Junglist Dating

Jungle isn't drum and bass with a different name. It came first, it has its own sound and its own history, and the people who love it know the difference. Raver Dating is made for people who live for raves and electronic music – a good place to meet another junglist.

Jungle and drum and bass are not the same thing

Jungle took shape in the early 1990s, before drum and bass, and it's distinct from it. There are crossovers – jungle-flavoured drum and bass, for example – but those are still drum and bass at heart. If jungle is your music, say so on your profile rather than lumping it in with DnB.

What makes jungle jungle

Jungle usually runs around 160 BPM, anywhere from about 140 to 175. Its DNA is reggae, ragga, dub and soundsystem culture, chopped-up breaks lifted from soul and funk records, deep basslines, sirens and ragga vocals, alongside threads from hip hop, acid and piano house, techno and breakbeat hardcore. Rhythm leads the way rather than melody.

Within it there's ragga jungle, darkside, intelligent (melodic, ambient and atmospheric), jungle techno, acid jungle, hardcore and jump up – plus crossovers like jungletek and footwork jungle.

Where it came from

Jungle's roots are in London and Bristol, growing out of breakbeat hardcore, jungle techno and Belgian hardcore at the turn of the 1990s – the tracks were already sounding close to it by 1989, but the scene took hold around 1991. It's bound up with the story of the Windrush generation and the soundsystem culture they brought to Britain, with pirate radio, MCs and the rave and free party scenes. Jungle in turn fed into drum and bass, UK garage and dubstep.

Where jungle ends and drum and bass begins

Around the mid-1990s, some producers moved away from jungle's ragga-heavy sound, and the newer, sleeker style that came out of it became known as drum and bass. (Source: Wikipedia.) Jungle carried on as its own thing – the breaks, the bass weight and the soundsystem lineage are what junglists listen for. Pirate radio and MCs were central from the start, and they still are.

Still going

From its early days through the old-school and golden eras of the 1990s to a real resurgence from the 2010s onwards, jungle has never gone away – with labels and nights around the world carrying it on, from the UK to Finland's Animal Breaks.

How Raver Dating works

Add your photos and what you're into, and new match suggestions arrive daily, based on age, distance, what you want and your interests. Verifying your ID is free and adds a badge to your profile. Other members see your town, not where you live.

Profile tips for junglists

• Say “jungle” – not just “drum and bass” – so the right people find you.
• Name the nights, crews, MCs and labels you follow, old school or new.
• Say what you're looking for: a relationship, a date, a raving buddy or just a chat.

Meeting up safely

Chat on Raver Dating first, and only swap numbers when you're ready. If someone pushes you onto WhatsApp or another app straight away, you'll see a warning – it's a common scam tactic. You can block or report anyone, any time. See our safety page.

Photo: Dominik Kempf on Unsplash.