by RAF KATIGBAK

To paraphrase Mark Twain, "the reports of drum & bass music's death have been greatly exaggerated, sort of." While the once ubiquitous genre of sped-up breakbeats has somewhat cooled off its run for the title of Music of the Future, some of the genre's staunchest supporters, alongside a new school of young DJs, continue to rinse it out in smaller clubs and underground parties throughout the city. Over the last year, one particular up-and-coming group of DJ/promoters have been busy helping keep the flame alive for this next wave of Montreal's jungle massive.

The In Da Jungle Crew (DJs Galaksy, Axionfigga, the Nitrous, Jada and PI67 with added help from MC Loco and secret agent Double-0 Flow) have been hosting intimate monthly drum & bass events at various new spots around the city for the better part of a year. What started as a bar-hours one-off at Nantha's Kitchen almost a year ago has turned into a full-on rock-tha-kids'-asses-'til-at-least-dawn affair, complete with their own roster of resident DJs and rotating out-of-town guests. "Musically speaking, each of us has our own style which, put together, creates unlimited amounts of eargasms," beams cofounder Axionfigga. "We pride ourselves most on the fact that we dance in sync, and that we feature extremely talented artists each month." (Indeed, their January event Turntablism In Da Jungle will be showcasing Montreal's own scratch hero DJ Mana.)

With several mix CDs already under their belts and some of their own tracks in the works, the IDJ crew shows no signs of stopping. According to Axionfigga, the key to the IDJ crew's success has been and always will be the idea of community. "People respond great when there is a warm, friendly and positive community atmosphere. Also, IDJ is the perfect weight loss technique - just make sure you bring your dancing shoes."

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