Big beat
Encyclopedia
Big beat is a term employed since the mid-1990s by the British music press to describe much of the music by artists such as The Prodigy
, Fatboy Slim
, The Chemical Brothers
, The Crystal Method
, and Propellerheads
typically driven by heavy breakbeat
s and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in common with established forms of electronic dance music
such as techno
and acid house
.
-style synthesizer
lines, and heavy loops from 60s and 70s funk
, jazz
, rock
, and pop
songs. They are often punctuated with punk
-style vocals and driven by intense, distorted bassline
s with conventional pop and techno song structures. Big beat tracks have a sound that includes crescendos
, builds, drops
, dramatic sound effects, such as explosions or sirens, and extended drum roll
s. As with several other dance genres at the time, the use of effects such as cut-off
, phasing
, and flanging
was commonplace.
Big beat is also often characterized by a strong psychedelic influence comparable to a wide range of artists, from Serge Gainsbourg
and Jean-Jacques Perrey
to Funkadelic
and the acid house
movement of the late 1980s. Celebrated instigators of the genre such as Fatboy Slim
tend to feature heavily compressed loud breakbeats in their tracks, which are used to define the music as much as any melodic hooks and sampled sounds. Based on the primary use of loud, heavy breakbeats and basslines, big beat shares attributes with jungle
and drum and bass
, but has a significantly slower tempo.
, England-based electronic duo Big Bang
coined the musical term "big beat" to describe the band's sound. He explained the band's concept during an interview with the French journalist Alex Gerry for an article in the London magazine Metropolitan (issue 132, page 9, 6 June 1989) under the heading, "BIG BANG IN CLUBLAND. Could BIG BEAT be the 1989 answer to ACID HOUSE?" The band were promoting their first record, an Arabic-inspired version of the B-side to the ABBA
's "Voulez-Vous
" single, "Cold Nights in Cairo", that had just been released on Swanyard Records. The single was produced by Big Bang and Steev Toth. Big Bang consisted of Laurence Malice (Trade nightclub
founder) and Iain Williams (writer). The band's sound consisted of various experimental musical elements, including heavy drum beats and synthesizer-generated loops as well as an added suggestion of European influences that at times had a trance
-like quality. The band used session vocalists on all their recordings. The concept of the big beat sound was later picked up on and adapted by many club DJs and went on to become widely-used by many successful musicians throughout the 1990s.
At the beginning of the 1990s, against the backdrop of several popular musical subcultures – including the rave
scene, UK rap, chillout or ambient music, gestating subgenres such as trip hop
and breaks, plus the emerging Britpop
movement – a process of hybridisation and a taste for eclecticism was developing within British dance music generally. Early purveyors of this approach include influential artists such as The Orb
, Depth Charge, Meat Beat Manifesto
, Transglobal Underground, and Andy Weatherall's Sabres of Paradise. Sampling
had become an integral part of dance music production and the fusion of genres appealed to DJs, producers, and fans keen on continued experimentalism within dance music. Record labels such as Junior Boy's Own
and Heavenly Records
demonstrated this broader-minded approach, releasing slower breakbeat-based music alongside house
and techno singles, introducing DJ-turned-artists such as The Chemical Brothers
(known then as The Dust Brothers) and Monkey Mafia in 1994. Norman Cook and Damien Harris first became associated with the term "big beat" through Harris's label Skint Records
and club night The Big Beat Boutique, held on Fridays at Brighton
's Concorde club between 1995 and 2001. The Heavenly label's London club The Sunday Social had adopted a similar philosophy with resident DJs The Chemical Brothers and their eclectic approach. The term caught on, and was subsequently applied to a wide variety of acts, including Bentley Rhythm Ace
, Lionrock
, The Crystal Method
, Lunatic Calm
, the Lo Fidelity Allstars
, Death in Vegas
, and the Propellerheads
to name but a few.
Big beat later gained some popularity and commercial success in the American market, largely due to the "rock-like" qualities and influences cited in the work of The Chemical Brothers
and The Prodigy
, who were featuring loud and heavy guitar sounds more and more in their material at the time. Madonna
introduced a live video performance by The Prodigy at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards
, having signed the band to her Maverick Records
label for the American release of their third album The Fat of the Land
. "Firestarter
" was The Prodigy and big beat's first number one single in the UK and became their biggest hit worldwide at the time. The band played several rock-orientated festivals, opening a gateway for other acts associated with big beat (including The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and Death in Vegas) to follow suit. Other big beat singles that enjoyed varying degrees of success in the USA on account of the "Electronica
invasion" include "Setting Sun
" by The Chemical Brothers, "Battle Flag" by Lo-Fidelity All Stars, and "Ooh La La" by The Wiseguys
. Meanwhile, by the end of 1997, several big beat tracks had peaked within the UK Top 40, with both The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers achieving two number one singles each. Fatboy Slim himself reached the top of the UK charts early in 1999 with "Praise You
", becoming Norman Cook's fourth number one single, albeit under or involved with a different band on each of the three previous occasions.
The big beat scene had started to decline in popularity by 1999, due to the novelty of the genre's formula fading. The genre's most successful acts would alter their sound further, with, for example, The Chemical Brothers releasing more material with direct techno and trance
characteristics (including "four to the floor" beats instead of syncopated breakbeats) inspired by the success of the Gatecrasher
club and the trance movement, which would reach a commercial peak between 1999 and 2002. However, big beat had left an indelible mark on popular music as an indigenous progression from rave music, bridging a divide between clubbers and indie rock
fans. Without this connection, some have reasoned that it would not have reached the heights that it did, or resonated with as many listeners as it did.
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
, Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
, The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
, The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
, and Propellerheads
Propellerheads
Propellerheads were a British big beat musical ensemble, formed in 1995 and made up of electronic producers Will White and Alex Gifford. The term propellerhead is slang for a nerd, and when Gifford and White heard a friend from California use this in a conversation, they thought it the perfect name...
typically driven by heavy breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
s and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in common with established forms of electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
such as techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
.
Style
Big beat tends to feature distorted, compressed breakbeats at moderate tempos (usually between 120 to 140 beats per minute), acid houseAcid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
-style synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
lines, and heavy loops from 60s and 70s funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
songs. They are often punctuated with punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
-style vocals and driven by intense, distorted bassline
Bassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
s with conventional pop and techno song structures. Big beat tracks have a sound that includes crescendos
Dynamics (music)
In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...
, builds, drops
Drop (music)
The drop is the point in a track where a switch of rhythm or bass line occurs and usually follows a recognizable build section and break.In Hip-Hop and electronic music, the reintroduction of the full bass line and drums is known as the drop....
, dramatic sound effects, such as explosions or sirens, and extended drum roll
Drum roll
A drum roll is a technique the percussionist employs to produce a sustained sound on a percussion instrument. Rolls are used by composers to sustain the sound and create other effects, the most common of which is using a roll to build anticipation.- Snare drum roll :The most common snare drum roll...
s. As with several other dance genres at the time, the use of effects such as cut-off
Cutoff frequency
In physics and electrical engineering, a cutoff frequency, corner frequency, or break frequency is a boundary in a system's frequency response at which energy flowing through the system begins to be reduced rather than passing through.Typically in electronic systems such as filters and...
, phasing
Phasing
In the compositional technique phasing, the same part is played on two musical instruments, in steady but not identical tempo...
, and flanging
Flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
was commonplace.
Big beat is also often characterized by a strong psychedelic influence comparable to a wide range of artists, from Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
and Jean-Jacques Perrey
Jean-Jacques Perrey
Jean-Jacques Perrey is a French electronic music producer and was an early pioneer in the genre. He is best known within the sphere of popular music as a member of the influential electronic music duo Perrey and Kingsley, and for his unusually light-hearted style of music.-Biography:Perrey was...
to Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
and the acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
movement of the late 1980s. Celebrated instigators of the genre such as Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
tend to feature heavily compressed loud breakbeats in their tracks, which are used to define the music as much as any melodic hooks and sampled sounds. Based on the primary use of loud, heavy breakbeats and basslines, big beat shares attributes with jungle
Oldschool jungle
Jungle is a genre of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is debate as to whether jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as many use the terms interchangeably...
and drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, but has a significantly slower tempo.
History
In 1989, Iain Williams from the LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England-based electronic duo Big Bang
Big Bang (British band)
Big Bang were a British electronic synthpop duo that came to prominence in the late 1980s. The band consisted of Laurence Malice and Iain Williams...
coined the musical term "big beat" to describe the band's sound. He explained the band's concept during an interview with the French journalist Alex Gerry for an article in the London magazine Metropolitan (issue 132, page 9, 6 June 1989) under the heading, "BIG BANG IN CLUBLAND. Could BIG BEAT be the 1989 answer to ACID HOUSE?" The band were promoting their first record, an Arabic-inspired version of the B-side to the ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
's "Voulez-Vous
Voulez-Vous (song)
"Voulez-Vous" is a eurodisco track by Swedish pop group ABBA, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus . Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad shared the lead vocals....
" single, "Cold Nights in Cairo", that had just been released on Swanyard Records. The single was produced by Big Bang and Steev Toth. Big Bang consisted of Laurence Malice (Trade nightclub
Trade nightclub
Trade is a highly successful, pioneering and influential gay nightclub started in 1990 by Laurence Malice and Tim Stabler. The idea for Trade came from the brief but seminal club nite Troll , at the Sound Shaft Heaven where some of Trade's first DJ's used to play...
founder) and Iain Williams (writer). The band's sound consisted of various experimental musical elements, including heavy drum beats and synthesizer-generated loops as well as an added suggestion of European influences that at times had a trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
-like quality. The band used session vocalists on all their recordings. The concept of the big beat sound was later picked up on and adapted by many club DJs and went on to become widely-used by many successful musicians throughout the 1990s.
At the beginning of the 1990s, against the backdrop of several popular musical subcultures – including the rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
scene, UK rap, chillout or ambient music, gestating subgenres such as trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
and breaks, plus the emerging Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
movement – a process of hybridisation and a taste for eclecticism was developing within British dance music generally. Early purveyors of this approach include influential artists such as The Orb
The Orb
Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
, Depth Charge, Meat Beat Manifesto
Meat Beat Manifesto
Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened to Meat Beat or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens formed in 1987 in Swindon, UK...
, Transglobal Underground, and Andy Weatherall's Sabres of Paradise. Sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
had become an integral part of dance music production and the fusion of genres appealed to DJs, producers, and fans keen on continued experimentalism within dance music. Record labels such as Junior Boy's Own
Junior Boy's Own
Junior Boy's Own is a London, UK-based record labelTerry Farley joined Andrew Weatherall, Cymon Eckel, Pete Heller and Steven Hall to form Boy's Own Recordings , then in 1992 Terry Farley and Steven Hall began Junior Recordings Ltd., which started to use the label Junior Boy's Own. The label is...
and Heavenly Records
Heavenly Records
Heavenly Records, aka Heavenly Recordings, is a London-based record label, distributed by EMI. Founded by Jeff Barrett, a former press officer for Creation Records and many successful indie bands of the time including Happy Mondays, Heavenly Recordings' first releases were 7" and 12" singles for...
demonstrated this broader-minded approach, releasing slower breakbeat-based music alongside house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and techno singles, introducing DJ-turned-artists such as The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
(known then as The Dust Brothers) and Monkey Mafia in 1994. Norman Cook and Damien Harris first became associated with the term "big beat" through Harris's label Skint Records
Skint Records
Skint Records is a Brighton based dance music record label owned by JC Reid, Tim Jeffery and Damian Harris. It was created as a sublabel of Loaded Records, also founded by Reid and Jeffery...
and club night The Big Beat Boutique, held on Fridays at Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
's Concorde club between 1995 and 2001. The Heavenly label's London club The Sunday Social had adopted a similar philosophy with resident DJs The Chemical Brothers and their eclectic approach. The term caught on, and was subsequently applied to a wide variety of acts, including Bentley Rhythm Ace
Bentley Rhythm Ace
Bentley Rhythm Ace are a duo formed in Birmingham, England in 1997, consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March.-Career:The band was formed in Birmingham by Richard March, formerly with the group Pop Will Eat Itself, and Mike Stokes, with guest appearances by James Atkin, a member of indie band EMF...
, Lionrock
Lionrock
Lionrock was a British big beat group, comprising record producer Justin Robertson, MC Buzz B, and Roger Lyons. Lyons replaced recording engineer Mark Stagg in 1995...
, The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
, Lunatic Calm
Lunatic Calm
Lunatic Calm were a UK-based electronic music group formed in 1996. Despite a wide-ranging sound palette, the group was best known for their high impact, industrial-tinged big beat compositions.-History:...
, the Lo Fidelity Allstars
Lo Fidelity Allstars
The Lo Fidelity Allstars are a British electronica group who have recorded since the late 1990s.-Career:Their members originate from various cities in Northern England where they were formed in Leeds, before relocating first to London where they came to the attention of major record labels...
, Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas are a psychedelic rock and electronic rock band from the United Kingdom, comprising two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes...
, and the Propellerheads
Propellerheads
Propellerheads were a British big beat musical ensemble, formed in 1995 and made up of electronic producers Will White and Alex Gifford. The term propellerhead is slang for a nerd, and when Gifford and White heard a friend from California use this in a conversation, they thought it the perfect name...
to name but a few.
Big beat later gained some popularity and commercial success in the American market, largely due to the "rock-like" qualities and influences cited in the work of The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
and The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
, who were featuring loud and heavy guitar sounds more and more in their material at the time. Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
introduced a live video performance by The Prodigy at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
, having signed the band to her Maverick Records
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
label for the American release of their third album The Fat of the Land
The Fat of the Land
The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by The Prodigy. The album was released by XL Recordings on 30 June 1997 and on 1 July 1997 in the United States by Maverick Records...
. "Firestarter
Firestarter (song)
"Firestarter" is a song by the English band The Prodigy, released on 18 March 1996. It was the first single from their third album The Fat of the Land, and their tenth single. It was also the group's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, staying on top for three weeks...
" was The Prodigy and big beat's first number one single in the UK and became their biggest hit worldwide at the time. The band played several rock-orientated festivals, opening a gateway for other acts associated with big beat (including The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and Death in Vegas) to follow suit. Other big beat singles that enjoyed varying degrees of success in the USA on account of the "Electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
invasion" include "Setting Sun
Setting Sun
"Setting Sun" is a song by The Chemical Brothers, released as a single in 1996 from their second album Dig Your Own Hole. With vocals by Noel Gallagher, it reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and number 80 on the US Billboard Hot 100, their highest position there so far. The song sampled The...
" by The Chemical Brothers, "Battle Flag" by Lo-Fidelity All Stars, and "Ooh La La" by The Wiseguys
The Wiseguys
The Wiseguys was a British electronica and hip hop band that was responsible for creating the song "Start the Commotion" that was in a Mitsubishi TV advertisement, as well as the films Lizzie McGuire, Zoolander and Kangaroo Jack; and "Ooh La La", which was used in Budweiser commercials...
. Meanwhile, by the end of 1997, several big beat tracks had peaked within the UK Top 40, with both The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers achieving two number one singles each. Fatboy Slim himself reached the top of the UK charts early in 1999 with "Praise You
Praise You
"Praise You" is a song by English big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released as the third single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby, in 1999. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1999 and No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States on 11 May 1999....
", becoming Norman Cook's fourth number one single, albeit under or involved with a different band on each of the three previous occasions.
The big beat scene had started to decline in popularity by 1999, due to the novelty of the genre's formula fading. The genre's most successful acts would alter their sound further, with, for example, The Chemical Brothers releasing more material with direct techno and trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
characteristics (including "four to the floor" beats instead of syncopated breakbeats) inspired by the success of the Gatecrasher
Gatecrasher
Gatecrasher is an international clubbing brand made famous by the Gatecrasher dance music events held at the Gatecrasher One nightclub in Sheffield, England during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The event received awards such as "Club Of The Year" at the Ericsson Muzik Magazine Dance Awards in...
club and the trance movement, which would reach a commercial peak between 1999 and 2002. However, big beat had left an indelible mark on popular music as an indigenous progression from rave music, bridging a divide between clubbers and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
fans. Without this connection, some have reasoned that it would not have reached the heights that it did, or resonated with as many listeners as it did.
Notable big beat artists
- Apollo 440Apollo 440Apollo 440 are an English band formed in Liverpool in 1990. Apollo 440 have written, recorded and produced four albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as Apollo 440 and as ambient cinematic alter-ego Stealth Sonic Orchestra, and created music for film, television,...
- Bentley Rhythm AceBentley Rhythm AceBentley Rhythm Ace are a duo formed in Birmingham, England in 1997, consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March.-Career:The band was formed in Birmingham by Richard March, formerly with the group Pop Will Eat Itself, and Mike Stokes, with guest appearances by James Atkin, a member of indie band EMF...
- Big BangBig Bang (British band)Big Bang were a British electronic synthpop duo that came to prominence in the late 1980s. The band consisted of Laurence Malice and Iain Williams...
- Boom Boom SatellitesBoom Boom Satellitesis a Japanese electronic music duo consisting of guitarist and vocalist Michiyuki Kawashima and bassist and programmer Masayuki Nakano. While their music can be mostly classified as big beat or nu skool breaks with heavy jazz influences, they are famous for the heavy usage of electric guitars in...
- BTBT (musician)Brian Wayne Transeau is a classically trained and Grammy-nominated American music producer, composer, audio technician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter better known by his stage name, BT. He is an artist in the electronic genre...
- The Chemical BrothersThe Chemical BrothersThe Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
- CirrusCirrus (band)Cirrus is an American big beat group formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California. The group is composed of Aaron Carter and Stephen James Barry.In live performances, the group often added live guitar and bass to the electronic background. Their single "Superstar DJ" brought them mainstream exposure,...
- The Crystal MethodThe Crystal MethodThe Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
- David HolmesDavid Holmes (musician)David Holmes is a Northern Irish DJ, musician and composer.-Career:Holmes began djing in Belfast from the age of 15. His first hit was the song "DeNiro", with Ashley Beedle, in 1992. In the early to mid 1990s he ran two club nights in the Belfast Art College known as Sugar Sweet and Shake Yer Brain...
- Death in VegasDeath in VegasDeath in Vegas are a psychedelic rock and electronic rock band from the United Kingdom, comprising two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes...
- Dub PistolsDub PistolsDub Pistols are a London based dub music and big beat band, founded by ex-club promoter, Barry Ashworth, in 1996. The other members of the band were record producer and bassist Jason O'Bryan, Brooklyn producer and lyricist, T. K. Lawrence on vocals, Jap Slut guitarist John King, and turntablist DJ...
- Fatboy SlimFatboy SlimNorman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
- FC KahunaFC KahunaFC Kahuna are a British DJ and electronic music production duo, consisting of Jon Nowell and Daniel Ormondroyd. FC Kahuna released Machine Says Yes in the spring of 2002, which had a number of singles released from it, most notably "Machine Says Yes" and "Hayling", which both featured Icelandic...
- FlukeFluke (band)Fluke are an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier with Julian Nugent as the band's manager...
- FreestylersFreestylersThe Freestylers are a British electronic music group, generally fitting into the breakbeat genre. Recently their style has incorporated more of a drumstep sound, more in line with The Prodigy and other such artists.-Career:...
- Groove ArmadaGroove ArmadaGroove Armada is an English electronic music duo from London, England comprising Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'"...
- HardknoxHardknoxHardknox is a big beat duo from the United Kingdom, consisting of Steve Proctor and Lindy Layton. They have released two singles and a self-titled album. Their style of electronica features hard beats with powerful vocal samples and unusual loops....
- HexstaticHexstaticHexstatic is a UK music duo, consisting of Stuart Warren Hill and Robin Brunson, that specializes in creating "quirky audio visual electro." Formed in 1997 after Hill and Brunson met while producing visuals at the Channel Five launch party, they decided to take over for the original members of the...
- Junkie XLJunkie XLTom Holkenborg , better known as Junkie XL or JXL, is a Dutch musician. He uses the name JXL in cases where the term "Junkie" might cause offense. XL is for "Xpanding Limits"....
- LeftfieldLeftfieldLeftfield are a British duo of electronica artists and record producers, namely Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, who formed in 1990 in London, England...
- LionrockLionrockLionrock was a British big beat group, comprising record producer Justin Robertson, MC Buzz B, and Roger Lyons. Lyons replaced recording engineer Mark Stagg in 1995...
- Lo Fidelity AllstarsLo Fidelity AllstarsThe Lo Fidelity Allstars are a British electronica group who have recorded since the late 1990s.-Career:Their members originate from various cities in Northern England where they were formed in Leeds, before relocating first to London where they came to the attention of major record labels...
- Lunatic CalmLunatic CalmLunatic Calm were a UK-based electronic music group formed in 1996. Despite a wide-ranging sound palette, the group was best known for their high impact, industrial-tinged big beat compositions.-History:...
- Meat Beat ManifestoMeat Beat ManifestoMeat Beat Manifesto, often shortened to Meat Beat or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens formed in 1987 in Swindon, UK...
- MekonMekonMekon may refer to:*The Mekon, ruler of the Treens in the Dan Dare stories*The Mekons , a British punk rock band*Mekon, one of the recording names of John "Zos Kia" Gosling, English rock musician*The river Mekong...
- Mint RoyaleMint RoyaleMint Royale is a big beat electronic music act from Manchester, England. They were originally founded by the duo Neil Claxton and Chris Baker in 1997; the latter left the band in 2004, but Claxton continues to produce music using the Mint Royale name.-Career:...
- Monkey Mafia
- PropellerheadsPropellerheadsPropellerheads were a British big beat musical ensemble, formed in 1995 and made up of electronic producers Will White and Alex Gifford. The term propellerhead is slang for a nerd, and when Gifford and White heard a friend from California use this in a conversation, they thought it the perfect name...
- RJD2RJD2RJD2 is an American music producer, singer and musician. RJD2 was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was signed to the Definitive Jux label where he released two largely instrumental hip hop albums and has produced tracks...
- Overseer
- Space RaidersSpace Raiders (band)Space Raiders were a big beat/electronic band from Middlesbrough. They formed in 1997, making their debut at the Middlesbrough Arena on Halloween 1997...
- The ProdigyThe ProdigyThe Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
- The WiseguysThe WiseguysThe Wiseguys was a British electronica and hip hop band that was responsible for creating the song "Start the Commotion" that was in a Mitsubishi TV advertisement, as well as the films Lizzie McGuire, Zoolander and Kangaroo Jack; and "Ooh La La", which was used in Budweiser commercials...
- Rob DouganRob DouganRob Dougan, also known as Rob D , is a genre-blending music composer. Mixing elements of orchestral music, trip hop, and bluesy vocals, his work is tangentially relatable to electronic music. He was known primarily for his breakthrough 1995 single "Clubbed to Death ", further popularised by 1999's...