For anyone who has actually heard my accent (which at the best of times resembles a London market trader, and I don’t mean the stock market, think more Billingsgate) I hail from the gorgeous commuter belt city of St Albans in Hertfordshire. I moved to Devon when I was 21 and although I’ve grown accustomed to the sea air there will always be a huge part of me that misses it and one day wishes to be back there. As they say ‘You can take the gal of Hertfordshire’.
When I think back to my life prior to moving to Devon, there has always been one major influence that stands out and is still present in my life now, and always will be. Appearances can be quite deceptive at times but I’m here to make a confession, something I’m actually really proud about. I am a huge fan of UK Garage (UKG). Yes, that felt good. Music is instrumental to most of us and in a world of division it’s usually the one thing that can unite us, so I never fail to see its importance.
UK Garage is now over two decades old and is an undeniable influence over a lot of the music you hear now. Grime is one of those prime examples, when you look into it’s root and musical influences it has grown from the emergence of Speed Garage in the early 1990s into the bass, breaks and beats of Drum and Bass of the early to mid noughties. Sadly, UK Garage faced a bit of a decline in the early 2000s but thanks to the continued efforts of UKG stalwarts such as DJ Luck and MC Neat, DJ EZ, So Solid Crew, Craig David, Shola Ama, Sweet Female Attitude to name but a few, Garage is thankfully starting to make a comeback.
Whether you are nu wave or old school with your Garage tastes (personally I’m a bit of both) it’s so good to see UK Garage starting to make a comeback again. In a commercial sense Garage and Drum and Bass has been at the forefront of music successes for the past few years now. Redlight’s Get Out My Head, Disclosure’s Fool For You, to name a couple and Jax Jones’ You Don’t Know Me directly samples the bassline of M.A.N.D.Y vs Booka Shade’s 2005 hit Body Language which is, by itself an absolute beauty. UK Garage is even making its strides with the much younger generation, such as DJ Archie. He is three years old and already a force to be reckoned with. Search for him on Instagram and be amazed at his UK Garage and Drum and Bass DJing prowess, he was on This Morning a couple of weeks ago, and rightly so.
Now, back to why UKG means so much to me. My older sister was more into House (and still is) but she would play a lot of Judge Jules on Radio One before going to Epping Forest Country Club. I’m almost seven years younger and so I would sit in doing homework on the other half of our partitioned bedroom and feel jealous that I couldn’t go out too. I remember my sister first getting the vinyl of Soul 2 Soul’s Keep On Movin’ and to me it was like a revelation, I confess to playing it a good few times when she was at work or out. It was amazing. You could say I had a really good introduction into the genre of UK Garage (without even knowing it) in a way, seeing as the roots of UK Garage are traced back to the Soul of 1970’s New York city.
In the late 1990s was when I started to listen to UKG. It was starting to emerge between my friends and it was dominant in all the clubs we went to, such as Batchwood in St Albans and Destiny in Watford. I remember being 16-17 when my mum first started to buy the CD compilations for me, from the infamous Pure Garage complilations of DJ EZ, to DJ Luck and MC Neat presents, to The Heartless Crew Presents Crisp Biscuit, So Solid Albums and more. I only wanted Garage to listen to, for a variety of reasons. It became the way to help deal with my teenage angst and it was perfect for me and my peace loving friends who just wanted a good night out with no drama.
At 18-19 years old I would spend my time listening to the female powerhouses in UK Garage. A lot of the time I felt I had no one to talk to. Particularly about boys, and relationships with friends. Most of what I listened to gave me a renewed sense of empowerment when I felt really fed up. I would get ready for nights out whilst listening to songs such as Nicole‘s Groove, Flow and the unmistakable fearlessness of Boo! by Miss Dynamite. Also, songs that just connect with a woman’s inner psyche such as Amira’s My Desire, Romina Johnson’s Movin’ Too Fast and MJ Cole’s Be Sincere were on a constant loop for me. When I look back now I realise that they were helping to form a lot of my morals too, on a subconscious level which is another amazing thing about music isn’t it?
Garage for me also has that undeniable soulful and spiritual side, from Nitin Sawhney remixes to Todd Edwards, DJ Narrows and Restless Natives. To DJ Zinc’s GO DJ to 138 Trek, to the first time I heard With A Little Bit of Luck on cassette at 15 years old. The list is endless for me as to the profound influence this music has over my life. UK Garage for me is quite simply a time machine, if I need an instant positive dose of energy, there it is on Spotify, ready to transport me back to dancing around my handbag with my friends to KCI and Jo Jo’s Tell Me It’s Real and Monsta Boy’s I’m Sorry.
In recent times I’ve been to the 02 to see an 8 hour DJ EZ set (I must admit I see him as a bit of a god to state it lightly), and I was lucky enough to see DJ Luck and Mc Neat perform in Plymouth a couple of years ago. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes but that’s not always true. MC Neat was so humble and really respected the fact that I was a fan of theirs from the beginning. The thing with UK Garage is that so much of it comes from the heart, and if you’re ever lucky enough to attend a Garage night you definitely should. They are truly one of the only places where you see people of every nationality, ethinicity and religion all partying and having a great time alongside one another. Being a fan of UK Garage is something that never leaves you and I’m really proud to feel part of that family.
justlikearobotfrom1984 