I’ve always had a soft spot for drum ’n’ bass. Hearing the crazed beats and reggae samples in the music that came to be called jungle is what led me to raves in the early ’90s. And though I was utter crap as a D&B DJ, I bought piles of breakbeat records through the decade and maintained a deep interest in the local scene.

Toronto’s drum ’n’ bass scene was, of course, one of the strongest and mightiest in the world. We essentially became an outpost for the biggest UK producers and DJs to call a second home. The parties grew ever larger, with D&B moving from back rooms to main stages.

Flash forward to 2008. For a whole pile of reasons worthy of a short novel — or at least a TV soap opera — our D&B scene is a fraction of its size from when it was at its peak, the parties are fewer and promoters seem even less in tune with booking a range of locals despite the deluge of music produced here.

That said, the D&B parties that do take place tend to be more musically adventurous. Promoters who want their events to succeed have to reach out beyond obvious audiences and work harder to entertain.

Soul In Motion is one of few local drum ’n’ bass promo crews that are thriving in this environment. The three core members — founder James Babulal (a.k.a. Mr. Brown), Windsor native Scott Paget (a.k.a. Scott Free) and long-time D&B DJ Pablo Jaramillo (a.k.a. Spinz) — are all versatile, experienced DJs who are consciously working to rebuild and reshape a fractured scene.

Babulal started Soul In Motion six years ago this month.

“The frustration of playing smaller parties and not being able to break through after years led me to start this,” he explains. “Around ’96 to ’97 the scene was pretty much a very close-knit group of people who were DJing at all of the parties. They weren’t really making much room for the little guys like myself so my thinking was to get some people together, focus on the local talent and try to push that.”

He’s had different promo partners along the way, with Scott Free joining in early on and Jaramillo being a frequent guest DJ who officially became part of the team last year. Over the six years, Soul In Motion has made a point of showcasing up-and-coming talent — both local and international — in a wide variety of spaces. Their parties draw a wider spectrum of audiences, with original ravers dancing alongside the young and curious to sounds that range from deep, rhythmic and soulful to ragga, jump-up and liquid funk.

“We’re not necessarily trying to nurture an existing crowd; we’re trying to build it,” says Babulal. “In the last few years, the D&B scene has been declining for many reasons. We’re trying to go out there and bring new people in so they’ll enjoy it and some of them will become DJs and maybe start throwing parties and we’ll keep the cycle going.”

“And while everything else seems to be declining, we have been doing better and better,” adds Jaramillo. So what’s the secret of their success?

“We promote like nobody’s business,” laughs Babulal. “We don’t just preach to the choir, post on D&B message boards or go to strictly drum ’n’ bass parties. We go to house nights, to dubstep nights, we’re bringing friends from the office, we’ll promote to people on the streetcar. We’re doing whatever we can to branch out and get more people to pay attention to drum ’n’ bass.”

 “Also,” adds Jaramillo, “we give people quality sound, decorations, the whole entertainment package.”

It’s working. Soul In Motion have presented the Toronto debuts of artists including Makoto, Atlantic Connection, Danny Byrd, Brookes Brothers and Inter — often to capacity crowds. The latter two acts return for this weekend’s family affair, also featuring a room devoted to dubstep that’s headed up by adventurous local D&B star Marcus Visionary.

All in all, the Soul In Motion crew are optimistic about Toronto’s continued contributions to the world of drum ’n’ bass.

 “I think it’s like how you hear about a perfectly balanced eco-system; if something drops out, it could all go to hell,” ventures Jaramillo. “That’s where we’re at right now, but it is growing in some senses. There’s more talent here than there ever has been — with producers like Visionary, Ben Sage, Gremlinz, Mutt, and a new guy called Nusense coming out on bigger respected labels — and I do think that the local D&B party scene is returning. It may be on a smaller scale, but we’re definitely very happy with the quality and intimacy.”