Joker Records originated in the middle of the jungle explosion of the mid 90’s and continued to lead its own way of dance floor orientated beats for many years. Although the label didn’t reach the status of labels such as RAM, Urban Takeover and Philly Blunt it was still considered to be an incredibly important part of the early drum and bass scene.
Much of the output from the label received relatively low DJ support from the scene’s biggest players, although At The Time by The Riddler was championed by Nicky Blackmarket and Kenny Ken for a short period.
Many tracks signed to Joker Records used unlicensed samples from popular US Hip Hop records such as Vanilla Ice’s 'Ice Ice Baby' and Busta Rhymes’ 'Bus-A-Bus'. A sample from the main theme to Star Wars was cleverly reworked for the collaboration with Surburban Base Records under the title 'Star Warz'. This was a favourite intro tune for Ellis D for what seemed like an eternity in 1997.
This series of mixes aims to show how good the output from the Joker Records stable really was. In my opinion this label was an originator and pioneer of the early Jump Up scene.
Words: Jamie S23
