Busy Curious Thirsty cover

Busy Curious Thirsty

Released

Spring Heel Jack (not to be confused with the ska band Spring Heeled Jack) were innovators of what I’d call avant-junglism. Early on (Busy, Curious, Thirsty was originally issued in 1996) the duo realized that jungle’s conventions allowed plenty of room for experimentation, and they went there with a vengeance. Check out the way jazz horns and awkward side effects get together and dance on “Bells,” for example, or the frantically fragmented orchestral samples on “Happy Baby.” This is jungle as art music, not as dance music.

Rick Anderson

Recommended by

Suggestions
Long As In Short, Walk As In Run cover

Long As In Short, Walk As In Run

Annie Lewandowski, Fred Frith
Double Sextet; Radio Rewrite cover

Double Sextet; Radio Rewrite

Ensemble Signal, Bradley Lubman, Signal
Learning to Cope with Cowardice cover

Learning to Cope with Cowardice

Mark Stewart & The Maffia
Transneptunian Planets cover

Transneptunian Planets

Jan Peter Schwalm, Stephan Thelen
LIVE cover

LIVE

Chick Corea Akoustic Band
Between Systems And Grounds cover

Between Systems And Grounds

Paula Matthusen, Olivia Valentine
Lux cover

Lux

Brian Eno