Album Review: The Secret Sauce EP (In-N-Out Jungle)
Album Review: The Secret Sauce EP (In-N-Out Jungle)
April 27, 2021
Elise Mills
This short but mighty EP is packed with nostalgic sample gems and plenty of drive for “da Jungle Raver on da go.”
Released July 31, 2020
In case you missed it, In-N-Out Jungle released a killer breakbeat hardcore EP last summer: The Secret Sauce EP. Started in 2017, In-N-Out Jungle is one of multiple labels headed by “hardcore junglist” m27 (Aaron Ruiz) in Oakland. The underground label has released eight breakbeat-centered EPs so far and is home to a host of new artists, testifying to jungle’s creative potential and relevance for the 2020s. Featuring tracks from m27, BC Rydah, DJ Koolaid, and NakedSlice, this short but mighty EP is packed with nostalgic sample gems and plenty of drive for “da Jungle Raver on da go.”
Starting with BC Rydah’s absolute banger “Party People,” and ending with the quasi afterparty vibes of “Ghetto Stars City Child,” The Secret Sauce is the perfect bite-sized party pick-me-up. Two ~30-second sample/scratchband morsels, “Gonzo” and “Ghetto Stars City Child,” along with the second half of “SF3,” are available for the few comedowns you may experience from the adrenaline rush. While some samples are not so obvious, these interlude tracks also serve as opportune moments to ask yourself or your local ravehead “where have I heard this before?” and reminisce about the ‘90s.
Label boss and producer m27’s remix of “Saturday Night” highlights the labels Jungle centric appeal
It’s hard to pick a favorite track because I really appreciate how the EP works together as a whole. But I do love how m27’s “Saturday Night” both builds upon and departs from the unmistakably hardcore energy that BC Rydah, DJ Koolaid, and NakedSlice set the tone for earlier in the EP. Emerging out of NakedSlice’s amped-up track “Canarie,” m27’s “oddball mix” plays with dreamy melodic lines alongside alternating punching beats and sped-up breakbeats. Before you know it, Cherelle’s voice casually saunters into the haze at 1:41 like an ethereal being. Somehow, m27 sculpts a pleasantly chaotic dreamscape that still goes hard and is totally aligned with the EP’s ebb and flow. And he does this without losing the integrity of those breakbeats that you’ll come to know and love by “Saturday Night.”
Let m27 et. al bring the party to you, whether you’re jamming along to the EP while you work, or on a twenty-minute commute. You can check out the EP in its entirety exclusively on Bandcamp. And if you haven’t already, be sure to head over to Fault Radio’s most recent label spotlight, where Mike Bee breaks down how m27 is “near-single handedly launching a breakbeat revolution,” right here in the Bay!
Elise is a recovering 2020 graduate, sound artist, and noise lover born and raised in San Francisco. Especially interested in the metaphysicality of sound, she spends her time attempting to prototype DIY synthesizers and experimenting with (and lamenting!) the whims of magnetic tape, among other experimental electronic projects.