Picture the scene… It’s 1996. The UK’s raves are blazing to fresh tempos and textures as the boundary-breaking jungle movement mutates and morphs into drum & bass, a culture and sound that would set production benchmarks and solidify tribes and tastes for decades to come.
So many big moments happened in this year from the release of the seminal Shadow Boxing by Doc Scott (under his Nasty Habits alias) to the debut release of Bristol supergroup Reprazents to the launch of True Playaz, Renegade Hardware, Drum&BassArena and many other brands we still recognize and respect to this day.
This list could go on and on and on. But right now we need to zone in on Liftin’ Spirits and DJ Persuasion. These are our protagonists in this tale and in 1996 they’re both active, neck deep and hugely inspired by the UK’s thriving drum & bass movement in very different ways.
Liftin Spirits is at the peak of his powers. One half of Origin Unknown and Concept 2 with Andy C, (and soon to be one third of Ram Trilogy with Andy and Shimon); Ant Miles was both the gorilla-strength glue that held Ram Records together and the diesel that powered it. One of the most important engineers and creative minds behind the scenes, without his input the genre may not be the beast it is now.
“In 1996 I released my first drum and bass LP alongside DJ Andy C as Origin Unknown entitled Speed Of Sound,” explains Ant. “We were so proud of this LP on Ram. Looking back, this came at the pinnacle of our creative career making music with a junglistic vibe together.”
DJ Persuasion has a similarly powerful memory of 1996, too. A little younger and earlier in his career than Ant, for Persuasion this particular year was where it all started.
“I was recently looking back through some photos of the first gig I ever played which would have been, fittingly, in ’96,” recalls Persuasion AKA Benjamin Roth, an artist who’s operated under a number of aliases and genres over the years include Semtek, Leamas and Professor Ptthmllnsprts.
“I can still recall the first two tunes that I dropped. It was Roni Size – It’s Jazzy into Concept 2 – Cause N Effect. With that in mind it’s surreal to think that I ended up working with Ant Miles who is half of Concept 2 on an LP.”
Here’s the twist… Neither Ant or Ben knew each other at the time and wouldn’t for years to come. But the powerful draw of those heady mid 90s years is so strong it’s brought them together and inspired an immense album that has dropped this month: Transmission 96.
Here’s a flavour we’ve premiered on YouTube…
Heavy, right? This sets the tone for the whole album.
Transmission 96 is in part a homage and love letter to one of their favourite years but also a reminder of where D&B came from and how it evolved in so many different ways. As jungle had before, it became a framework to reflect any influences and musical passions the artist had from tougher industrial sounds that reflected the imminent turn of the century to the warmer, soulful sounds that had informed so much of dance music’s many flavours before.
“The mid 90s was a time for drum and bass where it had so much emotion and depth embedded within the tunes being made,” Ant rewinds, citing artists like Foul Play, LTJ Bukem, and Adam F as key instigators and inspirations.
“Drum and bass of course morphed throughout that decade and beyond, emerging from jungle to a more hardened vibe. I did love making all the styles that came along, but mid 90s jungle is my go-to era. So many tunes like DJ Rap’s Spiritual Aura truly touched my inner being. I grew up with early 80s soul and jazz funk, and I think this inspires my dance creations to this day.”
“The sound of ’96 was so varied,” adds Ben. “You’d hear a mixture of soulful sounds, jungle sounds and techno sounds in every DJ’s set, and I really enjoyed that. There’s a bit of a revival of that era going on, and I hope that Transmission 96 will make sense in that context.”
Transmissions in the system
What makes this album so interesting is the fact that Ant and Ben have landed at this point from very different perspectives. Ant was running a studio from the mid 80s and was behind some of the most seminal tracks of the 90s including anthems like Valley Of The Shadows. Ben meanwhile didn’t start producing until the early 2000s and underwent a whole array of different explorations before arriving at this point. For the former, this is a well travelled route. For the latter, this is a dream come true.
“The 15 year old me still can’t believe it,” laughs Ben who still can’t quite believe he’s made an album about his most influential era with one of this most influential artists. Ant, meanwhile, sees Ben as a peer and collaborator.
“I could see he had a long career in making dance music through the years and he was sending me all these ideas which had an immediate impact on me,” Ant smiles. “I was so excited to
collaborate with him.”
This is the alchemy behind Transmission 96 – a meeting of two craftsmen who’ve studied and practiced the artform from two different vantage points, aligning an entire generation later and sharing notes on their inspirations. For Ben these influences include other artistic disciplines and aesthetics like film and sci-fi. For Ant it’s also about the machines at the time: the AKAI S1000 sampler, the Yamaha DX5 synth and the Roland DEP-5 effects unit.
“There ain’t one tune that I’m not happy with, they all hit the mark,” grins Ant. “My stand out tracks are Without Me and We R Ai. These two are the ones that especially resonate with what I am trying to explain here. However, there are also examples of the other side vibe of that era harder edged dancefloor smashers with Tuffness Direct and Insomniac.”
“I’m not sure I could pick a favourite track on the LP, it’s quite varied,” Ben exclaims. “I think that it reflects our shared interest in cinema and sci-fi at times. Elsewhere I think you can hear the influence of acid house and Detroit techno. Some of my favourite records of Ant’s are his early house records. I think because of this range of influences and inspirations, the LP came together very organically. There was no plan to begin with. Initially we had 3 or 4 tracks and then all of a sudden we had 10!”
From humble roots and a meeting of minds that neither party could have forecast, a very dedicated, focused and meaningful album has landed. Considering the legacy and discography of Ant Miles, his summary says everything you need to know… Whether you were just neck deep, active and inspired at the time or if you were too young (or even existing) to enjoy it first time round.
“It really is an LP for everyone that was going out to events around that time whilst also utilising some of the techniques we use today in music creations,” says Ant. “But for me personally, it recaptures that era which is so close to my heart.”
Sometimes you’ve got to look back to look forwards. We hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of this unlikely but incredibly powerful collaboration.
Support Transmission 96 on Bandcamp
