Producers have found inspiration in an unlikely place this week as University Challenge host Amol Rajan's viral response to a contestant has been sampled by scores of jungle fans.
In the original clip, shared by Twitter/X user Nathan Filer and embedded below, Rajan asks the contestant, "what name has been given to the genre of dance music that developed in the UK in the early 1990s out of the rave scene and reggae soundsystem culture, associated with acts such as A Guy Called Gerald and Goldie?"
The contestant responds with "drum and bass", a wrong answer to which Rajan replies, "I can't accept drum and bass - we need jungle, I'm afraid". Filer posted the clip on Monday evening, urging his followers to sample Rajan's response, and the Twitter/X community did not disappoint.
Within hours, the post had received millions of views and several tracks were posted that sampled Rajan's perfectly worded rebuke, incorporating it into existing jungle tracks and original productions. Perhaps the silliest of the bunch is Tom Bradbury's version, which chops up the University Challenge theme tune for the intro before laying down Rajan's response over some gritty breakbeats.
We need Jungle (I'm afraid) ft @amolrajan https://t.co/ZiJSuEzrao pic.twitter.com/qrWf8F2uxkJanuary 8, 2024
Other versions were slightly more tasteful; Amy Goodchild shared a remix with the caption "I had things to do this evening" that places the Rajan sample over a dark, bass-heavy production that prompted several somewhat pedantic observers to categorize the track, rather ironically, as more drum and bass than jungle.
i had things to do this evening. remix feat @amolrajan pic.twitter.com/XLuIh9bfh3January 8, 2024
Our favourite of the bunch was shared by producer and DJ Spinscott, who posted a video of himself performing his take on Rajan's sample live with the Akai MPC1000 while showcasing some seriously impressive finger drumming skills.
pic.twitter.com/8T77NhG3tfJanuary 10, 2024
University Challenge host Amol Rajan seemed delighted with the Twitter/X community's reaction, sharing several of the remixes and commenting, "Thanks so much to all the heads who made these memes go viral yesterday [...] my favourite: General Levy, obviously".
Others in the replies captured the mood perfectly, with commenter Mark Williams declaring "this is why the internet was invented". Amen to that.
Please, please will someone sample @amolrajan saying: "I can't accept Drum & Bass. We need Jungle, I'm afraid." 👊 pic.twitter.com/NGdRaOIPglJanuary 8, 2024
- Read more: The history of breaks in music production
