It's a very different musical world from anything we experience now. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a reality.

Was it really so very different I wonder? There are more people mixing stuff for fun these days than manage to make a living out of it and their work is just as crucial to both the genre and an understanding of musical process. I used to try to keep up with the developments in hip-hop and drum & bass until it got too much for me - turn round twice and the whole scene has transformed itself; the amateur scene likewise, which very often provided the best stuff. The means and the aesthetic of the thing may well be different, but the humanity of the music - the folk indeed, the language & beauty of the thing - is the essence of all.

One of the most perfect days of the summer was spent sitting with my wife and kids (aged 22 & 28!) in Stanley Park in Blackpool listening to the local drum & bass crews spontaneously pulverising us with their beautiful jams; the moment transfigured with sunshine, and a small but appreciative audience, and in my heart I felt reborn.