15 Songs That Make You Feel Like You're in the Jungle

As the song begins, everything is fairly quiet but in the next few seconds of Glass Animals’ “Pools” it begins to sound as if all of the animals in the jungle are starting to wake up. The gradually climbing beat creates a sense of forward motion, but the real highlight is the chorus.

The pace picks up to a speed that would be fitting for zip-lining through a jungle canopy. It reaches a speed where you can almost imagine the wind blowing in your hair as your fly through the trees. Glass Animals created their own world for this song and all of the different elements make it hard not to conjure up mental images of a jungle.

Since the beginning of her career, M.I.A. has always found a way to make music that is simultaneously chaotic and hypnotic. Often drawing inspiration from her surroundings as well as various cultural influences, when you try to think of songs that make you feel like you’re in the jungle M.I.A.’s name has to come up.

Her latest album Matangi was inspired by the Hindu goddess of the same name, and the single "Matangi” is what I imagine being lost inside a vast jungle sounds like. There are sounds coming from every direction as M.I.A.’s voice spins your brain in circles, almost taunting you. As soon as you begin to get used to the beat, it switches up on you and more elements are added. M.I.A. is a pro at making songs that will hold your attention for their entire length, and “Matangi” is no different.

After just one listen, you realize that the cinematic soundtrack possibilities of “No Church in the Wild” are endless. Although Kanye West and Jay Z already made a video for the song depicting a violet rioting scene, it’s easy to picture this song fitting other visuals too.

Hearing the various primal sounds, one would expect to see some actual animals in the video, but Kanye and Jay Z never do the expected thing. Instead we see somewhat animalistic behavior from humans which seems fitting since the entire song sounds like it was meant to be a soundtrack for prey being hunted down a predator. Screaming monkeys, growling lions and elephants are all heard on the track. It’s not difficult to picture them stampeding away from vicious hunters in the jungle.

The title of this Snowmine track prompts you to imagine vast landscapes of greenery, whether that be mountains or jungles. And the music itself makes you feel as if you are seeing that beautiful scenery from a bird’s eye view as you soar above it all. “The Hill” is led by a guitar which provides the track with an almost aquatic sound but when the violin comes in it’s hard to picture anything but flight.

The vocals, which are just as light and airy as the instrumentation, help to tie everything together. Usually songs create one image in your head, but if you have a vivid imagination you will be able to appreciate that Snowmine figured out how to create a scenic montage of visuals through music.

Blood Orange has become known for making songs that sound as if they were recorded in the ‘80s but Dev Hynes proved that he had far more up his sleeve when he released “Chamakay” in 2013. The track is led by a combination of drums and the delicate sound of a marimba which give it that undeniable tropical sound.

If the animals in  tropical rainforest needed a lullaby to soothe them to sleep as the sun slowly set, this would be it.

The majority of Banks’ songs have an eerie vibe to them that we can’t help but be drawn to. “Fall Over” se open with a few echoing high notes that could be the calls of some unknown creature in the night. In a jungle there are more sounds than you would be able to count and at night those sounds multiply.

Banks’ voice is like one of those sounds that leaves you too curious to merely sit down and wonder where it’s coming from. Even if the only source of light in this dangerous jungle is the full moon, you feel obliged to walk towards the mysterious sound in order to find out exactly where the alluring noise is coming from. Banks may not have been going for a primal sound on “Fall Over” but the way her voice grabs you is just that.

"Silo Pass" is one of the biggest tunes that British producer and Night Slugs co-founder Bok Bok has ever made. It needs to be heard in a club to fully appreciate how epic it is, but even on headphones, this could still be the soundtrack to a futuristic tribal ceremony being had by creatures on some far flung planet that we don't even know exists yet.

There’s something about drums like this that always seem to connect our brains to the jungle. Maybe it’s Hollywood's fault for that, but it’s too late to reverse the brainwashing now. “Rotunda” starts off with a groove that is too infectious to ignore.

Thinking from a Hollywood point of view the scene almost paints itself. The character is running through the jungle, dodging fallen branches and various vines here and there. The beating of the drums seem to speed up to match the heart rate of the runner but the bells add a sense of ease rather than tension. If “Rotunda” doesn’t sound like a journey around the jungle, I don’t know what does.

Maybe it’s the Tarzan-like chants that echo in the chorus or perhaps it’s the gradually building drums, but there’s something about “Confidence” by Conner Youngblood that makes us want to leap through the jungle. Although Conner's vocals are restrained at first, by the time the song reaches the chorus they burst into life for a few moments.

It’s at that point we could see this as a song representing someone fighting to survive—probably metaphorically but possibly literally if we ever found ourselves alone in the jungle. As the beat builds up, it is easy to picture someone increasingly picking up pace as they run to the highest point they can see. And as they finally reach the top, that’s when we hear the primal chants being yelled into the wind. Whether you actually do find yourself stranded in a strange place or just feel down in the dumps, “Confidence” is a song that needs to be played during a difficult situation.

If it wasn’t for the looped scream/howl sound, “Losing You” probably wouldn’t give off as much of a jungle vibe as it does now. Aside from that, there’s still a lot going on for a song under five minutes long. The underlying melody is gently mournful, which matches the subject of this breakup song, but when combined with the claps and screams, it all creates an new level of energy.

“Losing You” sounds like a party in the wild, but the party that you finally accept you're losing your partner for good.

The delicate notes that can be heard at the beginning of “Hold On” create a sound that is reminiscent of the tiny footsteps of little creatures as they crawl throughout the jungle at night. SBTRKT's kick drum sounds like a steady heartbeat, maybe of those same little animals. But within a few seconds, Sampha joins in with a voice that is so calm and soothing that it can sound like a cool evening breeze coming in to ease all the tension.

When most people think of the jungle, the first few thoughts are usually of a wild and energetic scene but sometimes the jungle remains calm. “Hold On” is like a soundtrack for one of those rare calm nights in the wild jungle.

As the track opens up, echoing sounds from the distance can be heard, then the lead vocals begin like a howling wind as the production stays stripped down to the very basics. When you’re stuck in unfamiliar surroundings, it seems like your sense of hearing is heightened to a level where you can hear every little sound. There are sudden noises and claps throughout the song that are reminiscent of the sound of a tree branch snapping in the distance or a sudden scuffling behind you.

“Animal” is as unpredictable as nature itself.

Just as the title alludes, the percussion is the most important part of this song. With the addition of ominous sound effects, Francesca Belmonte’s sweet voice, and the eerie whispery vocals of Tricky in the background, a wilder scene starts to be painted in your mind. The repetition of the drums sound simultaneously ceremonial and hypnotic. If we heard the sound of these drums coming from the distance in the jungle, it would hard to resist the urge to walk towards them, even if we thought we were going towards a dangerous situation.

In the past decade we have all watched Kanye West's sound evolve into something big enough for stadiums. On 808s & Heartbreak, one of his most divisive albums, Kanye experimented with a visceral, tribal feel that he would subsequently explore further. Though some people are still in denial of just how good the record was because of the autotune overload, most can at least admit that his single “Amazing” with Young Jeezy was one of the standout tracks. Like so many Kanye tracks, the production is what elevates it.

The piano and ghostly background vocals have a gospel element about them that just seems to work on top of the pounding drum line. By adding a few animal sound effects, it forces our minds to think of the jungle. And seeing Kanye stand in the middle of a rainforest for the video just confirms that we’re all picturing exactly what he wanted us to.

A month ago we introduced you to some songs that could turn anyone into a jazz fan. Now I’m here with a song that is not only an enjoyable jazz record but also a song that gives off that jungle vibe (a twofer, if you will). “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock features various woodwind instruments that create the effect of creepy animals emerging from out of the jungle.

At night there are so many different creatures making noise that at times it seems as if they are trying to communicate with each other. That’s exactly what it sounds like on this track. But when the bass, piano and saxophone come in, the chaos comes to an end for a moment and everything smooths out. What at first sounded like a frightening night in the jungle soon turns into a cool evening under the bright moon.

When the word "jungle" is used in relation to music, it's hard to ignore the actual genre of music (a precursor of drum & bass, if you're unfamiliar). More recently, of course, has been the band Jungle, so we were hoping we'd be able to find a jungle remix of a Jungle song (maybe featuring The Jungle Brothers).

Unfortunately not.

Jungle (the genre):

Jungle (the band):