Bounce first, subtlety later. Strip the original jump-up recipe right back and it's a bouncy 808 bassline plus a hip hop sample, and the tune is away.
Built to bounce
The original jump-up sound was a bouncy, sugary twist on jungle. The current form is all wobbly basslines, screeching synths and snapback-wearing glory, with pogo-bassline anthems and rippers laced with more than a dash of EDM's dayglo melodies and the feel-good energy of happy hardcore. There is a production lesson in it too: with not many other elements crowding the mix, the mid-range bass layer is of paramount importance in jump-up DnB. Fluff that layer and there's nowhere to hide on a big rig.
The reputation problem
Jump up has always had to fight for respect. The original sound was considered simplistic and juvenile next to classic jungle or intelligent drum & bass, and plenty of heads still turn their nose up. Skibadee has admitted there was "definitely an era of too much noise – and too many wobbles", and DJ Hazard blamed copycat producers for the damage. DJ Hype boils it down: "It's vibes music."
Ragga, hip-hop and the first tunes
Go back to 1993. A ragga-fused jump-up jungle sound was dominating when Deep Blue's anthem "The Helicopter Tune" (Moving Shadow) landed offering a different vision to it.
Then there's "Super Sharp Shooter" by the Ganja Kru, on Ganja Records, the hip-hop/jungle fusion of Zinc, Hype and Pascal. It opens on samples from LL Cool J and Method Man, then erupts into the double-time Amen breaks and wobbly bass of the main verse. Pure rinse-out material.
The names behind the sound
Aphrodite and Urban Takeover
The original jump-up sound is forever tied to Aphrodite and Micky Finn's anthem factory Urban Takeover. Both are long-standing figures of drum & bass, and Aphrodite co-runs the label with Micky Finn.
Ganja and DJ Hype
The Ganja Cru's "Can't Handle the Streets" sat at number 11 on the Dance Singles chart in July 1996, and the New Frontiers EP, credited to DJ Hype pts Ganja Kru, reached number 56 on the Albums chart in August 1997. By 2017 Hype was a scene grand-master with 28 years at the top, and his Playaz label was driven by its marquee anthem factory, Hazard.
Other early records
The original "Clear Skyz" by DJ Die is one of the foundational tracks of jump-up drum & bass. Its 1996 VIP version came out on the Bristol label GutterFunk.
When the shouting got too much
Hazard and DMind's 2007 singalong anthem "Mr Happy" was ubiquitous. The late 00s are also remembered as the doldrums, where high-energy d'n'b lost its way and picked up a reputation for disposable beats and shouty MCs on the mic.
Back on the main stage
By 2017 festival promoters from Creamfields to Belgium's 15,000-strong Rampage were chasing jump-up acts. The six-strong SASASAS collective is a good picture of the moment: DJs Phantasy and Macky Gee, and MCs Skibadee, Shabba, Stormin and Harry Shotta. Harry Shotta says the group came together in 2013 at the last night at Area, with "no plan, no rehearsal".
Playaz moved their 15-year-old monthly residency from Fabric to Electric Brixton and curated their own stage at South West Four. Universal decided to swoop in on the back of the success of Hazard's "Bricks Don't Roll". Mollie Collins was one of the breakthrough DJs of 2016, and Harry Shotta had his April Bakerloo Line takeover. Hazard took Andy C's Best DJ crown at that year's National Drum 'n' Bass Awards.
Still rolling
Hedex is synonymous with a particularly high-energy, rowdy take on the sound, and in 2024 he said Budapest's scene "covers the jump-up side, the older side". The style travels well. In São Paulo, DJ Rusty's start sits in the "power jump-up" era, on labels such as Original Sin's Muzik Hertz.
