Bay B Kane interview

Bay B Kane needs no introduction to those who were part of the old school UK Jungle scene, but for the benefit of those who weren’t, I volunteer the following…

Bay B Kane was instrumental in the creation and development of an electronic music genre called “Jungle”, which developed into “Drum and Bass”.

He had over 200 releases on various labels and was held in high reverence by anyone who knew the true scene back then. His career took some years off, deciding to focus on other areas of his life, including developing a career in developing music software. However, he is back! And for good, his sole aim is to guide a genre back to its roots…to its original conception.

As a drum and bass producer myself, I was searching for inspiration on soundcloud and my journey gravitated toward jungle, and I found Bay B Kane’s sounds and was instantly satisfied. So I wanted to interview him, although initially it was not known to me that I had found the very source of jungle itself…

Below is a question and answer session between the man himself and I, some deep insights are there and some very crucial production tips! I feel honoured and privileged to introduce to a true musical master:)

ZL – What is it about Jungle that has made it the sole musical foundation for you? And please share some insights about the “Future Jungle” movement.

BBK – Good question and one that i can answer with ease. I think its partly because i was one of the original artists that helped
create the sound of Jungle and because of this i feel a great sense of pride because of that fact and because it has long been a way of life for me rather than just a genre!

I see FJ as the next level in the journey of Jungle and a way for us to take it back to its original format by slowing down the tempo & yet the future part of it is the fact that today we use very different technologies to create music. So, incorporating future techniques of production with original tempos to take Jungle smoothly into the future , & the fact that so many younger producers are now joining us on this continuing journey means that it has a very good chance of survival!

What constitutes real Jungle, and what is your guidance for aspiring producers of the genre?

The true integrity of Jungle is within the drums first and foremost and.secondly the bass. Although its difficult to put into words an exact formula of how it should be constructed and more to the point,i would rather not attempt to even try and explain how that certain structure should be because it would and should mean
different things to different people.

For me personally , its all about the funk factor of the breaks .When i say funk im referring to the feeling thats within the original breakbeat pattern , & i always try to retain a certain amount of that feel when im editing and reordering chops as that is important to me. As for what over all or general advice i can give aspiring jungle producers is to first try to know what Jungle is all about and to make sure that it is your own understanding and not what someone else has told you that it is.

Because its all about personal expression as far as im concerned , and also about an attitude & emotion…i cant speak for anybody else, but i personally can spot a track which was made from the heart from within a sea of tracks that were made purely for a specific reason, and by way of using a formula if that makes sense.

It is those tracks that are made from the heart and complimented by production skills which is from the head that do it for me every time. Sadly that combination will rarely bring commercial success in my experience but music made with that combination is what touches people deeply. And, to me if i can connect with one person who truly understands and appreciates what i was saying within a track then i would be more than satisfied.

Luckily, many people around the world understand and appreciate the kind of music that i produce but i could never have known that they would , until i took a chance and put it out there for them to hear.

So one last thing i would say is that its very important to do you and not anybody else in other words to develop your own style and your own sound , and, of course ,we are all influenced by others in one way or another ,but its not about trying to emulate those that have influenced you its about taking their influence to create your own vibe to bring it up to the next level.

Can you share some of your production techniques with us?

I dont use software to chop breaks or anything else i do all that i do manually within my DAW of choice. I normally move through the chopping process one section at a time and map each edit to a specific key which i can then access on my keyboard, so for instance lets say that i have a kick on the first major key(white) ,and a snare on the next major key, i will place maybe a backbeat snare or a hihat on a minor key(black) in between the first 2 major keys and continue with that format until i have all parts of the break that i want to use mapped across however many keys.

I will then add any FX or filtres that i want and apply them to individual keys along the map that i wish and then play various patterns and combinations of keys and record them.

After that i will edit and place all hits in their places they should be perfectly in time with the tempo im working with then listen back and choose which ones i will use and discard the ones which i won’t. So what i have explained above is the basic process i use for editing ,mapping ,shaping and processing one breakbeat in a nutshell, and i say in a nutshell because i kept it as basic as possible to avoid it sounding too boring to read but if i was to go into details, there is a lot more to it but the basics are as ive stated above.

I’ve noticed you’re integral to the Future Jungle scene and heavily involved with labels and artists – will Future Jungle “save” Jungle?

The Future Jungle movement is without doubt going to play and already does play a major role in the next chapter within the journey of the sound of Jungle.

What i would like to see happen most is i’d like to see some real unity between the labels and producers djs and promoters and a higher understanding that we all should be working for the greater good of Jungle and working together to find solutions to problems which affect us all instead of the “im alright Jack” attitude and everyone trying so hard to look after their own individual interest and in the process end up slinging mud at eachother, as that simply will not solve a single thing.

And,in my understanding that just exposes all the weaknesses that arise from being divided!

So in short id like to see some level of togetherness within the scene as i would hate to see a repeat of what happened back in the “Golden Era” where Jungle gave birth to Drum N Bass ,which initially was a great thing until certain fractions within the scene decided to use this opportunity to further their own interest by creating a divide between the two parts of the same genre which caused irreversible damage!!!

Finally, do you want to big up some past masters and aspiring younger generation producers you consider to be truly representing Jungle?

A few producers from the oldskool who are still there doing their thing and have consistently produced the goods and kept it real my choices
are Dev Paradox, Dave Trax, Gappa G, Digital Dubstar & Bizzy B

As for a few of my favourite up and coming producers in the scene are…

Nicky Nutz , FLeCK , Ryo , Sound Shifter , Radioactive Watermelon, Dj Aitch, Rolling Paper, Darkhalf, Bone Man, Visible Sound, Dj LAB
Chili Banks, RF Project, Futurizm, XBass, Vocoda, Mshcode & Time Travel, Dubmonger, Ez Sniper, Borderline Jack & Pen Pal.

Apologies to all those who i didnt mention as there are so many more and they are no less important but its just impossible to list them all.

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Check out the master’s music here:
http://soundcloud.com/bay-b-kane