Drum 'n' bass book 'All Crews' gets reissue, campaigning for tunes for audiobook usage

Junglist book 'All Crews: Journeys through Jungle Drum and Bass Culture' is getting a third update, set for release next year, with an audiobook to boot.

Author Brian Belle-Fortune wants to soundtrack the audiobook with authentic jungle and drum 'n' bass tunes, with publisher Velocity Press running a competition to find these records.

They should be unreleased tracks from producers yet to be signed by a major label, with the author's intention to showcase audio from across the genre's spectrum.

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There is, however, a particular interest in tracks with minimal vocal elements.

"It’s been over fifteen years since the last edition of All Crews, and since then Jungle Drum and Bass has truly gone global," Belle-Fortune explains. "Since the scene has survived the rise of streaming, mass venue closures and pandemics, we decided the book deserved an update."

"We want the updated edition of All Crews to be accessible to as many heads as possible, so we’re also recording it as an audiobook. It only seems right to soundtrack the audiobook with the ruffest Jungle Drum and Bass tunes we can get our hands on, and give up-and-coming producers the chance to hear their tracks in the audiobook."

Those producers whose tracks are selected to accompany the audiobook will be interviewed by the author, and featured in the updated print edition.

Entrants can send a link to a Soundcloud track, or an mp3 copy, to [email protected] before November 1 for a chance to be featured.

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Initially released in 1999 as 'All Crew Muss Big Up', the book was re-issued in 2004, with this edition being dubbed as one of Mixmag's dance music books you definitely need to read.

2023 marks the third update some 19 years later, and whilst previous editions are considered by many as the 'definitive snapshot of the scene's earliest years', this most recent offering will undoubtedly aim to do just that for the present day.

You can find out more about All Crews here.

Niamh Ingram is Mixmag's Weekend Editor, follow her on Twitter