Well yes, saying that there's nothing new under the sun is a strong argument, but it's a double edged sword since the it can be applied to any forms of music, including the ones that you hold dear.
Another way of looking at it is whether a genre has tracks that have 'soul'. Personally I think examples of this can be found in all genres, but there was certainly a huge amount of 'soul' to be found in D&B at times. These were tracks made with passion, that aroused the listeners to a frenzy. They definitely had something. On the other hand there was a lot of rubbish as well, but shoddy journeyman production lacking in conviction can be found in all genres. A quick list of 'soulful' (in the broadest sense) D&B tunes off the top of my head: Leviticus - The Burial DNA - DNA Krust - Brief Encounter Doc Scott - Far Away Dillinja - The Angels Fell Studio Pressure DMS & The Boneman X - Sweet Vibration L Double & Liccle D - Hail H.I.M. + plenty more > a large percentage, of these so-called "innovators" of this jungle/d&b > sound which is somehow lauded as some sort of groundbreaking tackle, were > hardcore or happy hardcore producers. now alot of jungle producers do > garage, r&b whatever the next big thing is. If I made music, I'd hate it to be described as 'groundbreaking'. It immediately puts a 'sell by' date on it. There has to be something more to it than that for it to really last...
