> in the 90s it was all like that, just amen break over really dark metal/industrial kind of sounds
There was actually a whole scene from the start of the 90s that focussed on melodic and atmospheric jungle and dnb. Check out Good Looking Records. In fact even Metalheadz pushed some this sound a lot. I personally see that as a fundamental part of jungle and dnb from the get go.
Some DnB “OGs” such as Dom and Roland, Paradox are still heavy proponents of the amen sound, and can toss it up between darkish, breakbeaty and soulful tracks.
I think GLR was the only label for a very long time that did that stuff though. I remember listening to DNB stations in the 90s and they were all very dark compared to today, I don't think there was any easy way to find out about liquid in those days for someone not deeply into the scene. I think that didn't change much until Fabio and Grooverider got their late night show on Radio 1 and wanted to make dnb more accessible, even so, I remember tuning in sometimes and just having to turn it off because it was too hardcore. It wasn't until I got fast enough internet and found online radio specializing in dnb that I really got into dnb but that was considered super obscure and there were only a handful of stations, and of those, only occasional shows played liquid. So I definitely feel it got more common since then.
Recommend checking out ASC and Aural Imbalance for modern takes on amen/GLR sound. They release under the Auxiliary label (search Bandcamp for them). A lot of DnB heavyweights are starting to bring back the 90s “intelligent” dnb sound recently. Really great to listen to. Nine Windows (collab between Kid Drama and DJ Trace) are another excellent example (also on Bandcamp).
I think GLR was the only label for a very long time that did that stuff though.
Partisan. 720 Degrees. Metalheadz, as mentioned in the comment you’re responding to. Moving Shadow. Renegade. Nu-Directions. Nexus.
I don't think there was any easy way to find out about liquid in those days for someone not deeply into the scene.
Goldie literally got into the Top 40 in the UK in 1995 with “Inner City Life,” a track we would today call “liquid.” (The term wasn’t in use at the time.)
Adam F “Circles” was another very big “liquid”-style track from that era.
Sorry to be all “someone on the internet is wrong!!1” but what you’re saying just isn’t accurate.
Never heard of those (except I think Nu Directions), so I hereby bow to your superior knowledge of 90s dnb!
> The term wasn’t in use at the time
It seems fair to say that if the terminology wasn't stable at that time then it was really the very start of that trend and I can be forgiving for missing a track that charted when I was 10 years old :)
Will just mention that Adam F's Circles is experiencing somewhat of a revival at the moment, as popular artist PinkPantheress incorporates it quite extensively in her 2021 hit 'Break It Off' - something like over 221 M plays on spotify rn!
More Rockers was my favorite in this genre, especially their Dub Plate Selection Volume One. Gorgeous record. Also check out the first Spring Heel Jack album, There Are Strings.
There was actually a whole scene from the start of the 90s that focussed on melodic and atmospheric jungle and dnb. Check out Good Looking Records. In fact even Metalheadz pushed some this sound a lot. I personally see that as a fundamental part of jungle and dnb from the get go.