Jungle Jam returned to its spiritual home of Mint Warehouse for another edition on November 25th.  The crowd may have been dominated by students, easily identifiable from their fresh faced glee, but woven amongst them were older junglists keeping their fire burning under the camouflage netting. The common denominator between these two groups, that far too often fail to converge in Leeds’ nightlife, was an appreciation of jungle and a determination to enjoy the rave.

DJ Shock’s set sufficiently warmed up the gathering crowd but Randall and Dillinja’s collaborative set propelled the night towards another level. Their set dipped into DnB, mixing between Wiretap’s Serum and M.I.S.T VIP remix of ‘Midnight’ artfully. They succeeded, with the aid of MC Fearless, in keeping the crowd’s energy teetering on the edge of frenetic without freefalling. DJ Zinc continued in a similar vein. Opening tracks, such as ‘Firefox’ and 4-Tree’s ‘Warning’, may have been older than many of the attendees but their ability to get the dancefloor hyped demonstrate why they remain popular.

Room One was where the majority of the crowd assembled, enticed by the heady combination of projected visuals from ‘The Jungle Book’ and thumping beats. However, Room Two and Three had plenty to offer up as well for those who risked a wander. Future Formation hosted Room Two and provided unrelenting energy that stayed just the right side of overpowering. It’s a real testament to them that the room was nearly full for much of the night, considering the madness going on in Room One. Meanwhile Mikey B’s garage infused set in Room 3 proved popular with those grabbing some air outside that wasn’t saturated with both moisture and chopped beats.

Jungle Jam nailed it with both the bookings and the branding. The night was named ‘We Love Jungle’ and judging from the response to the night this is a sentiment shared by many attendees who were reticent to leave and return to basements in Hyde Park and beyond. Jungle may not be the first genre you associate with Leeds’ nightlife but it appears to be here to stay.

Victoria Beyai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f8XwXQB81w

(Image: https://www.facebook.com/junglejamleeds)