JUNGLE 'MADE IN FRANCE'

The Wake-Up Call.

Paris 

12/02/2003 - 

In the mid-90s jungle swept in and revitalised electronic music, injecting the scene with a dynamic shot of reggae, break-beat and drum'n'bass. Jungle fever took hold of the UK then spread across the Channel to France. The French jungle movement has gone through a series of major ups and downs in recent years, but now it finally seems to be waking up to its own potential and breaking away from cross-Channel influences. RFI/Musique turns the spotlight on two hot new French jungle acts: La Phaze and Volta & FX909.

When jungle – or drum'n'bass - first exploded on the scene in the mid-90s it looked as if it would sweep away everything in its path. Jungle's infectious mix of break-beat, Jamaican rhythms and techno breathed new life into the electronic music scene thanks to pioneering artists such as Goldie and 4 Hero in the UK and, later, Gilb’r, Volta and Le Lutin in France. A host of independent French labels saw the light of day and jungle nights burgeoned up and down the country thanks to a new breed of professional DJs. Everything pointed to jungle becoming the leading form of electronica.

But unfortunately the French jungle scene failed to follow through on its promising debut. The movement progressively cut itself off from the rest of the music world and all too often French acts aped UK productions and adopted a snobbish underground attitude. Whereas in the early days of the French house scene, "French Touch" pioneers such as Daft Punk, Alex Gopher and Bob Sinclar bonded together in a gesture of solidarity, the "junglists" seemed to prefer to stand alone and shoot each other in the foot.

But, thankfully, everything is not rotten in the state of French jungle! And here to prove it are two cutting-edge albums that attempt to break away from the codes imposed by the UK scene. First up La Phaze, a group from Nantes who "dare" to sing in French and then Volta & FX 909 with their finely-nuanced album Perspectives. RFI/Musique hooked up with them both for an interview:

 

RFI/Musique: So what's the current state of the French jungle scene in 2003?
Damny(La Phaze): Well, there are a lot of labels and structures being set up right now. Jungle nights are springing up all over the place in Paris and especially thriving in the French provinces, in Toulouse, Nantes, Lyons and Montpellier. Having said that, however, the jungle movement is still only a microcosm in France. I think there's still a lot of work to be done educating people about this music which isn't instantly accessible. I mean, you have to understand certain things about jungle before you can appreciate it, like why the drums and bass are so up front. But the good thing is the public who are into jungle are young, so that's positive for the future of the movement.
Volta: Things are definitely better than they were three years ago because these days the French actually produce their own records - and that changes everything! Before, jungle was strictly limited to the club scene and DJs only mixed English records. But that's changed now. These days we're able to express ourselves in our own words with our own 'feeling'. Another good thing is to see an increasing number of women involved in the scene. Things are definitely opening up.

RFI/Musique: Is there a sort of "French Touch"-style vanguard spearheading the jungle scene as there was in the early days of French house?
La Phaze: Yeah, I'd say that's starting to happen now. The French are finally moving away from the UK jungle sound. Our culture is more rock and techno-based than the UK scene which is much more obviously inspired by black sounds.
Volta: No, not yet. I mean when you mention the "French Touch" you automatically think of acts like Daft Punk or Bob Sinclar who sell stacks and stacks of records. We don't have that kind of big-hitting act spearheading the French jungle scene yet. It's too fresh and new for the moment, but it's up to us to make it happen in the future.

RFI/Musique: Why hasn't jungle taken off on the French mainstream yet?
Volta: Well, I think there are a lot of different reasons really. The media are partly responsible. They completely dropped us after the initial jungle explosion in '95/'96 and promoted the French house scene instead. After that the jungle movement was pretty much confined to the 'underground', it existed in the smaller clubs, but the scene's been progressively developing at its own rhythm. And I think now that French jungle albums are hitting record stores things are going to change in a big way. It's time the French media recognised our movement and acknowledged all the hard work that's gone into it over the years. If we want jungle to take off on the mainstream we have to change things too. We have to take a step towards the mainstream public and produce more accessible tracks involving singers, for instance.
La Phaze: The important thing is we shouldn't withdraw into ourselves and shut ourselves off from the rest of the music scene. It's essential that we should take a pedagogical approach to things and try and educate people.

RFI/Musique: Is jungledestined for clubs or concerts?
La Phaze: I'd say both, without a doubt! Jungle is basically music to dance to so it's obviously got a place on the club scene. But, having said that, jungle is also 10,000 times more dynamic and energetic than other kinds of electronic music. And that's why we're now seeing the emergence of an increasing number of jungle groups such as Interlope, UHT, Sayag Jaz Machine and our good selves… All these groups are into the idea of mixing acoustic instruments and machines.
Volta: I think jungle's essentially a club sound. After all, let's not forget that's where the movement started. The live phenomenon is a fairly recent thing that's been pioneered by people like Roni Size. But, strictly speaking, in the beginning jungle wasn't even club music. The first jungle parties in the UK were organised in abandoned warehouses.

RFI/Musique: Do you see jungle as being a form of political music? And how do you see its future in France?
Volta: I'd say jungle's multi-cultural nature makes it a sort of political music, yes. And the fact that the scene remains totally independent, too. We've created all our own structures and networks – we didn't sit around and wait for the major labels to call! I think the future of jungle lies in a mix of acoustic instruments and machines and that's where the real strength of French acts lies. That's what I've been trying to develop myself, in fact, working with a saxophonist and getting MCs to work the crowd up. At the end of the day I'd say we're a lot closer to the structure of a traditional band than the DJ format.
La Phaze: I've often compared the jungle movement to the explosion of punk. I think there's a lot of the same drive and energy there. I think the future of French jungle will revolve around an electronic/acoustic cross-over; that's what will become the French trademark. It's exactly the same thing that's happened with French dub groups – they've thrown off UK influences and started involving real musicians in their work. That's what's given them their own special touch!

Volta & FX909, Perspectives (Black Tambour, 2002)
La Phaze, Pungle Roads(Tripsichort/Moder Things, 2002)

Willy  Richert