News from the Music Industry

But jungle is still too London-dominated. To seduce the North it’ll probably need “stars” to pave the way, faces people can latch onto. And few come more appropriate than Manchester’s A Guy Called Gerald (right). His name is synonymous with the last Eighties E- fuelled acid techno venture for one; most albums are of the compilation hits variety. But crucially it draws just as much from pulsey ambient techno as it does from the urban rumble of manic break-beats. The pair-up seems so natural, one wonders why there’s so much antipathy between techno and jungle scenes. A Guy Called Gerald’s appearance alongside other techno luminaries including Renegade Soundwave and Dread Zone at the NME Vibes night should help warm the friendship a bit. Here’s to 1995 - and techno and jungle finding more mutual shades of rhythm than ever before.