Ragga Jungle Anthems Vol. 1

Before there was drum’n’bass, there was jungle — a dense and frenetic mix of double-speed breakbeats, languorous reggae baselines, and wild sound effects that emerged from the churning cauldron of underground clubs in 1990s London. Some of the earliest jungle hits were remixes of dancehall reggae favorites, as this excellent collection demonstrates. Here you get jump-up reworks of deathless tracks like “Under Mi Sensi” (Barrington Levy), “Gal Wine” (Chaka Demus & Pliers), and “How the West Was Won” (Bounty Killer”), all of them pumped with hyperactive beats and underpinned by powerfully rumbling sub-bass. This is a great introduction to a hugely influential musical movement.