1998. The very tail end of my clubbing days. A scene I’d stumbled into a decade before, having grown up in the middle of nowhere where ingesting mushrooms and hanging out were the norm. It was also during a time when free parties were happening in fields and woodlands across the south of the UK, many of which were within a few miles of my home. The repetitive beats of the acid house phenomenon weren’t really my thing then, being a thrash/death metal fanatic – although I liked the folkloric aspect of the fires and the frenetic dancing while on a mushroom trip – until I stumbled upon the other Metalheadz as I was part way through my degree in the early 90’s. Kemistry and Storm, early Goldie… all of these artists spoke to me in a way that ‘trance’ hadn’t. Photek, Jonny L, Grooverider, Fabio, Goldie… so many of these artists could be heard playing in my shared house in Dorset, or at club nights I DJ’d at now and again.
Moving Shadow was an imprint that became a beacon of exceptional quality music for me. It shifted me towards the more jazz-influenced side of the drum and bass genre through the likes of Drumfunk Hooliganz, Omni Trio, and E-Z Rollers; alongside LTJ Bukem’s Good Looking label it created the sound I most associate with the shift away from its Jungle roots. And it’s E-Z Rollers’ single, Tough At The Top that had a remix on the single release, a version that combined a bass rumble you felt as your body’s atoms were being shaken awake rather than simply via your ears with the soulful female vocal (used to great effect across the broader ‘dance’ genres).
Back to 1998. The night begins in the early afternoon. People congregate. Drinks are imbibed, perhaps some other substances illicit or otherwise. Hugs are shared along with joints. The music starts low until the volume rises to become a distorted mess through the tinny speakers of a home stereo system. (We later built our own speakers made with papier-mâché that allowed the bass to really come into its own. A story for another time.) The flutters start about 10pm and its time to move to the club.
This song, though, would often be put on just before we left, already dancing in preparation for the night ahead. The stabs from the synth, the flute bursts. Then the announcement, sampled from Cannonball Adderley’s intro to Why Am I Treated So Bad: Ladies and gentlemen, you know it… It’s time… The bass is starting to swirl as the horn blasts break through. The beat picks up and applause can be heard. So far, so classic drum and bass. You’re waiting for the vocal to arrive even as the track bounces along and the bass adds a little more squelch. And then, four minutes in it sinks back and softens and you’re informed that “it’s time to present to you, something strong”. And then the bass becomes a vortex, distending and rippling through you. Loud enough and you’ll feel it rearranging your bodily organs; I remember hearing it in a club once and there was a collective gasp as it kicked off and the room became a single heaving body of people on the dance floor, impelled to move as if a murmuration.
Finally, one last trill of the flute and a single wail from the horn section and it’s done. But it’s a remix that’s impossible to forget.