Drum and bass massive, gather round. This is the moment you've all been waiting for... It is… The Glastonbury Festival Junglist Freak-out! And no, it matters not a jot that we're in a breezy tent at two in the afternoon on a sunny Saturday.
On the decks, Suv is bashing out the baddest breaks and ruffest basslines, and those on the other side of the fence are responding accordingly. Peshay has been struck down with a nasty dose of food poisoning, and some handy Full Cycle replacements are comfortably filling his shoes, spinning dirty, rattly, body-moving breakbeats. The only thing to do when you get inside the tent is start brocking like a madman… Catching the last half hour of the Full Cyclers' stand-in set, we're treated to known and unknown tunes, and everyone is leaping about the place with Mexican Jumping Bean quantities of energy.
	By the time Marky and Patife come on at 3.30, everyone is in proper sweaty raver mode and shouting their approval. Then the Brazilians take the controls and let rip with the customary mad mix of sunny Latin-pillaging tracks and some rather more dark and funky things… Skilful scratching is on show too, Marky getting busy with a few "wikki wikki"s in the quiet bits between the rolling basslines. By the time Marky's "LK" (already a bonafide dancefloor classic months before its official release!) hits in, the place is wild with delight. Marky and Patife are, of course, lovng it; anyone who has witnessed their stunts before will be familiar with the wide, beaming grins and pure joyful energy they send back to the crowd (check out our interview with Patife to hear it from his point of view...)
Our boys from Brazil finally wind things to a close sometime round 5pm, and then things get REALLY nasty… It's time for the Full Cycle crew to take over again… We are treated to the full compliment of classics, Adam F's (not so) Brand New Funk getting a rinse pretty much straight away, and all the classic faves from Messrs Size, Krust, Die et al moving the assembled massive to the point of hysteria. A very extended and sweaty session: just what the doctor ordered to sort out the kinks and cramps you've picked up from all that walking and heavy-bag-carrying.
So, I'm sure everyone wants to know the answer to this much-posed question - is drum 'n' bass dead? Is it f***! Words & Pictures: Marilyn Kahan