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With a quickly approaching headline set at All Points East, electronic duo Jungle are at the top of their game. Their new record ‘Volcano’ sees the pair take stock of their success so far, and create something truly celebratory.
‘Volcano’ – despite being their most collaborative offering so far – only features one sample, and instead Tom Harper and J Lloyd mined their own archive when building the album.
“We’re always thinking of ideas, making ideas, making music, collecting bits of melody, bits of production, whether we’re on the road or we’ve got time off the road”.
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A vocal by Roots Manuva recorded back in 2016 finds its way into ‘You Ain’t No Celebrity’, and likewise standout track ‘I’ve Been in Love’ features archival material from Chanel Tres.
It’s this patchwork of influences both new and old that makes ‘Volcano’ the truest expression of Jungle’s musical outlook yet. “The actual philosophy of making the record was, let’s try and make it quickly. Let’s try not to overthink it. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut and over analyse yourself”.
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‘Volcano’ started taking shape in the summer of 2022, when the duo were visiting LA, and they settled into London’s Metropolis Studios in the autumn, editing the ideas they’d collected with the aim purely to focus on the feelings that each song had originated from.
“[‘Volcano’] is much more influenced by an overarching philosophy. It’s about believing in ourselves, believing in our ideas, and ideas that sit in their most unadulterated state. So when it came to editing some of the ideas down, it was really [about] trying to stay as true to their original feelings as possible”.
“There are some songs where you have an amazing demo. And then when you come to finishing it, you tend to water things down. And it becomes a much shitter version of the thing that you initially wrote. You’re always trying to chase a feeling”.
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Beyond their archive, Jungle’s return to live DJing and club culture forms a major influence on ‘Volcano’, a reference that’s clear in the euphoric choreography of the music film that accompanies the album.
“[The album] is reflective of even more confidence, and even more ability at this stage in our careers to not listen to anybody else, not be too worried about what people think of us, or whether we’re going to piss people off, or whether we’re developing too much, not developing enough”.
“There’s a lot of questions that you ask yourself as an artist as your career progresses. And I think we’ve done really well and to not cave in to those voices in your head that can pop up and essentially halt all progress and all positive movement forward in your career and in your creativity”.
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‘Volcano’ and the accompanying short film are out now. Catch Jungle at All Points East on August 26th – tickets.
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Words: Sasha Mills
Photo Credit: George Day