4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse – Drowning In Her (Tone Def Records, 1993)
Hardcore label Tone Def Records was run by DJ and producer Yomi Ayeni. They put out some of the first jungle releases including a number of early productions from Darren Jay who recorded alongside Yomi under the name S.L.M.. They also released this classic track from 4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse who were none other than the Foul Play trio, with the fourth horseman being Yomi.
‘Drowning In Her’ is a stunning track rich with melancholy vibes. Like ‘Give A Little Love’ by Nookie (who appeared on Tone Def as a remixer) it samples Robert Owen’s vocals from Frankie Knuckles’ ‘Tears’, taking the “I’m drowning” line and then cleverly reversing the word “drowning” so that it sounds like “in her”. The other desperate sounding “How?” vocal is from the bizarre ‘Once You Understand’ by Think, the same source as 4 Hero’s ‘Mr Kirk’s Nightmare’. The sampling isn’t limited to the vocals with the screaming sounds at the beginning coming from the movie Zardoz while the opening synth pads are taken from ‘Techno Playtime’ by The Black Dog. All of this combined with a wicked bassline and the Amen break equals early jungle perfection.
A second hand copy of this 12″ will currently set you back more than £40. However it appears on The Ultimate Drum & Bass Collection, a four CD set released by the budget arm of Strictly Underground Records which is available for peanuts. You can also hear it in Randall’s Yaman Vol. 5 mix where it kicks off side two at the 43 minute mark:
dnb365.wordpress.com 