disappoint! Nor did Tim’s replies, here’s a few highlights:
On What Qualifies As Jungle:
“I feel like the oldskool jungle style is a formula that can still have new sounds injected into it that still remain true to the vibe of how it was done back then, whilst bringing in some newness of influences & technology that weren’t possible/existent at the time.”
Tim’s Favourite Tracks 91-94:
“1991: Noise Factory – Jungle Techno
1992: Nasty Habits – Here Come The Drumz
1993: The House Crew – Euphoria (Nino’s Dream)
1994: Berty B & Dillinja – Lion Heart”
Tim’s Favourite Breakbeat:
“Ignoring the amen break, I think the one I like using a lot is the Sesame Street break (also known as the helicopter break), it’s got a really unique sounding snare & shuffle to it that is really good for layering on top of pretty much any other drum break”
Early Influence:
“Earlier on, I was (& still am tbf) heavily inspired by artists like Krome & Time, Remarc, Bizzy B, DJ Dextrous, Tom & Jerry but I think if I was to pick any tune in particular, Babylon by Splash (RIP Daz) is the first one that comes to mind because of the spine tingling intro,..”
How Tim Got Into Jungle:
“I first got into d&b (discovered this before jungle) through school actually! An assignment I had to do for a Media Studies course meant that I had to write an essay comparing two music magazines and one of the ones I’d picked was Mixmag, which had an Andy C mix CD on the cover. I checked it out, out of curiosity and I was instantly hooked by it, it created an obsession in me which still lingers on to this day haha
Getting into oldskool jungle came slightly later because I was a big fan of DJ Hype mixes and his label Playaz,..”
Finding Inspiration For New Tracks:
“It helps to constantly be coming in contact with new forms/examples of music from different genres, my day job is a web developer at a radio station and the radio usually plays in the background at the office, so usually when I’m working, if something catches my ear, I’ll note it down for later to investigate/deep dive on”
You can read the full AMA here