Friday, August 7, 2009

VA - Record Factory in the Jungle

VA - Record Factory in the Jungle

According to the liner notes, these were all produced by Bunny Gemini for Record Factory Recording Studios, located at 46 Hagley Park Road, Kingston 10, Jamaica. This, I guess, would account for why the artist on each track is listed as the vocalist appearing on the track rather than the producer of it. A norm in the reggae world, or most genres for that matter, but not typical of jungle credits. From listening to the tunes, I'd venture to guess that the guy making these normally made dub/riddims, as he uses a lot of one-hits and reggae drum patterns that, to the seasoned jungle ear, might sound a bit odd at first, but after letting it settle a while, I found myself grooving along. Heavy usage of the amen break (make that every tune), both reggae and non-reggae vocal samples, a few atmospherics, even a bit of dred bass - seems like the guy was pretty well versed in the lexicon of jungle. The overall style, in new skool terms, reminds me of what it might sound like if the vibes from Debaser's Jungle Royale project were cross-pollinated with the heavyhanded break-focus of his Press-Up tunes. Anyhow one you don't see too often, and score for me at a brand new sealed $1.34. Ripped through EAC to wav then run through Platinum Notes and compressed to 320.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MPGUSFBD

01 Jigsy King - Stay Alive (4:12)
02 Dennis Brown - Attack My Sound (4:25)
03 Admiral Tibet - Weeping & Mourning (4:25)
04 Frankie Paul - Round & Round (5:40)
05 Pluggy Terrible - Flip Up (4:39)
06 Simpleton - 1/4 To 1/2 (5:17)
07 Gregory Isaacs - Off A Mi Fender (4:13)
08 Ninjaman - M 16 (5:05)
09 Conrad Crystal - Kill You Tonight (4:48)
10 Dennis Brown - Sweetest Sound (5:03)