Soeneido is a music producer and DJ residing in Oakland CA. His production explores the realms of Jungle / Drum n Bass styles both new and old deriving much of his inspiration from the early UK hardcore and jungle styles of the 92-96 era. He has self released much of his own original music available at soeneido.bandcamp.com. His latest conceptual jungle EP titled “Deadly Venom Weapon” released on NoBias is currently available at Coneshapetop and at nobias.bandcamp.com. Soeneido plans to release more music in the coming year with various labels including Nobias and also on his own startup label Lo-Tek.
For this installment, Soen guides us on a nostalgic trip, expertly cutting and scratching through early jungle and UK hardcore. Initiating with classic 90 bpm beat and then gliding straight into warm liquid styles flowered with jazzy vocals, 90s R&B anthems and hip-hop inflected jump-up. Each interval swiftly enters and exits, switching zones with new tessellations of dizzying rhythms, bass reverberation, lightning fast amen breaks and rave piano euphoria. For all true junglists, enjoy!
Tracklist:1. Ambrosia - Inside Your Arms2. Dope Skillz - 6 Million (remix)3. Dem 2 Ruff - Nice Tune4. DJ Force & Evolution - High on Life5. Rhythm for Reasons - Grand National 93 (Feat. 4th Dimension)6. DJ Exodus & High Pressure - Rude Boy Dem7. Lifting ‘ Spirits - Cup-A-Cha8. Stakka & K. Tee - Ya Don’t Stop9. Back 2 Basics - Back to Life10. The Dream Team - Over You11. Interrogator - Break War12. Rhythm for Reasons - Music in Search of Light (DJ SS Remix)13. The Brothers Grimm - Jungle Trance14. DJ Biggs - Sunrise15. Dream Bass Feat The JB - Smoking’ Cans (B2B Remix)16. Joint Venture - Take Away17. Lifting’ Spirits - Going On18. Artificial Intelligence - Reach OutCST: Where are you from and where do you live now?
S: I grew up in Orange County, I’ve lived in Oakland and San Francisco on and off in the past but I’ve been back in Oakland for about 8 years now .
CST: Introvert or extrovert?
S: Introvert
CST: What is your favorite record/music shop?
S: Coneshape duh
CST: What is your morning ritual?
S: Making Coffee, cleaning, working on tracks until I have to go to work, usually makes me late to work…
CST: What is your dream lineup for a party and what would you name this party?
S: Any Jungle show in the UK just teleported here, with some producers/DJs that don’t normally play here like Tim Reaper, Dwarde, Sherelle, Sully..
CST: What parties/underground/diy spaces did you go to when you first started partying/discovering music?
S: I came into the rave scene at the tail end of the Nineties. I was first introduced into it by my older sister. We would go to a lot of underground parties together, a lot of massives up in LA and San Bernadino, and some renegade shows in San Diego. My mom had no idea.
The first big party I went to was an Audiotistic in 1999 at Orange Show. I was 14 at the time. I don’t remember the line up much aside from maybe Invisible Scratch Picklz and Jurrasic 5 in the hip-hop room, and I think Dj Dan and Donald Glaude in the Main room. I remember seeing MC GQ alongside DJ Sniper and Mystical Influence in the Jungle/Drum n Bass room at a Party called How Sweet it Is in 2000, and that really got me interested in Drum n Bass. The sound was so unique - something primal and gritty mixed with something science fiction. There were also a lot of LA and OC break dance crews who would squad up and battle in the drum n bass room, and I would always look forward to checking them out. There also always live MC's in the jungle room, something was missing in other rooms.
The atmosphere was just out of this world for a 14 year old on ecstacy. Green lasers shooting around the warehouse, a wall of subwoofers surrounding the stage like a fortress, subwoofers you could literally crawl into, the crowd of thousands going nuts, 90 percent of them on drugs, no smartphones, only nokia cell bricks, people fucking in the corner, dancing non-stop until 7 in the morning. Really great memories.
CST: What was the first record/music you ever bought?
S: The first drum n bass piece of music I bought at that time was a Moonshine mix CD by Dieselboy called A Soldiers Story. It came out around 1999 I think. I recently went and copped many of those records that were in his mix like “Photon” by DJ Friction, “Beckoning” by Konflict, and “Atlantic State” by Technical Itch and Dieselboy… love those tracks - brings back great memories.
Around the age of 15-16 I got my first turntable (started with just one and then eventually two) and started buying records at places like Higher Source in Huntington Beach. I would buy everything from house, drum n bass, techno, hip-hop, battle records, and some trance even.
I started producing music on Cubase and Reason around the age 17, making all kinds of dance music and trip-hop, collaborating on tunes with a small group of friends who were also into dance music and raves. At around age 21 I gave up djing and sold everything for a regrettable price to a friend of mine. I went on to get involved with meditation and Buddhism for a period of time in my twenties. Later around the age 28 I started exploring music production again and this time invested in analog gear. Eventually I got back into DJing vinyl again - that was about 2-3 years ago. I Got some of my old battle records back from that same friend I sold them to and just picked up from where I left off. Now I’m 37. I feel old sometimes. Those early rave memories keep me inspired to make dance music and keep me inspired in general. Those were some of the most amazing times of my life. Nothing seems to come close
CST: Is there a concept or theme for this mix and if so, can you tell us about it a little bit more about it?
S: For this mix I put together a bunch of jungle and hardcore records from the early 90’s. This was a sound that came and went before I got involved in the rave scene, and by that time a lot of jungle producers were moving to make drum n bass. But I’ve become more and more attracted to that earlier sound and how its played a huge part in the formation of drum n bass and contemporary jungle music of today.
