Junglist Movement IS BACK

The Return Of Junglist Movement
Junglist Movement are returning with an event in London in March. Kmag talks to the brand about their past, present and future. 

You've all seen the t-shirts (many of you will own one), and are aware of the name, but you might not know the impact that the JUNGLIST MOVEMENT
brand has made on the music. We speak to Leke and Will, who are bringing the clothing line, and event series back to showcase what they are all about.

Hey guys, good to be talking. For those that might not know, tell us a little about the Junglist Movement name and what it means?
Leke: Junglist Movement is a term I came up with in the early 90’s to describe the rave scene I loved and supported.

Back then there was no real dress code for the scene when I raving as a teenager, so I wanted to come up with a design that sums up the scene. An image you could wear with pride that’s shows your support and loyalty. So the design represents the jungle d&b rave scene I grew up on. I was part of crew in the early 90’s called Mixrace which featured DJ Trax , Dev Paradox and myself. While Dev Paradox and Dave Trax were producing and banging out hardcore jungle for the Moving Shadow record label in my flat, I was designing and printing up my teeshirts and selling at the Soul II Soul shop in Camden which then became Zoom Records.

Whilst raving from club to club and hustlin our products at the same time - from Labryth, Roast , Orange, Speed, Awol, Thunder and Joy to ending the weekend at the infamous Metalheadz at Bluenote on Sundays. I’ve been there since day 1 and that’s what the Junglist Movement name represents.

It’s great to see how the scenes has evolved over the years to the present day (guess I’m beginning to show my true age now lol). The Junglist movement teeshirt had a starring role in the cult British club flick Human Traffic, which made the design even more well known and in the public eye. It’s the most successful design on the Aerosoul clothing range. Because of what it represents, from the young to the old, black or white. It’s a universoul timeless piece.

How did you two hook up to work together on the event?
Leke: Will and I were introduced by a mutual friend of ours called Vincent, a web designer. He thought we could both benefit from meeting each other and working together. We were both aware of each other work, and both respected each other’s brands. Will is a successful promoter of many jungle / drum & bass events and he’s always been a big fan of the Aerosoul brand especially the Junglist Movement design. So we came up with a concept of building an event around the Junglist Movement brand name and the rest is history and just by coincidence it also happens to be the JM brand ‘s 15 year anniversary. So it was the perfect time to do a 15 year anniversary event to celebrate the JM brand’s history and how the JM logo has become an iconic image that is well recognised through dance music.

So, break down for us what have you got planned.
The line-up is a big celebration of what the Junglist Movement design stands for and represents. This why we have brought together the biggest jungle DJ’s, a heavyweight line-up featuring the best from old skool jungle D&B. All the DJ’s playing in the main room are well respected jungle ambassadors from the early days of the scene. These DJ’s and MC’s have been around from the very early stages of jungle / hardcore drum & bass. They are part of the foundation of jungle music. Our headliner is General Levy, a well-respected reggae mc regularly employed on studio tracks by drum and bass / jungle DJ’s. and still consistently in demand around the world for his energetic performances. He’s best known for the track “Incredible” a jungle anthem recorded with M-Beat. A remixed version of the track reached number 8 in the UK singles chart in 1994. This event is going to be a history lesson for those who were not around in the early days of the 90’s jungle scene and a celebration of jungle. We will also have a merchandise stall on the night selling the Junglist Movement tee shirts and other Aerosoul products.

Why have you decided to go down this particular route?
Now is a good time to embrace the jungle breakbeat scene. There is a big resurgence of jungle music coming back at the moment. From old skool producers like Shy FX to new skool producers like Sigma, they are bringing the reggae influenced jungle dub sounds back to the scene. And we believe in this sound as it’s our roots and culture. We also believe there is always going to be a place for the old skool jungle sound. So now is a good time to reach out and represent the innovators of the jungle scene and celebrate what they have created as a collective.

Who can people expect to be able to catch on the night?
Will: We have the long time supporter of the original Junglist Movement and jungle legend General Levy performing live for us, which is always a great show! Serial Killaz, who are part of the new wave of junglists and always play the heaviest of sets. Navigator MC is flying over from Germany especially for the party, he is one of the most versatile and entertaining artists on the scene and we can’t wait for him to perform. The main room is straight headliners all the way, it’s all of our favourite artists from the jungle scene: Micky Finn, Kenny Ken, Nicky Blackmarket, Jumpin Jack Frost, Marvellous Cain, Ray Keith and R-Type. Finally the harmonic ragga madness of the Ragga Twins will be keeping things flowing for the night.

What made you want to book these artists to be part of the event?
We were very conscious that we wanted to stand out as a brand, not only as the design and look of the artwork but the line-up, we hope to reflects that on the night. We want people who haven’t been to a Jungle rave before to come down and check it out and get some jungle edutainment. We appreciate the students and a new young crowd, as well as all the old skool junglists from back in the day. Because that is was what the scene is and always was about, everyone coming together and united as one and having a rave no matter what your background.

What does it mean to you to be able get this going?
Leke: It’s a joint venture. The two of us coming together for a common cause and using our experiences in the music and fashion industry to support and a represent a scene we both love. We are both very excited and looking forward to doing more of these events. It’s an achievement us being able to get a few of the jungle DJs we used to rave to on the line-up.

Do you have plans to do it again or make it more regular?
Hopefully this night will be successful and be the blueprint to us working together long term as we both have the same vision and would like to do more Junglist Movement events around the country to represent the scene and keep the jungle sound alive!! We hope to do at least a minimum of 3 events a year and maybe even abroad in the future. We have a few plans in the pipeline and this event has had an amazing response so far, so hopefully more to follow!

And lastly, what have you got for a competition for us?
Yes the readers have the opportunity to win two Junglist Movement teeshirts and a pass to the event at the Garage on 1st March. Email your contact details to knowledgecompetitions [at] googlemail.com (with 'Junglist Movement comp' in the subject header) by the 17th February.

kmag.co.uk