On Infrared

Forgotten Gems

Forgotten Gems presents: Drum & Bass Journeys Read about Forgotten Gem's musical journey. 😊 I grew up in East Anglia and my first awareness of music came with Prince, Bowie, some soft rock like Van Halen, Pink Floyd, Queen. Some hip hop - Ice Cube, Public Enemy, Ice T, NWA, Tribe Called Quest. I remember a mate got hold of a Carl Cox tape called Thee Deck Colours. Amazing tape. And all of a suddenly rave tapes were everywhere - Dreamscape, Fantazia, Eclipse, World Dance, The Edge etc. Also, becoming aware of all the DJ’s - LTJ Bukem, Fabio & Grooverider, Carl Cox, Hype, Ellis D, Ratty, Doc Scott, Sy, Slipmatt, Rat Pack, Kenny Ken too many to name really. Around this time a mate got a pair of decks My first 12” was by Nookie on Absolute 2 records The Love Is EP Remix, I then started shopping more at independent record shops - Spinadisc in Northampton, Redeye in Ipswich (still going!) Soundclash in Norwich. Coming to London to go to Blackmarket and the other Soho record shops. As the sound started to split - Jungle & D&B/ Happy Hardcore I went the D&B route. Firstly I got into the Bukem/Good Looking Records sounds, loving those deep atmospherics and melodies. A few years later the harder sounding Metalheadz, Prototype, 31 Recordings beats. Then from around 1999/2000 I started getting into other music - buying more funk and soul, loads of hip hop, trip hop, electronica - and I basically stopped buying any D&B (with the odd exception) for a good 15 years or so. I got back into D&B around 2016, falling in love with the mid 90s sound all over but also the new stuff. I’ve loved the new wave of modern Jungle and old school hardcore sounds, Future Retro, Distant Planet, Myor vibes. During the lockdown I started the Forgotten Gems channel on YouTube. I get some lovely feedback from people who love the music. Also, it’s nice to give the artists back something as they make a bit of cash through the ads. I started playing on the radio around 2021 and then joined Infrared.FM in 2023. I love being a part of it.