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Tuesday, 17 February 2004 |
 Please fasten your seatbelt and prepare for take off - Drum and Bass is back for 2002. Although arguably D&B has never left, it did bow it's head whilst garage rose and stole the limelight. But it seems times are changing.
If you've been clubbing recently you couldn't have failed to notice the return of old skool classics - the likes of Helicopter and General Levy's Incredible. Dropping such classics has become an integral part of the Heartless Crews sets, DJ Luck and even Dane Bowers have being caught in the act. And you couldn't have failed to see the rush before Christmas to bring out as many old skool compilations as the shelves could hold.
Why did D&B vinyl get left to collect dust? Why did D&B ravers find themselves retreating back to fields as the big promoters put on less and less events? Those of you who used to frequent the likes of Dreamscape and Purex can probably tell a story or two. Jungle was getting dark, an increase in attitude and a lack of uplifting spirits. What happened? They heard 2 step. Although junglists and garage heads have a love-hate relationship it's about time they woke up and smelt the coffee. They're of the same breed.
Could it be there's not enough love in the UK garage scene at the moment? With a crack down on garage nights over fears of crowd safety, an influx of dark and dirty sounds and a loss of that original garage vibe, could it be the garage crew are trying to find that lost love in a drum and bass arena near you? Listen to some of the sounds coming through in D+B (Shy Fx's Shake It, just signed to EMI for a reported six figure sum), and as with garage the R&B influence is unmissable. It was maybe only a matter of time until the two scenes merged closer together, considering that a majority of the garage industry, from MCs to producers are originally from the D+B scene.
Hopefully it's the start of a beautiful relationship...
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