Juno Daily – In The Mix + Label Focus: Deep Jungle

by Juno Daily on 07.03.2023 at 04:58am.
Last edited: 03.03.2023 at 17:09pm.

Label boss Harmony’s Subjects project with Modified Motion deliver a killer jungle set

DJ Harmony set the Deep Jungle label up in 1994 so he and a few mates could put a few tunes out. But it is when it re-started in 2017, with a mission to make high quality, crisp sounding new pressings of unreleased or hard to find jungle, that it’s become a household name among junglists. After hosting the likes of Dillinja, Grooverider, Orca and J Majik, they’re also releasing killer tunes from new artists such as Tim Reaper alongside the classics. Harmony tells us all about the label before he and Modified Motion aka Subjects take to the decks to showcase the Deep Jungle sound.

WHAT’S THE NAME OF YOUR LABEL, AND WHO RUNS IT?
Deep Jungle, it’s run by me Harmony.

WHEN & WHY DID THE LABEL START?
The label first started in 1994 as a way to put out tunes by me and a few friends. It restarted in 2017 in order to get some never released and hard to find gems out, as well as some modern tunes with a similar sound & vibe.

GIVE US A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU’VE RELEASED SINCE THEN….
Too much to mention, we’re over 67 releases in on the main label plus a handful on the side label. Some highlights are: several long lost Dillinja classics, tunes by Red Light aka Shut Up & Dance, some wicked releases by Orca including a full album of previously unreleased tracks, Grooverider ‘Charade’, and my own full length albums. Plus EPs by friends like Tim Reaper / Dwarde / Kid Lib / Subjects.

WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE MUSIC YOU RELEASE?
What the label name says really. Tunes with a classic vibe and sound, good production quality.

WHAT KIND OF VISUAL IDENTITY DOES THE LABEL HAVE (ARTWORK, VIDEOS ETC) ?
We keep it simple. Still using the same logo since the early 90s, albums we go in a bit more but you can always tell a DJ release by the simple logo and fonts etc.

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SELLING RELEASE TO DATE? TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT AND WHY YOU
THINK IT WAS SO POPULAR.
Bit of a cheeky question, a gentleman never kisses and tells…

NAME ONE RELEASE THAT YOU THINK DESERVED TO GET MORE ATTENTION THAN IT DID
Again, not sure what to say here as all the releases have done pretty well. A few things have taken a bit longer to sell but people do find them in the end.

IF YOU COULD SIGN ANY ARTIST, ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
Gotta be Photek. He did tons of amazing tunes that I and plenty of others have played for years, but I feel for the younger generations finding this music who now have to spend £50-150 each for some of them. Would be great to help get some of them back out there.

WHICH OTHER LABELS DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?
Future Retro London / 8205 Recordings / GBW / Scientific Wax / Over/Shadow / Infrared

WHAT CAN WE LOOK TO FROM YOUR LABEL NEXT?
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it… we’re going to continue to release a combination of classic rare/unheard bits and exciting brand new jungle by artists I like.

Check the latest crop of Deep Jungle releases here