I've been putting a lot of thought into the strides that the drum & bass scene has been making, but that's probably because I remember a time when drum & bass was not only relegated to the backrooms of raves here in the States, but the growing American drum & bass scene was slept-on by the UK. It made sense, as the producers from the birthplace of this wondrous scene seemed to be light years ahead of what was going on in America, but it still sucked to be an American junglist in the late-'90s and see the lack of representation in mixes you'd hear from across the pond, especially when we knew there was a growing pool of talent on our side of the Atlantic. We had our hits, and as time went on, the playing field ended up leveling out, and America has quite a few producers who started getting the respect they truly deserved.
Going through this list is, you're seeing 20 almost 20 years of drum & bass history that's emerged from the United States. You have a number of homegrown stateside imprints (including the legendary Liquid Sky/Jungle Sky labels, Breakbeat Science, Shadow Law Recordings, Gasm, Project 51, and Violence), as well as a number of the big dogs (Metalheadz, Hospital, Moving Shadow, and Renegade Hardware), among various other labels. Great representation of how these producers went from having to do it on their own to gaining that worldwide acceptance. I also tried to mix it up a bit—you have everything from classic jungle riddims to neurofunk to liquid on through.
Keep in mind, this is in no way trying to be the end-all, be-all representation of the American drum & bass scene. This is a snapshot of tracks from some of the finest American producers, from the mid-'90s through today. Many are obvious classics, while some might be a bit deeper for you junglists out there. Also note that this is in chronological order, not order of importance. Let's celebrate the tremendous contributions that America has made to the drum & bass scene.
DJ Soul Slinger - "Abducted (UFO Mix)"
Label: Jungle Sky
Year: 1995
1.8.7 - "We Are Not Alone"
Label: Jungle Sky
Year: 1997
Datcyde ft. Reid Speed & MC Blaise - "Naughty Ride"
Label: Liquid Sky
Year: 1997
DJ Ani - "Nerve Damage"
Label: Jungle Sky
Year: 1997
E-Sassin & R.A.W. - "Soundstorm"
Label: Sound Sphere Recordings
Year: 1997
UFO! - "Enemy Infiltration"
Label: Thermal
Year: 1999
Cleveland Lounge - "Drowning (AK1200 Remix)"
Label: Moonshine Music
Year: 2000
Dieselboy - "Invid"
Label: Palm Pictures
Year: 2000
DJ Abstract - "The Message—F**k Willie Brown"
Label: Higher Education
Year: 2000
DJ Dara - "Kilos"
Label: Orgone
Year: 2000
Pish Posh & DJ Seen - "The Monsta v.03"
Label: Rawkuts
Year: 2001
Mathematics - "Feelin"
Label: Hospital
Year: 2002
Pieter K - "Trefusis Point"
Label: Breakbeat Science
Year: 2002
Kaos & Karl K & Jae Kennedy - "Moonraker "
Label: Human Imprint
Year: 2003
Technical Itch - "Reborn (Weapon Remix)"
Label: Moving Shadow
Year: 2003
Echo - "Rock Lock"
Label: Violence Recordings
Year: 2004
Mason ft. MC Armanni Reign - "Ruff, Rugged & Raw VIP"
Label: Freak
Year: 2004
Mayhem & Impulse - "Chamber"
Label: Shadow Law Recordings
Year: 2004
Trust - "Redeemer"
Label: Intasound
Year: 2004
Evol Intent - "Street Knowledge"
Label: Renegade Hardware
Year: 2005
Hive - "Krush"
Label: Metalheadz
Year: 2005
Dstar & Vector Burn - "Winter In America"
Label: Metalheadz
Year: 2006
Ewun - "Screw Up"
Label: Lifted Music
Year: 2006
Infiltrata & Hochi ft. Mental Sharp - "Hit 'Em Hard"
Label: TEKDBZ
Year: 2006
Perpetuum - "Urban Afterglow"
Label: Colours Audio
Year: 2006
Quadrant - "My Beautiful Liar"
Label: Renegade Hardware
Year: 2006
Infiltrata - "56 Fusion"
Label: Infiltrata Recordings
Year: 2007
JuJu - "Redder Than Red"
Label: Progress
Year: 2007
SPL & Noah D - "Revolution"
Label: Lost Soul Recordings
Year: 2007
Subsonik - "Communicate"
Label: Cymbalism
Year: 2007
Demo & Cease - "Ladies Night"
Label: Human Imprint
Year: 2008
Genr8 - "Counter Culture"
Label: Project 51
Year: 2008
Sinistarr - "Leeroy Jenkins"
Label: Influence
Year: 2008
SPKTRM - "Machine March"
Label: Human Imprint
Year: 2009
Dave Owen - "Loose Lips"
Label: Co-Lab Recordings
Year: 2012
Gridlok - "American Dream"
Label: Project 51
Year: 2013