Alright. The section has survived the infancy of its first issue. Not to say that there were not some disagreements or hostilities, like some knob from dc, on how things turned out. I think overall it went well, and if it did suck then it can only get better. Plus, the world wasn't built over night. No interview this month, we'll get up with Dieselboy and Kaos on their happenings in Philly next issue. This summer seems to be the summer of the mix CD for drum and bass, with 3 cds by essential selectors: DieselBoy, Ak1200 and Phantom45. There is also another breakbeat odyssey by DB that has some choice tunes on it. My reviews of these CDs are here somewhere. Also this issue a wikked selection of mix tapes by the leaders of the next generation here in America, a look at the scene in Boston by peteH, and a review of some underground ish here in Philly, by the one like phillyStyle.

kenya
activated magazine

Sutpen's Jungle
June 13th, Philadelphia
There are few events nowadays that still have that magic. Sutpen's Jungle in Philadelphia is one of those events. Held in a club called the FakeHouse which is actually the second story of an old warehouse, it had all of the feelings of one of those parties of lore, from the smoky air with minimal lighting, to the rickety wooden floor.

The first dj I saw was Dinesh from WPRB. His set was full of solid dark rolling tracks, very well done. He got me moving and blowing the free whistle they handed out at the door.

Next Up was Dj Starchild. His set was amazing as always, with the beautiful sounds of MC Mis-ty on the mic. One of my favorite sets of the night, Starchild always plays the jump up I love.

After Starchild, it was time for RNotoriousJ. After being hyped up at the beginning of his set, I must say I was a bit disappointed at what I heard of his set. It was fairly dark, but really didn't do anything for me. The mixing was good, but I just could not get into his tracks. Quickly after his set began though, he was moved to the back room, due to power difficulties. Which led to Dj Lorne spinning in the main room.

Lorne reprasented substitution with some serious dubplate business, and got the crowd in the front room jumping again, after no music for a bit. Some of his tracks were just sick, and his mixing was great, as expected from him. Once again the amazing Dj Mis-Ty was mcing behind him, leading the crowd and pumping it up with her amazing lyrics and vocal shoutouts, always giving shoutouts to the whistle and lighter crews, who were in full force throughout the entire evening.

After Lorne rocked the crowd, Dj Cue stepped up. Without a doubt this man rocked the entire house. His set was intense and relentless, dropping ragga tracks to classic jump up to hard step, every track was perfect. He kept me moving after 4 straight hours of dancing, and everytime I wanted to take a break, he dropped something better and the intensity increased, until he finally finished his set off with the classic track "The Lighter Song" which I hadn't heard in SO long and just blew my mind. Big Ups going out to this up and coming dj!!!!

After Cue, I was exhausted, and had to depart an hour before the party was over. But next month I'll definitely be at Sutpen's, one of the best things happening in Philadelphia right now. Substitution gave me a reason to keep coming, and restored some of my faith in the scene. [PhllyStyl]

As always, Boston is a nice place to be if you love drum and bass. Sessionz, approaching its third year running, has been continually improving. A new, larger venue with a good sound system as well as change of night (from Sunday to Wednesday) has brought a nice crowd in every week. A packed house of people from all walks of life was bouncing around screaming for Randall w/ GQ a few weeks back, and resident nights with Timestretch, Static, and G White often have a similar wicked vibe. Drum and bass is also represented in smaller doses at other weeklies at the Phoenix Landing and Sign of the Times.

Besides the clubs, you can catch some beats on a couple of the local college stations, Saturday nights on Emmerson College 88.9 WERS and every Thursday 12-2am on 91.5 The Netherworld with selectors Ninja Niq and Morgan, with weekly guests. 4Front Records is the place for vinyl, strictly drum an bass wall to wall, and watch for the latest releases from Advance Recordings (Advance 1 is out now, look for Advance 2 in stores for August) and soon the first release from Phuteristic Bluez.

Events coming up at Sessionz include Mickey Finn on July 7, and the mighty Ed Rush & Optical the following week (7/15). If anyone needs more info, you can check: www.4frontrecords.com or jungle.ffwd.bc.ca/advance or www.cybercom.net/~phbluez

So if you're in the Boston area, make sure to check out what it has to offer. Most likely it won't disappoint. [Pete H]

DIESELBOY Sixeleven DJ Mixseries [611 Records, US]

The third cd in the the professional's career is definately the best yet. The press pack states, "the Diesel had artistic freedom with this CD", and it shows. Everything from the artwork to the track listing is professional, mature, and very well done. The track selection is comprised of the essentials for early 1998: EZ-Rollers, Dom+Matrix, Facs, EMbee, DEcoder. This CD covers some of the ruffest cuts in the darkside for 1998. The mixing is excellent, flawless with a strong sense of urgency and calculation. Although the average person may not be able to enjoy the level of maturity this CD offers, any seasoned fan should appreciate this essential mix for 1998 and on. [kenya]

AK1200 Fully Automatic [Moonshine, US]

Ak1200 's CD has been reputed to piss certain people off. For whatever reasons I am not too sure. On the first listen, and all the following listens, my first impression is this CD's accessibility. While being accesible it is still very pleasing to even the most reputable dnb fan. First 12 tracks or so are all dark stormers with a level of ruffness equal to Dieselboys CD. Following that things mellow out a bit with some jump-up, vocal tracks and end with AK's remix of "Keep Hope Alive". The mixing is top notch and the track selection flows nicely. This CD is very enjoyable and if making a drum and bass cd that is accessible to a load of people can be considered a crime then AK is guilty. All in all I think its a wise selection and essential listening for anyone. [kenya]

PHANTOM 45 The Drum and Bass Rinseout [SubBase, US]

It's nice to see djs that have paid their dues finally getting more and more of a return out of something we have all put a lot into. Phantom's CD comes at you with the illest in anthems for the jump-up massive. The mixing is superb. The layout and artwork have a nice subBase feel to it. The tracks are some of the better anthems of 97 and 98: tunes like "Throat" (vip), "Applause for the Cause" and "Call Waiting" (vip) all bring up that energy rush associated with p45 and his jump-up selection. Another solid cd release from the stateside crew. [kenya]

Dj DB Sm:)e mixSessions #3 [Sm:)e, US]

Sm:)e mix sessions were, admittedly, not something i would look favourably upon. the mixing is often kind of wak and the track selection, although classic, can be somewhat dismal and tiresome. They seem to have gotten this a bit sorted with #3. DB's mixing is on much more than it's not with this CD. Also the track selection is new and old and simply put, can be quite moving at times. Dara, Trace, Omni Trio, DB, 2 Bad Mice... it's all here. Emotional at times, energetic at others. Worth the money in all truth. [kenya]

TIMESTRETCH Live at the Casualty Ward. [Advance Rec., Boston]

Ian' set on tape, live at the Casualty ward, is hands down, the best tape i got this month/issue. The mixing is on and the track selection is hands down, excellent. This tape was old when i got it, but every track on there has longevity and some people aren't even caning any of these tracks yet. A great dark selection, with some exclusive VIP's, reason enough to buy the tape! This set is evidence of the skills to rock any dancefloor by a dj that shows maturity and foresight in the mix. Nice one. [kenya] 
CONTACT: 617.429.8664 or www.ffwd.bc.ca/advance advance@ffwd.bc.ca 

TROUBLESHOOTER Something Wikked This Way Comes

The 3rd tape from Troubleshooter, the first being jump-up and being ok. The second, Side B of Cohesive Forces (an EXCELLENT TAPE) and doing an excellent job on the mix. This 3rd tape shows a huge learning curve and excellent track selection. Mixing is top notch, even the acapella business gets in on this tape. Side a is pretty good techy jump up. Side B gets down to some serious jazz business done very well. 8 months have seen huge improvement, watch out for this buzz semi finalist in the future, seen? [kenya] 
CONTACT: 215.247.9325 

BEAR Volume 3

WERD! This is the FIRST tape i have gotten from a reader. Big up someone who reads the mag and sent me a tape. Beyond being cool enough to take a chance and mail a tape, the tape itself is excellent! Tech-Step of the illest darkest kind, that does let up every once in awhile for a nice techy jump up break, then right back to the hard stuff. The mixing is also very ON. I don't know if Bear spins a lot in Massachusetts, but if not then he should, because the selection and mixing are both very intelligent and well done. [kenya] 
CONTACT: (413)532.4283 or lotusbear@aol.com  

DJ #9 StiveBeats 2

Dj #9, assuming another reader who sent in a tape, gets down quickly and urgently with the jump up business. The mixing on this tape is good. The track Selection and programming is off at times. He plays a couple wikked joints that get you hype but the mixes that come out don't often keep the energy up. All in All a fan of jump up would dig this tape and DJ#9 could definitely get a crowd going at a party, just tape wise, programming needs to improve. [kenya] 
CONTACT:(888)632.1887 or dj9@redfernlane.org