Drum and bass
Encyclopedia
Drum and bass (ˈ ) is a type of electronic music
which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats (typically between 160–180 bpm, occasional variation is noted in older compositions), with heavy bass and sub-bass
lines. Drum and bass began as an offshoot of the United Kingdom rave
scene of the very early 1990s. Over the first decade of its existence, the incorporation of elements from various musical genres led to many permutations in its overall style.
and overnight outdoor event culture gave birth to a new electronic music style called Rave music
, which, much like hip-hop, combined sampled syncopated beats or breakbeats, other samples from a wide range of different musical genres and, occasionally, samples of music, dialogue and effects from films and television programmes. But rave music tended to feature stronger bass sounds and a faster tempo (127 to over 140) beats per minute
(BPM) than that of early house music. This subgenre was known as "hardcore" rave but from as early as 1992, some musical tracks made up of these high-tempo break beats, with heavy basslines and samples of older Jamaican music, were referred to as "jungle techno" and later just "jungle", which became recognised as a separate musical genre popular at rave
s and on pirate radio
in Britain
. It is important to note when discussing the history of Drum n Bass that prior to Jungle, rave music was getting faster and more experimental. Professional DJ & Producer C.K. states, "There was a progression as far as the speed of music is concerned. Anyone buying vinyl every week from 1989 to 1992 noticed this."
By 1994 jungle had begun to gain mainstream popularity and fans of the music (often referred to as junglist
s) became a more recognisable part of British youth subculture. The genre further developed, incorporating and fusing elements from a wide range of existing musical genres, including the raggamuffin sound, dancehall
, MC
chants, dub basslines, and increasingly complex, heavily edited breakbeat percussion. Despite the affiliation with the ecstasy-fuelled rave scene, Jungle also inherited some associations with violence and criminal activity, both from the gang culture that had affected the UK's hip-hop scene and as a consequence of jungle's often aggressive or menacing sound and themes of violence (usually reflected in the choice of samples). However, this developed in tandem with the often positive reputation of the music as part of the wider rave scene and dancehall-based Jamaican music culture prevalent in London. Whether as a reaction to, or independently of this cultural schism, some jungle producers began to move away from the ragga-influenced style and create what would become collectively labelled, for convenience, as drum and bass.
As the genre became generally more polished and sophisticated technically, it began to expand its reach from pirate radio to commercial stations and gain widespread acceptance (circa 1995–1997). It also began to split into recognizable subgenres such as jump-up
and Hardstep. As a lighter and often jazz-influenced style of drum and bass gained mainstream appeal, additional subgenres emerged including techstep (circa 1996–1997) which drew greater influence from techno
music and the soundscape
s of science fiction and anime
films.
The popularity of drum and bass at its commercial peak ran parallel to several other homegrown dance styles in the UK including big beat
and hard house. But towards the turn of the millennium its popularity was deemed to have dwindled as the UK garage
style known as speed garage
yielded several hit singles. Speed garage shared high tempos and heavy basslines with drum and bass but otherwise followed the established conventions of "house music", with this and its freshness giving it an advantage commercially. London DJ/Producer C.K. says, "It is often forgotten by my students that a type of music called "Garage House" existed in the late 1980s alongside Hip House, Acid House and other forms of House music." He continues, "This new Garage of the mid 90s was not a form of House or a progression of Garage House. The beats and tempo that define House are entirely different. This did cause further confusion in the presence of new House music of the mid 1990s being played alongside what was now being called Garage." Despite this, the emergence of further subgenres and related styles such as liquid funk
brought a wave of new artists incorporating new ideas and techniques, supporting continual evolution of the genre. To this day drum and bass makes frequent appearances in mainstream media and popular culture including in television
, as well as being a major reference point for subsequent genres such as grime
and dubstep
and successful artists including Chase & Status
and Australia's Pendulum
.
Opinions vary on what constitutes "real" drum and bass as it incorporates a number of scenes and styles, from the highly electronic, industrial
sounds of techstep through to the use of conventional, acoustic instrumentation that characterise the more jazz-influenced end of the spectrum. The sounds of drum and bass are extremely varied due to the range of influences behind the music. One of the more common and traditional elements is a prominent snare drum falling on the second and fourth beats.
Drum and bass could at one time be defined as a strictly electronic musical genre with the only 'live' element being the DJ's selection and mixing of records during a set. 'Live' drum and bass using electric, electronic and acoustic instruments played by musicians on stage would emerge in the ensuing years of the genre's development.
sound system
scene, is the original Jamaican dub
and reggae
sound, with pioneers like King Tubby
, Peter Tosh
, Sly & Robbie, Bill Laswell
, Lee Perry, Mad Professor
, Roots Radics
, Bob Marley
and Buju Banton
heavily influencing the music. This influence has lessened with time but is still evident with many tracks containing ragga vocals.
As a musical style built around funk
or syncopated
rock & roll breaks, Al Green
, Marvin Gaye
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Gladys Knight
& the Pips, Temptations, Jackson 5, Billie Holiday
, Aretha Franklin
, Otis Redding
, Smokey Robinson
, Diana Ross
, the Supremes
, the Commodores, George Clinton
, Ray Charles
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Herbie Hancock
, James Brown
and even Michael Jackson
, are funky influences on the music. One of the most influential tracks in drum and bass history was Amen Brother by The Winstons
, containing a drum solo which went on to be known as the "Amen break
", which after being extensively used in early hip hop music, went on to become the basis for the rhythms used in drum and bass.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s the tradition of break-beat use in hip-hop production had influenced the sound of breakbeat hardcore
which in turn lead to the emergence of jungle, drum and bass, and other genres that shared the same use of broken beats. Drum and bass shares many musical characteristics with hip-hop, though it is nowadays mostly stripped of lyrics. Grandmaster Flash
, Afrika Bambaata, De La Soul
, 2 Live Crew
, Jungle Brothers
, Kool Keith
, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Schooly D, N.W.A, Kid Frost
, Wu-Tang Clan
, Dr Dre, Mos Def
, Beastie Boys
and the Pharcyde are very often directly sampled, regardless of their general influence.
Miles Davis
has also been named as a possible influence, and blues artists like Leadbelly
, Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton
, Muddy Waters
& B.B King have also been cited by producers as inspirations. Even modern avant-garde composers such as Henryk Gorecki
have received mention.
Clearly drum and bass has been influenced by other music genres, though influences from sources external to the electronic dance music
scene perhaps lessened following the shifts from jungle to drum and bass, and through to so-called "intelligent drum and bass" and techstep. It still remains a fusion music style.
Many tracks belonging to other genres are 'remixed' into drum and bass versions. The quality of these remixes varies from the simple and primitive adding of broken beats to a vocal track or to complete reworkings that may exceed the original in quality and effort put into them. Original artists will often ask for drum and bass remixes of their tracks to be made in order to spark further interest in their tracks (for example, Aphrodite's remix of Jungle Brothers' "Jungle Brother").
Some tracks are illegally remixed and released on white label
(technically bootleg), often to acclaim. For example, DJ Zinc's remix of The Fugees
' "Ready or Not
", also known as "Fugee Or Not", was eventually released with the Fugees' permission after talk of legal action, though coincidentally the Fugees' version infringed Enya
's copyright to an earlier song. White labels along with dubplate
s play an important part in drum and bass musical culture.
In the US house scene which emerged in the 1980s, the most famous artist being NYC's Frankie Bones
whose infamous 'Bones Breaks' series from the late '80s onwards helped push the house-tempoed breakbeat sound (especially in the UK) and can be said to be a direct precursor to the UK breakbeat/hardcore scene.
Kevin Saunderson
released a series of bass-heavy, minimal techno cuts as Reese/The Reese Project in the late '80s which were hugely influential in drum and bass terms. One of his more infamous basslines was indeed sampled on Renegade's Terrorist and countless others since, being known simply as the 'Reese' bassline. He followed these up with equally influential (and bassline-heavy) tracks in the UK hardcore style as Tronik House in 1991/1992. Another Detroit artist who was important for the scene is Carl Craig
. The sampled-up jazz break on Carl Craig's Bug in the Bassbin was also influential on the newly emerging sound, DJs at the Rage club used to play it pitched up (increased speed) as far as their Technics record decks would go.
The third precursor worth mentioning here is the Miami, USA Booty Bass/Miami Bass scene, first popularised by 2 Live Crew in the mid to late '80s. There are clear sonic parallels with drum and bass here in the use of uptempo synths and drum machines in producing bass-heavy party music.
Both the New York breakbeat and the Miami Bass scenes were strongly influenced by the 'freestyle' sound of New York, Chicago and Miami in the 1980s which incorporated electro, disco and Latin flavours, and which was in turn a key influence on the UK's acid house/hardcore/rave scene.
musical pattern which can be felt physically through powerful sound systems due to the low-range frequencies favoured. There has been considerable exploration of different timbre
s in the bass line region, particularly within techstep. The bass lines most notably originate from sampled
sources or synthesizer
s. Bass lines performed with a bass instrument, whether it is electric, acoustic or a double bass
, are less common but examples can be found in the work of bands such as Shapeshifter
, Squarepusher
, Roni Size
and STS9. Sampled basslines are often taken from double bass recordings or from publicly available loops.
In drum and bass productions, the bass lines are often subjected to many and varied sound effect
s, including standard techniques such as dynamic compression, flanger, chorus, overdrive, equalization, and so on. and drum and bass specific techniques such as timestretched beats and the "Reese Bass", a distinctive synthesized bass sound comprising layered 'clashing' sawtooth waves. The term is a result of producer's Kevin Saunderson
's notable use of it in his work under the Reese/Master Reese alias.
Of equal importance is the "808" kick drum, an artificially pitch-downed or elongated bass drum
sound sampled from Roland's classic TR-808 drum machine, and a sound which has been subject to an enormous amount of experimentation over the years.
The complex syncopation
of the drum tracks' breakbeat
, is another facet of production on which producers can spend a very large amount of time. The Amen break
is generally acknowledged to have been the most-used (and often considered the most powerful) break in drum and bass.
The Amen break was synonymous with early drum and bass productions but other samples have had a significant impact, including the Apache, Funky Drummer
, "Soul Pride", "Scorpio" and "Think (About It)
" breaks.
Many drum and bass tracks have featured more than one sampled breakbeat in them and a technique of switching between two breaks after each bar developed. Examples of this can be heard on mid-90s releases including J Majik
's "Your Sound" and Doc Scott's "Machines". A more recent commonly used break is the Tramen
, which combines the Amen break
, a James Brown
funk breakbeat ("Tighten Up
" or "Samurai" break) and an Alex Reece
drum and bass breakbeat.
The relatively fast drum beat forms a canvas on which a producer can create tracks to appeal to almost any taste and often will form only a background to the other elements of the music. Syncopated breakbeats remain the most distinctive element as without these a high-tempo 4/4
dance track could be classified as techno
or gabber
.
-based dance styles such as nu skool breaks
which maintain a slower pace at around 130–140 BPM. A general upward trend in tempo has been observed during the evolution of drum and bass. The earliest forms of drum and bass clocked in at around 130 bpm in 1990/1991, speeding up to around 155–165 BPM by 1993. Since around 1996, drum and bass tempos have predominantly stayed in the 170–180 range. Recently some producers have started to once again produce tracks with slower tempos (that is, in the 150s and 160s), but the mid-170 tempo is still the hallmark of the drum and bass sound.
A track combining the same elements (broken beat, bass, production techniques) as a drum and bass track, but with a slower tempo (say 140 BPM), might not be drum and bass but a drum and bass-influenced breakbeat track.
Live performances of drum and bass music on electric and acoustic instruments will often entail a drop in relative BPM (though not necessarily), unsurprising in light of the complexity of drum patterns and the high exertion required of a drummer.
For the most part, drum and bass is a form of dance music designed to be heard in clubs. It exhibits a full frequency response which can only be appreciated on sound systems which can handle very low frequencies. As befits its name, the bass element of the music is particularly pronounced, with the comparatively sparse arrangements of drum and bass tracks allowing room for basslines that are deeper than most other forms of dance music. Consequently, drum and bass parties are often advertised as featuring uncommonly loud and bass-heavy sound systems.
There are however many albums specifically designed for personal listening. The mix CD is a particularly popular form of release, with a big name DJ/producer mixing live, or on a computer, a variety of tracks for personal listening. Additionally, there are many albums containing unmixed tracks, suited for home or car listening.
Many mixing points begin or end with the "drop
". The drop is the point in a track where a switch of rhythm or bassline occurs and usually follows a recognizable build section and "breakdown". Sometimes the drop is used to switch between tracks, layering components of different tracks, though as the two records may be simply ambient breakdowns at this point, though some DJs prefer to combine breakbeats, a more difficult exercise. Some drops are so popular that the DJ will "rewind" or "reload" or "lift up" by spinning the record back and restarting it at the build. "The drop" is often a key point from the point of view of the dancefloor, since the drumbreaks often fade out to leave an ambient intro playing. When the beats re-commence they are often more complex and accompanied by a heavier bassline, encouraging the crowd to dance. The name of a subgenre of drum and bass, "jump up" initially referred to the urge for those seated to dance at this point.
DJ support (that is playing a track) in a club atmosphere or on radio is critical in track success, even if the track producer is well known. To this end, DJs will receive dubplates a long time before a general release of a track, sometimes many months before, in order to spark interest in it as well as benefit the DJ (exclusive and early access to tracks is a hallmark of DJ success, for example, the case of Andy C
). Sometimes a DJ will receive versions of tracks that are not planned for general release, these are so-called VIP (Variation In Production) mixes.
DJs are often accompanied by one or more MCs
, drawing on the genre's roots in hip hop
and reggae
/ragga
.
MCs do not generally receive the same level of recognition as producer/DJs and some events are specifically marketed as being MC free. There are relatively few well-known drum and bass MCs, MC Infinity, MC GQ, Dynamite MC
, MC Fats, MC Conrad
, Shabba D, Skibadee
, Eksman, Bassman, MC Stamina, MC Fun, Evil B, Trigga, Harry Shotta and Stevie Hyper D (deceased) as examples.
) and Drum and Bass is a common debate within the "junglist" community. There is no universally accepted semantic distinction between the terms "jungle" and "Drum and Bass". Some associate "jungle" with older black sounding material from the first half of the 1990s (sometimes referred to as "jungle techno"), and see Drum and Bass as essentially succeeding Jungle. Others use Jungle as a shorthand for ragga jungle, a specific sub-genre within the broader realm of Drum and Bass. In the U.S.
, the combined term "jungle drum and bass" (JDB or JDNB) has some popularity, but is not widespread elsewhere.
Proponents of a distinction between jungle and drum and bass usually argue that:
The truth is more complicated than this, however. An often mistaken view of the difference between jungle and drum and bass, is that of making a distinction between two-step beat drum and bass and amen breakbeat drum and bass. This is really a distinction between tech-step drum and bass and the new style of drum & bass which occurred especially late-1994 and 1995. Drum and Bass really first referred to the increased attention to breakbeat editing. Perhaps the first track to explicitly use the term "drum and bass" to refer to itself as a different style was released in 1993. The producer The Invisible Man described it:
Since the term jungle was so closely related to the reggae influenced sound, DJs and producers who did not incorporate reggae elements began to adopt the term "drum and bass" to differentiate themselves and their musical styles. This reflected a change in the musical style which incorporated increased drum break editing. Sometimes this was referred to as "intelligence", though this later came to refer to the more relaxed style of drum and bass associated with producers such as LTJ Bukem
.
Towards late 1994 and especially in 1995 there was a definite distinction between the reggae and ragga sounding jungle and the tracks with heavily edited breaks, such as the artists Remarc and The Dream Team on Suburban Bass Records. Ironically, one compilation which brought the term to the wider awareness of those outside the scene, 'Drum & Bass Selection vol 1' (1994), featured a large amount of ragga influenced tracks, and the first big track to use the term in its title (Remarc's 'Drum & Bass Wize', 1994) was also ragga-influenced.
The Dream Team consisted of Bizzy B and Pugwash; Bizzy B did however have a history of complex breakbeat tracks released before any real notion of a change in genre name. The genre change coincided with an increase of the use of the Reese bassline (Reese Project, Kevin Saunderson), as first featured on "Just Want Another Chance" by Kevin Saunderson
(also famous for the group Inner City) released in 1988. Mid-1995 saw the coincidentally named Alex Reece
's "Pulp Fiction" which featured a distorted Reese bassline with a two-step break, slightly slower in tempo, which has been credited as an influence in the new tech-step style which would emerge from Emotif and No U-Turn Records.
"Pulp Fiction was (and still is) a seriously badass tune, it was highly original at the time, and of course it will remain in the classic oldskool bag for many years to come. It was also the track that spawned hundreds of immitators of its "2-Step" style which unfortunately also lasted for many years to come.... hmmm... oh, and because the 2-step groove generally sounds slower, DnB then began to speed up way beyond 160bpm... say no more."
This has also led to the confusion of equating the "tech-step" sub-genre with drum and bass, as distinct from jungle, but "drum and bass" as a style and as a name for the whole genre already existed in 1995 before the release of Dj Trace's remix of T-Power's "Mutant Jazz" which appeared on S.O.U.R. Recordings in 1995 (co-produced by Ed Rush
and Nico). Also note that Trace (artist)
, Ed Rush
and Nico already had a history of producing jungle/drum & bass and hardcore in a variety of styles.
Another explanation for the name change is that the scene was running into problems because of violence blamed on the ragga part of the music, the media was full of stories condemning jungle and the violence it brought, so it was this bad media hype that resulted in the name change, which coincided with, and was made possible by the progression of the genre's sound.
Confusion is increased by the term "jump up" which initially referred to tracks with a had a change in style at the drop, encouraging people to dance. Initially these new drum and bass style tracks had breakbeat-heavy drops, but producers of around the same time were creating tracks with hip-hop style basslines at the drop. This would become a new sub-genre Jump-Up, though many of the early jump-up tracks incorporated edited amens at the drop. Influential artists include DJ Zinc
, DJ Hype
, Dillinja
and Aphrodite (artist)
amongst many others. The Dream Team would also produce jump-up tracks, usually under the name Dynamic Duo on Joker Records, in a style with similarities and differences to their Suburban Bass releases. Notice also the early use of the term "jump up jungle" rather than "jump up drum and bass". The pigeon-holes for genres changed so quickly that jump-up was quickly also called drum and bass even as a sub-genre.
Opponents of a distinction would argue that there are many modern drum & bass productions with separated basslines, complex breakbeats and ragga vocals. This comes, however, from a mistaken distinction between tech step and drum and bass as outlined above, probably from interest in the music after mid-1995 when there was the creation of a variety of new styles or sub-genres, including Roni Size
's more jazz-influenced drum and bass, tech step and jump-up.
"At the end of the day I am an ambassador for Drum and Bass the world over and have been playing for 16 years under the name Hype... To most of you out there Drum and Bass will be an important part of your lives, but for me Drum and Bass/Jungle is my life and always has been... We all have a part to play and believe me when I say I am no fucking bandwagon jumper, just a hard working Hackney man doing this thing called Drum and Bass/Jungle." DJ Hype
Many music groups and musicians (such as Roni Size's Reprazent
, Jojo Mayer's Nerve
, Pendulum, Shapeshifter
, E-Z Rollers, STS9, KJ Sawka, London Elektricity
, Chase & Status
, Johnny Rabb
's BioDiesel, The Disco Biscuits, Lake Trout
, La Phaze, Stefanik, Perny & Kollar ....) have taken drum and bass to live performances, which features an acoustic drum kit
, synthesizers, bass
(upright or electric), and other instruments. Samplers
have also been taken live by playing samples on drum pads
or synthesizers, assigning samples to a specific drum pad or key. MCs are frequently featured in live performances. Some acts such as Fragment use a lineup of a guitarist, bassist, at least one keyboardist, and an acoustic drummer, even if none of these instruments are present in the actual song, simply to give it a "thicker live sound". DJ FU and the Jungle Drummer
also feature predominantly in modern day live dnb. Their show features them battling live on stage in a DJ v drummer scenario with Jungle Drummer drumming at speeds up to 180 bpm. Other acts to take note of on the live drum and bass scene include Pendulum, La Phaze and Chase & Status, who perform their tracks live. The DnB scene is still thriving in many urban areas, with a particularly strong showing in LA amongst such dedicated clubs as The Dragonfly. This has given both of these bands a way to access the mainstream, giving drum and bass a more commercial edge. Some bands have even taken the term somewhat literally, such as Lightning Bolt
, White Mice
, and Comparative Anatomy (band)
.
The following would generally be described as separate genres by their proponents:
As with all attempts to classify and categorize music, the above should not be treated as definitive. Many producers release albums and tracks which touch into many of the above styles and there are significant arguments as to the classification of tracks as well as the basic defining characteristics of subgenres. The list of arguable subgenres in particular should not be treated as definitive.
The modern distinctive ragga jungle
style (arguably subgenre or even separate genre) is a direct throwback to the 1994–1995 style of drum and bass production. However, many modern drum and bass mainstream productions contain ragga, dancehall and reggae elements, they are just not as dominant as previously.
Clownstep is not as it commonly misconceived to be, a derogatory term for "playful" Drum and Bass. "Clownstep" is a term which was popularised by Dylan, to jokingly describe how "Swing-beat" tunes like Bodyrock by Andy C
made him think of clowns. DJ Clipz often produces songs adhering to the clownstep sound.
Drumstep, a somewhat misunderstood genre, is a term encompassing dubstep-styled tracks that borrow the tempo structure of drum and bass while retaining the percussive rhythm of dubstep. Rather than the syncopated double-time breaks or 2-step drum loops common in most drum and bass songs, drumstep adopts the half-time alternating kick-snare drum pattern on the 1st and 3rd beat of every measure commonly found in many dubstep tracks. As with all dubstep tracks, drumstep maintains a strong emphasis on deep bass. It often incorporates wobbles, hi-hats, and spliced samples to propel the rhythm in the absence of the emphasized percussion of regular drum and bass tracks. Unlike dubstep, however, the tempo of drumstep is around 150-175 BPM, with high usage of hi hats to make the beat sound faster, rather than the 140 BPM tempo of dubstep tracks. The term is somewhat controversial due to the already present similarities between dubstep and drum and bass, and is often used as a "grey area" term for tracks that draw influences from both of its parent genres. As a result, many dubstep tracks that emphasize heavily syncopated drum patterns are often mislabeled as drumstep, and songs that undergo the change from dubstep to drum and bass or vice versa (such as Zomboy's "Game Time" and Modestep's "Sunlight") are often classified as drumstep as well.
and 2step in the UK were born at the height of the popularity of jungle, copying the bass-lines, fast tempo (though much slowed down), ragga vocals (with frequent MC accompaniment) and production techniques. They may be referred to as descendants of drum and bass and at one time drove drum and bass into relative obscurity. Grime
and dubstep
, their descendants, have driven these genres underground whilst drum and bass has survived and evolved. Dubstep combines sounds of 2step with the deep basslines and the reggae vibe of early jungle.
Born around the same time as jungle, breakcore
shares many of the elements of drum and bass and to the uninitiated, tracks from the extreme end of drum and bass, may sound identical to breakcore thanks to speed, complexity, impact and maximum sonic density combined with musical experimentation. Raggacore resembles a faster version of the ragga influenced jungle music of the 1990s, similar to breakcore but with more friendly dancehall
beats (dancehall itself being a very important influence on drum and bass). Darkcore
a direct influence on drum and bass, is itself heavily influenced by drum and bass, especially darkstep. There is considerable crossover from the extreme edges of drum and bass, breakcore, darkcore and raggacore with fluid boundaries.
Despite never gaining the mainstream popularity of speed garage and 2step, drum and bass' impact in musical terms has been very significant and the genre has influenced many other genres like jazz
, metal, hiphop, big beat
, house music
, trip hop
, ambient music
, techno
, hardcore
and pop
, with artists such as Bill Laswell
, Slipknot
, Incubus
, Pitchshifter
, Thomas Lang
, Refused
, Linkin Park
, The Roots
, Tabla Beat Science
, Talvin Singh
, Nitin Sawhney
, MIDIval Punditz
, Jedi Mind Tricks
, Timbaland
, Missy Elliott
, Pharell, Fat Boy Slim, Lamb
, Underworld
, The Streets
, The Freestylers, Nine Inch Nails
and David Bowie
(the last two both using elements of Goldie's "Timeless") and others quoting drum and bass and using drum and bass techniques and elements. This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of impact and influence. The USA has adopted the sound with a genre called Ghettotech
which have synth and basslines similar to drum & bass.
's Shogun Audio , London Elektricity's Hospital Records, Andy C's Ram , Goldie
's Metalheadz
, Chris Renegade's Lifted Music
, DJ Fresh's Breakbeat Kaos and DJ Hype
, Pascal and formerly DJ Zinc
's True Playaz
(now known as Real Playaz as of 2006).
The major international music labels such as Sony Music, Universal have shown very little interest in the drum and bass scene though there has been a few signings, most recently Pendulum's In Silico LP to Warner. Roni Size's Full Cycle Records, which played a big, if not the biggest, part in the creation of Drum and Bass, with their dark, baseline sounds. V.Recordings was also a massive part of the development of Drum and Bass. With Roni Size, Krust and Dj Die producing tracks which were considered to be the first mainstream Drum and Bass tracks.
In recent times, Andy C's label Ram Records (UK)
is pushing the boundaries of drum and bass further into the mainstream with artists such as Chase and Status and Sub Focus releasing may tracks on RAM Chase & Status as well as Pendulum are already hovering in the mainstream and singles like "DJ Marky
and XRS
– LK" have in the past topped the UK charts. A new movement has become apparent with ST Holdings and SRD supporting new UK Future Jungle Labels Run Tingz Recordings and Armageddon beats backed by the controversial international Advertising Guerrilla Media Group. Bringing back UK Jungle Music
legends from LTJ Bukem
's label Good Looking artists Bay B Kane Breakbeat Hardcore
heavyweight Nebula II and Original Junglist
Gappa G who had a big hit with Information Center after remix's from DJ Zinc
and Ray Keith.
Drum and bass used to be purchased in the form of "tape packs
", which are a collection of recordings recorded at a selected rave or party. Each tape contains the set by one DJ at that particular rave/party including the MCs.
Most tape packs contained 8 tapes with sets from different DJs. More recently tape packs have become available on CD as tape cassettes are being phased out and recordable CD media is more available, although the CD packs still retain their traditional name of "tape packs". Most of these packs contain 6 CDs.
is sometimes called the drum and bass Ibiza
. Brazilian drum and bass is sometimes referred to as "sambass
", with its specific style and sound. In Venezuela and Mexico, artists have created their own forms of drum and bass combining it with experimental musical forms. Asia also has a drum and bass scene in countries and cities like Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai and Singapore.
, Dailymotion
), blog
s, radio
and television
, the latter being the most uncommon method.
More recently the importance of the internet in promotion is increasing. Music networking websites such as SoundCloud
and MixCloud have become powerful tools for artist recognition, providing a vast platform that enables quick responses to new tracks.
The more market savvy record labels have adopted the use of Podcast
s, these are an efficient way for the labels to keep their fan-base up to date with news on events and products. Audience participation in Podcast
s can also develop a sense of community around the label itself, strengthening its following.
and Grooverider
on BBC Radio 1
, simulcast in the US and Canada on Sirius XM, and DJ Hype
on Kiss 100
in London. The BBC's "urban" station BBC 1Xtra also features the genre heavily, with DJs Bailey and Crissy Criss as its advocates. The network also organises a week-long tour of the UK each year called Xtra Bass
. London pirate radio stations have been instrumental in the development of Drum and Bass, with stations such as Kool FM
(which continues to broadcast today having done so since 1991), Don FM
(the only Drum and Bass pirate to have gained a temporary legal license), Rude FM, Origin FM, Wax Fm and Eruption amongst the most influential.
has a two hour electronic show known as "Digital Empire", Friday nights at 10pm (MST). Resident DJ Trinidad showcases various styles of electronica, with the main focus being drum and bass, jungle & dubstep
. Founded in 2002, Digital Empire features weekly guest DJs and producers, as well as an extensive online playlist and live webstream at KXCI's website.
In Australia, Spikey Tee plays an hour long Drum and Bass show, every Saturday night at 2am on 97.7 fm Sbs Radio Alchemy(Sydney)
In the Philippines, 103.5 Max FM has "The Bass Hour" every Saturday at midnight that caters to nothing but bass music.
In France, the American University of Paris
has a two-hour Drum and Bass program called "Jungle B Eyrie" hosted every Wednesday at 6pm +1GMT.
In Belgium, the national radio station "Studio Brussel" has a weekly show called "Jungle Fever" the radio show is hosted by Murdock, one of the famous Drum n Bass dj's in Belgium.
In Estonia, Radio 2 has two shows, which play DnB – "Tramm ja Buss" (hosted by dj/producer S.I.N & the legend in Estonian D'n'B sceen Raul Saaremets) and "Tjuun In" (hosted by Qba, To-Sha and L.Eazy).
. Toronto-based Rinse Magazine, dedicated to the North American drum and bass scene, and established in 2002 by publisher John Tan, ran for 28 issues, ending in 2007. The editor was Richard Yuzon. London based 'DJ' magazine has also been running a widely respected drum and bass reviews page since 1993, written by Alex Constantinides, which many followers refer to when seeking out new releases to investigate.
and Drum and Bass Arena
. YouTube has played a major role for Drum and Bass on the internet with the appearance of Pandadnb in 2006, DnBrevolution in 2007 and later followed by Drum and Bass Arena, UKF and various other successful channels.
Perhaps the earliest example was Goldie's Timeless
album of 1995, along with Reprazent's Mercury Music Prize-winning New Forms
in 1997, 4hero's Mercury nominated Two Pages
in 1998, and Pendulum's Hold Your Colour
in 2005 (the biggest selling Drum And Bass album of all time.) Tracks such as Shy FX and T-Power's "Shake UR Body" gained a UK Top 40 Chart placing in 2005.
Video games such as Rockstar Games
' Grand Theft Auto series have contained drum and bass tracks. The MSX/MSX 98 radio station by DJ Timecode
in Grand Theft Auto III
and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
, played drum and bass exclusively.
The genre has some popularity in soundtracks, for instance Hive
's "Ultrasonic Sound" was used in the Matrix's
soundtrack and the E-Z Rollers' song "Walk This Land" appeared in the film "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
". Ganja Kru's "Super Sharp Shooter" is heard in the 2006 film Johnny Was
.
The Channel 4 show Skins uses the genre in some episodes. Notably in Series 1 – Episode 3 (Jal) Shy-Fx and UK Apache – Original Nuttah is played in Fazers club.
Drum and bass often makes an appearance as background music, especially in Top Gear
and television commercials thanks to its aggressive and energetic beats. Cartoon Network
's Toonami
programming block also employs it for television spots and show intros,like the relaunch of SCI FI Channel (1997) segue music by Jungle Sky label. However, due to the relative obscurity of the genre, most listeners would not recognize the music as drum and bass.
:Category:Drum and bass record labels
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats (typically between 160–180 bpm, occasional variation is noted in older compositions), with heavy bass and sub-bass
Sub-bass
Sub-bass is a term used to describe audible sounds below 90 Hz and extending downward to include the lowest frequency humans can hear, typically 20 Hz. Sound systems often feature one or more subwoofer loudspeakers that are dedicated solely to amplifying sounds in the sub-bass range...
lines. Drum and bass began as an offshoot of the United Kingdom 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 of the very early 1990s. Over the first decade of its existence, the incorporation of elements from various musical genres led to many permutations in its overall style.
History
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a growing nightclubNightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
and overnight outdoor event culture gave birth to a new electronic music style called Rave music
Rave music
Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...
, which, much like hip-hop, combined sampled syncopated beats or breakbeats, other samples from a wide range of different musical genres and, occasionally, samples of music, dialogue and effects from films and television programmes. But rave music tended to feature stronger bass sounds and a faster tempo (127 to over 140) beats per minute
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
(BPM) than that of early house music. This subgenre was known as "hardcore" rave but from as early as 1992, some musical tracks made up of these high-tempo break beats, with heavy basslines and samples of older Jamaican music, were referred to as "jungle techno" and later just "jungle", which became recognised as a separate musical genre popular at 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...
s and on pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is important to note when discussing the history of Drum n Bass that prior to Jungle, rave music was getting faster and more experimental. Professional DJ & Producer C.K. states, "There was a progression as far as the speed of music is concerned. Anyone buying vinyl every week from 1989 to 1992 noticed this."
By 1994 jungle had begun to gain mainstream popularity and fans of the music (often referred to as junglist
Junglist
Junglist is a slang term first referring to a person living in an area of West Kingston, Jamaica, called Jungle. Then after as a term referring to a dedicated listener of jungle and/or drum and bass. Tracks from this genre often contain calls and references to the "original junglists" and "jungle...
s) became a more recognisable part of British youth subculture. The genre further developed, incorporating and fusing elements from a wide range of existing musical genres, including the raggamuffin sound, dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
, MC
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
chants, dub basslines, and increasingly complex, heavily edited breakbeat percussion. Despite the affiliation with the ecstasy-fuelled rave scene, Jungle also inherited some associations with violence and criminal activity, both from the gang culture that had affected the UK's hip-hop scene and as a consequence of jungle's often aggressive or menacing sound and themes of violence (usually reflected in the choice of samples). However, this developed in tandem with the often positive reputation of the music as part of the wider rave scene and dancehall-based Jamaican music culture prevalent in London. Whether as a reaction to, or independently of this cultural schism, some jungle producers began to move away from the ragga-influenced style and create what would become collectively labelled, for convenience, as drum and bass.
As the genre became generally more polished and sophisticated technically, it began to expand its reach from pirate radio to commercial stations and gain widespread acceptance (circa 1995–1997). It also began to split into recognizable subgenres such as jump-up
Jump-Up (electronic music)
Jump-Up is a subgenre of drum and bass that was first popular in the mid-1990s. Tunes typically were light-hearted, featuring hip hop samples and loud melodic basslines. The term is derived from the earlier use of "jump-up" to refer to tracks with often ambient intros which altered their style at...
and Hardstep. As a lighter and often jazz-influenced style of drum and bass gained mainstream appeal, additional subgenres emerged including techstep (circa 1996–1997) which drew greater influence from 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...
music and the soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s of science fiction and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
films.
The popularity of drum and bass at its commercial peak ran parallel to several other homegrown dance styles in the UK including big beat
Big beat
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 breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in...
and hard house. But towards the turn of the millennium its popularity was deemed to have dwindled as the UK garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
style known as speed garage
Speed garage
Speed garage is a type of music, associated with UK garage and hard dance scenes.-Characteristics:Speed garage has sped-up NY garage 4-to-the-floor rhythms. Snares are placed as over the 2nd and the 4th kickdrums, so in other places of the drum pattern. Speed garage tunes have warp, heavy...
yielded several hit singles. Speed garage shared high tempos and heavy basslines with drum and bass but otherwise followed the established conventions of "house music", with this and its freshness giving it an advantage commercially. London DJ/Producer C.K. says, "It is often forgotten by my students that a type of music called "Garage House" existed in the late 1980s alongside Hip House, Acid House and other forms of House music." He continues, "This new Garage of the mid 90s was not a form of House or a progression of Garage House. The beats and tempo that define House are entirely different. This did cause further confusion in the presence of new House music of the mid 1990s being played alongside what was now being called Garage." Despite this, the emergence of further subgenres and related styles such as liquid funk
Liquid funk
Liquid funk is a sub-genre of drum and bass. While it uses similar basslines and bar layouts to other styles, it contains fewer bar-oriented samples and more instrumental layers , harmonies, and ambience, producing a calmer atmosphere directed at both home listeners and nightclub...
brought a wave of new artists incorporating new ideas and techniques, supporting continual evolution of the genre. To this day drum and bass makes frequent appearances in mainstream media and popular culture including in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, as well as being a major reference point for subsequent genres such as grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
and dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and successful artists including Chase & Status
Chase & Status
Chase & Status are an electronic music production duo from London consisting of Saul Milton and Will Kennard. MC Rage & Andy Gangadeen also make up the live band.-2003-2005:...
and Australia's Pendulum
Pendulum (band)
Pendulum is an Australian drum and bass and electronic rock band founded in 2002 in Perth by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen, and Paul Harding.Swire and McGrillen were members of the rock band known as Xygen. After hearing Konflict's "Messiah" at a club, they were inspired to enter into the drum and...
.
Musicology of drum and bass
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
sounds of techstep through to the use of conventional, acoustic instrumentation that characterise the more jazz-influenced end of the spectrum. The sounds of drum and bass are extremely varied due to the range of influences behind the music. One of the more common and traditional elements is a prominent snare drum falling on the second and fourth beats.
Drum and bass could at one time be defined as a strictly electronic musical genre with the only 'live' element being the DJ's selection and mixing of records during a set. 'Live' drum and bass using electric, electronic and acoustic instruments played by musicians on stage would emerge in the ensuing years of the genre's development.
Influences
A very obvious and strong influence on jungle and drum and bass, thanks to the British African-CaribbeanBritish African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
sound system
Sound system (DJ)
A sound system is a group of DJs and engineers contributing and working together as one, playing and producing music.-Origin:The sound system concept originated in the 1950s in Kingston, Jamaica. DJs would load up a truck with a generator, turntables, and huge speakers to set up street parties...
scene, is the original Jamaican dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
sound, with pioneers like King Tubby
King Tubby
King Tubby was a Jamaican electronics and sound engineer, known primarily for his influence on the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s...
, Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
, Sly & Robbie, Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, Lee Perry, Mad Professor
Mad Professor
Mad Professor is a dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music’s second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He is a prolific producer, contributing to or...
, Roots Radics
Roots Radics
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt and guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont. They were joined by many great musicians. As a combined force the Roots Radics became a well-respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the 1980s...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
and Buju Banton
Buju Banton
Buju Banton is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae musician.Banton has recorded pop and dance songs, as well as songs dealing with sociopolitical topics....
heavily influencing the music. This influence has lessened with time but is still evident with many tracks containing ragga vocals.
As a musical style built around 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...
or syncopated
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
rock & roll breaks, Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
& the Pips, Temptations, Jackson 5, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
, Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, the Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, the Commodores, George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
and even Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, are funky influences on the music. One of the most influential tracks in drum and bass history was Amen Brother by The Winstons
The Winstons
The Winstons were a 1960s funk and soul music group, based in Washington, D.C.. They are known for their 1969 recording of an EP featuring a song entitled "Color Him Father" on the A-side, and a song entitled "Amen, Brother" on the B-side. Half-way into "Amen, Brother", there is a drum solo The...
, containing a drum solo which went on to be known as the "Amen break
Amen break
The Amen break is a brief drum solo performed in 1969 by Gregory Cylvester "G. C." Coleman in the song "Amen, Brother" performed by the 1960s funk and soul outfit The Winstons...
", which after being extensively used in early hip hop music, went on to become the basis for the rhythms used in drum and bass.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s the tradition of break-beat use in hip-hop production had influenced the sound of breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore is a derivative of the acid house and techno, of the late 1980s and early 1990s, that combines four-to-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats, and is associated with the UK rave scene.-The rave scene:...
which in turn lead to the emergence of jungle, drum and bass, and other genres that shared the same use of broken beats. Drum and bass shares many musical characteristics with hip-hop, though it is nowadays mostly stripped of lyrics. Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
, Afrika Bambaata, De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
, 2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew was a hip hop group from Miami, Florida. They caused considerable controversy with the sexual themes in their work, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.- Early career :...
, Jungle Brothers
Jungle Brothers
The Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music producer. The group began performing in the mid-1980s and released its first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in July 1988...
, Kool Keith
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is the self-proclaimed inventor of...
, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Schooly D, N.W.A, Kid Frost
Kid Frost
Arturo Molina Jr. , better known as Frost , is a Mexican American hip hop artist.-Early life:...
, Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
, Dr Dre, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
and the Pharcyde are very often directly sampled, regardless of their general influence.
Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
has also been named as a possible influence, and blues artists like Leadbelly
Leadbelly
Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....
, Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton , better known as Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", and is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man...
, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
& B.B King have also been cited by producers as inspirations. Even modern avant-garde composers such as Henryk Gorecki
Henryk Górecki
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki was a composer of contemporary classical music. He studied at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice between 1955 and 1960. In 1968, he joined the faculty and rose to provost before resigning in 1979. Górecki became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during...
have received mention.
Clearly drum and bass has been influenced by other music genres, though influences from sources external to the 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...
scene perhaps lessened following the shifts from jungle to drum and bass, and through to so-called "intelligent drum and bass" and techstep. It still remains a fusion music style.
Many tracks belonging to other genres are 'remixed' into drum and bass versions. The quality of these remixes varies from the simple and primitive adding of broken beats to a vocal track or to complete reworkings that may exceed the original in quality and effort put into them. Original artists will often ask for drum and bass remixes of their tracks to be made in order to spark further interest in their tracks (for example, Aphrodite's remix of Jungle Brothers' "Jungle Brother").
Some tracks are illegally remixed and released on white label
White label
White label records are vinyl records with adhesive plain white labels affixed. Test pressings, usually with Test Pressing written on the label, with catalogue number, artist and recording time or date, are produced in small quantities to evaluate the quality of the disc production...
(technically bootleg), often to acclaim. For example, DJ Zinc's remix of The Fugees
The Fugees
Fugees were a Haitian American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of Hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel...
' "Ready or Not
Ready Or Not (Fugees song)
"Ready or Not" is a song by The Fugees, from their second studio album The Score . The song contains a sample of "Boadicea" by Enya, and its chorus is based on "Ready or Not Here I Come " by The Delfonics. The song spent two weeks atop the UK Singles Chart in September 1996...
", also known as "Fugee Or Not", was eventually released with the Fugees' permission after talk of legal action, though coincidentally the Fugees' version infringed Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
's copyright to an earlier song. White labels along with dubplate
Dubplate
A dubplate is an acetate disc – usually 12, 10, or 7 inches in diameter – used in mastering studios for quality control and test recordings before proceeding with the final master, and subsequent pressing of the record to be mass-produced on vinyl. The "dub" in dubplate is an allusion to...
s play an important part in drum and bass musical culture.
Other notable influences
In the US house scene which emerged in the 1980s, the most famous artist being NYC's Frankie Bones
Frankie Bones
Frankie Bones is an American techno and house music disc jockey from New York City. He is best known for bringing the rave culture to the United States after playing at a hangar party in the UK during 1989...
whose infamous 'Bones Breaks' series from the late '80s onwards helped push the house-tempoed breakbeat sound (especially in the UK) and can be said to be a direct precursor to the UK breakbeat/hardcore scene.
Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson is an American electronic music producer. At the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where he attended Belleville High School and befriended two students, Derrick May and Juan Atkins...
released a series of bass-heavy, minimal techno cuts as Reese/The Reese Project in the late '80s which were hugely influential in drum and bass terms. One of his more infamous basslines was indeed sampled on Renegade's Terrorist and countless others since, being known simply as the 'Reese' bassline. He followed these up with equally influential (and bassline-heavy) tracks in the UK hardcore style as Tronik House in 1991/1992. Another Detroit artist who was important for the scene is Carl Craig
Carl Craig
Carl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs...
. The sampled-up jazz break on Carl Craig's Bug in the Bassbin was also influential on the newly emerging sound, DJs at the Rage club used to play it pitched up (increased speed) as far as their Technics record decks would go.
The third precursor worth mentioning here is the Miami, USA Booty Bass/Miami Bass scene, first popularised by 2 Live Crew in the mid to late '80s. There are clear sonic parallels with drum and bass here in the use of uptempo synths and drum machines in producing bass-heavy party music.
Both the New York breakbeat and the Miami Bass scenes were strongly influenced by the 'freestyle' sound of New York, Chicago and Miami in the 1980s which incorporated electro, disco and Latin flavours, and which was in turn a key influence on the UK's acid house/hardcore/rave scene.
Drum and bassline elements
The genre places great importance on the "bass line", a deep sub-bassSub-bass
Sub-bass is a term used to describe audible sounds below 90 Hz and extending downward to include the lowest frequency humans can hear, typically 20 Hz. Sound systems often feature one or more subwoofer loudspeakers that are dedicated solely to amplifying sounds in the sub-bass range...
musical pattern which can be felt physically through powerful sound systems due to the low-range frequencies favoured. There has been considerable exploration of different timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
s in the bass line region, particularly within techstep. The bass lines most notably originate from sampled
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...
sources or 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...
s. Bass lines performed with a bass instrument, whether it is electric, acoustic or a double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, are less common but examples can be found in the work of bands such as Shapeshifter
ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying GUI skins through “injection” into running code and without modifying system files,...
, Squarepusher
Squarepusher
Squarepusher is the performing pseudonym of Tom Jenkinson, an English electronic music artist signed to Warp Records. He specialises in the electronic music genres of drum and bass and acid, with a significant jazz and musique concrète influence....
, Roni Size
Roni Size
Roni Size is a British record producer and DJ, who came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and leader of Reprazent, a drum and bass collective...
and STS9. Sampled basslines are often taken from double bass recordings or from publicly available loops.
In drum and bass productions, the bass lines are often subjected to many and varied sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s, including standard techniques such as dynamic compression, flanger, chorus, overdrive, equalization, and so on. and drum and bass specific techniques such as timestretched beats and the "Reese Bass", a distinctive synthesized bass sound comprising layered 'clashing' sawtooth waves. The term is a result of producer's Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson is an American electronic music producer. At the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where he attended Belleville High School and befriended two students, Derrick May and Juan Atkins...
's notable use of it in his work under the Reese/Master Reese alias.
Of equal importance is the "808" kick drum, an artificially pitch-downed or elongated bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
sound sampled from Roland's classic TR-808 drum machine, and a sound which has been subject to an enormous amount of experimentation over the years.
The complex syncopation
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
of the drum tracks' breakbeat
Break (music)
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
, is another facet of production on which producers can spend a very large amount of time. The Amen break
Amen break
The Amen break is a brief drum solo performed in 1969 by Gregory Cylvester "G. C." Coleman in the song "Amen, Brother" performed by the 1960s funk and soul outfit The Winstons...
is generally acknowledged to have been the most-used (and often considered the most powerful) break in drum and bass.
The Amen break was synonymous with early drum and bass productions but other samples have had a significant impact, including the Apache, Funky Drummer
Funky drummer
"Funky Drummer" is a funk song recorded by James Brown and his band. The recording's drum break, performed by drummer Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampled rhythmic breaks in hip hop and popular music; indeed, it lays a strong claim to being the most sampled recording ever,...
, "Soul Pride", "Scorpio" and "Think (About It)
Think (About It)
"Think " is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown and featured instrumental backing from his band The J.B.'s...
" breaks.
Many drum and bass tracks have featured more than one sampled breakbeat in them and a technique of switching between two breaks after each bar developed. Examples of this can be heard on mid-90s releases including J Majik
J Majik
J Majik has been a drum and bass DJ since his early teens in the early 1990s. He released his first track in 1992 on the Planet Earth record label...
's "Your Sound" and Doc Scott's "Machines". A more recent commonly used break is the Tramen
Tramen
The Tramen is a drum loop which is very popular in drum and bass, made by combining several other classic breakbeats.-History:Although also known by various other names , Tramen break is easily the most widespread name...
, which combines the Amen break
Amen break
The Amen break is a brief drum solo performed in 1969 by Gregory Cylvester "G. C." Coleman in the song "Amen, Brother" performed by the 1960s funk and soul outfit The Winstons...
, a James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
funk breakbeat ("Tighten Up
Tighten Up (Archie Bell & the Drells song)
"Tighten Up" was a 1968 song by Houston, Texas based R&B vocal group Archie Bell & the Drells. It reached #1 on both the Billboard R&B and pop charts in the spring of 1968. It is ranked #265 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is one of the earliest funk hits in music...
" or "Samurai" break) and an Alex Reece
Alex Reece
Alex Reece was an influence of the jazzstep sound, a mix of drum and bass and jazz, and one of the musicians under the Metalheadz collective, who also works under the pseudonym of Fallen Angels....
drum and bass breakbeat.
The relatively fast drum beat forms a canvas on which a producer can create tracks to appeal to almost any taste and often will form only a background to the other elements of the music. Syncopated breakbeats remain the most distinctive element as without these a high-tempo 4/4
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
dance track could be classified 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...
or gabber
Gabber
Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
.
Tempo
Drum and bass is usually between 160–190 BPM, in contrast to other breakbeatBreakbeat
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,...
-based dance styles such as nu skool breaks
Nu skool breaks
Nu skool breaks is a term used to describe a sub-genre of breakbeat. The sub-genre is usually characterized by its darker and heavier bass lines that are normally dominant throughout the track...
which maintain a slower pace at around 130–140 BPM. A general upward trend in tempo has been observed during the evolution of drum and bass. The earliest forms of drum and bass clocked in at around 130 bpm in 1990/1991, speeding up to around 155–165 BPM by 1993. Since around 1996, drum and bass tempos have predominantly stayed in the 170–180 range. Recently some producers have started to once again produce tracks with slower tempos (that is, in the 150s and 160s), but the mid-170 tempo is still the hallmark of the drum and bass sound.
A track combining the same elements (broken beat, bass, production techniques) as a drum and bass track, but with a slower tempo (say 140 BPM), might not be drum and bass but a drum and bass-influenced breakbeat track.
Live performances of drum and bass music on electric and acoustic instruments will often entail a drop in relative BPM (though not necessarily), unsurprising in light of the complexity of drum patterns and the high exertion required of a drummer.
Context
There are however many albums specifically designed for personal listening. The mix CD is a particularly popular form of release, with a big name DJ/producer mixing live, or on a computer, a variety of tracks for personal listening. Additionally, there are many albums containing unmixed tracks, suited for home or car listening.
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....
". The drop is the point in a track where a switch of rhythm or bassline occurs and usually follows a recognizable build section and "breakdown". Sometimes the drop is used to switch between tracks, layering components of different tracks, though as the two records may be simply ambient breakdowns at this point, though some DJs prefer to combine breakbeats, a more difficult exercise. Some drops are so popular that the DJ will "rewind" or "reload" or "lift up" by spinning the record back and restarting it at the build. "The drop" is often a key point from the point of view of the dancefloor, since the drumbreaks often fade out to leave an ambient intro playing. When the beats re-commence they are often more complex and accompanied by a heavier bassline, encouraging the crowd to dance. The name of a subgenre of drum and bass, "jump up" initially referred to the urge for those seated to dance at this point.
DJ support (that is playing a track) in a club atmosphere or on radio is critical in track success, even if the track producer is well known. To this end, DJs will receive dubplates a long time before a general release of a track, sometimes many months before, in order to spark interest in it as well as benefit the DJ (exclusive and early access to tracks is a hallmark of DJ success, for example, the case of Andy C
Andy C
Andy C , born Andrew John Clarke, is an English DJ and producer and co-founder of the RAM Recording Studio. He is the son of Mick Clarke, bass player and founder member of the Rubettes, who had hits in the seventies like Sugar Baby Love, Tonight and I Can Do It.He is considered a pioneering force...
). Sometimes a DJ will receive versions of tracks that are not planned for general release, these are so-called VIP (Variation In Production) mixes.
DJs are often accompanied by one or more MCs
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
, drawing on the genre's roots in hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
/ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
.
MCs do not generally receive the same level of recognition as producer/DJs and some events are specifically marketed as being MC free. There are relatively few well-known drum and bass MCs, MC Infinity, MC GQ, Dynamite MC
Dynamite MC
Dynamite MC, is an MC from Gloucester, England. He originally gained prominence in jungle/drum and bass, working with Roni Size and Reprazent, but has also released hip hop material.-Career:...
, MC Fats, MC Conrad
MC Conrad
MC Conrad is a British MC, well known for his collaboration with drum'n'bass DJ LTJ Bukem, as well as other artists on Bukem's Good Looking Records...
, Shabba D, Skibadee
Skibadee
MC Skibadee, real name Alfonso "Skibatree" Bondzie, is a Drum and Bass MC musician from London, England. He started on City Sound Radio around 1993....
, Eksman, Bassman, MC Stamina, MC Fun, Evil B, Trigga, Harry Shotta and Stevie Hyper D (deceased) as examples.
Differences between drum and bass and jungle
Presently the difference between jungle (or oldschool jungleOldschool 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 is a common debate within the "junglist" community. There is no universally accepted semantic distinction between the terms "jungle" and "Drum and Bass". Some associate "jungle" with older black sounding material from the first half of the 1990s (sometimes referred to as "jungle techno"), and see Drum and Bass as essentially succeeding Jungle. Others use Jungle as a shorthand for ragga jungle, a specific sub-genre within the broader realm of Drum and Bass. In the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the combined term "jungle drum and bass" (JDB or JDNB) has some popularity, but is not widespread elsewhere.
Proponents of a distinction between jungle and drum and bass usually argue that:
- Drum and Bass has an integrated percussion and bass structure while jungle has a distinct bass line separated from the percussion.
- The relatively simple drum break beats of modern Drum and Bass (generally a two-step beat) are less complex than the 'chopped' 'Amen' breakbeats of jungle
- The usage of ragga and reggae vocals differentiates Drum and Bass from Jungle, but then again not all jungle has ragga/reggae vocals, some have other samples and some have no vocals.
The truth is more complicated than this, however. An often mistaken view of the difference between jungle and drum and bass, is that of making a distinction between two-step beat drum and bass and amen breakbeat drum and bass. This is really a distinction between tech-step drum and bass and the new style of drum & bass which occurred especially late-1994 and 1995. Drum and Bass really first referred to the increased attention to breakbeat editing. Perhaps the first track to explicitly use the term "drum and bass" to refer to itself as a different style was released in 1993. The producer The Invisible Man described it:
- "A well edited Amen BreakAmen breakThe Amen break is a brief drum solo performed in 1969 by Gregory Cylvester "G. C." Coleman in the song "Amen, Brother" performed by the 1960s funk and soul outfit The Winstons...
alongside an 808 sub kick and some simple atmospherics just sounded so amazing all on its own, thus the speech sample "strictly drum and bass". A whole new world of possibilities was opening up for the drum programming... It wasn't long before the amen break was being used by practically every producer within the scene, and as time progressed the Belgian style techno stabs and noises disappeared and the edits and studio trickery got more and more complex. People were at last beginning to call the music Drum and Bass instead of hardcore. This Amen formula certainly helped cement the sound for many of the tracks I went on to produce for Gwange, Q-Project and Spinback on Legend Records. After a while, tracks using the Amen break virtually had a genre all of their own. Foul Play, Peshay, Bukem and DJ Crystal among others were all solid amen addicts back then too."
Since the term jungle was so closely related to the reggae influenced sound, DJs and producers who did not incorporate reggae elements began to adopt the term "drum and bass" to differentiate themselves and their musical styles. This reflected a change in the musical style which incorporated increased drum break editing. Sometimes this was referred to as "intelligence", though this later came to refer to the more relaxed style of drum and bass associated with producers such as LTJ Bukem
LTJ Bukem
LTJ Bukem is the stage name used by the drum and bass musician, producer and DJ Danny Williamson . He and his record labels Good Looking and Looking Good Records are most associated with the jazzy, atmospheric side of drum and bass music....
.
Towards late 1994 and especially in 1995 there was a definite distinction between the reggae and ragga sounding jungle and the tracks with heavily edited breaks, such as the artists Remarc and The Dream Team on Suburban Bass Records. Ironically, one compilation which brought the term to the wider awareness of those outside the scene, 'Drum & Bass Selection vol 1' (1994), featured a large amount of ragga influenced tracks, and the first big track to use the term in its title (Remarc's 'Drum & Bass Wize', 1994) was also ragga-influenced.
The Dream Team consisted of Bizzy B and Pugwash; Bizzy B did however have a history of complex breakbeat tracks released before any real notion of a change in genre name. The genre change coincided with an increase of the use of the Reese bassline (Reese Project, Kevin Saunderson), as first featured on "Just Want Another Chance" by Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson is an American electronic music producer. At the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where he attended Belleville High School and befriended two students, Derrick May and Juan Atkins...
(also famous for the group Inner City) released in 1988. Mid-1995 saw the coincidentally named Alex Reece
Alex Reece
Alex Reece was an influence of the jazzstep sound, a mix of drum and bass and jazz, and one of the musicians under the Metalheadz collective, who also works under the pseudonym of Fallen Angels....
's "Pulp Fiction" which featured a distorted Reese bassline with a two-step break, slightly slower in tempo, which has been credited as an influence in the new tech-step style which would emerge from Emotif and No U-Turn Records.
"Pulp Fiction was (and still is) a seriously badass tune, it was highly original at the time, and of course it will remain in the classic oldskool bag for many years to come. It was also the track that spawned hundreds of immitators of its "2-Step" style which unfortunately also lasted for many years to come.... hmmm... oh, and because the 2-step groove generally sounds slower, DnB then began to speed up way beyond 160bpm... say no more."
This has also led to the confusion of equating the "tech-step" sub-genre with drum and bass, as distinct from jungle, but "drum and bass" as a style and as a name for the whole genre already existed in 1995 before the release of Dj Trace's remix of T-Power's "Mutant Jazz" which appeared on S.O.U.R. Recordings in 1995 (co-produced by Ed Rush
Ed Rush
Ed Rush is the recording name of Ben Settle; a prominent jungle/techstep/neurofunk DJ, who often produces tracks in collaboration with Optical. Hailing from west London, he came to prominence with the release of the track Bludclot Artattack in 1993...
and Nico). Also note that Trace (artist)
Trace (artist)
DJ Trace is the recording name of Duncan Hutchinson, a British electronic music artist, disc jockey and founder of DSCI4 Records. Hutchinson's remix of T Power & MK Ultra's Mutant Jazz, entitled simply The Mutant Remix and released on the Rollers Instinct record label in 1995 is said to be one of...
, Ed Rush
Ed Rush
Ed Rush is the recording name of Ben Settle; a prominent jungle/techstep/neurofunk DJ, who often produces tracks in collaboration with Optical. Hailing from west London, he came to prominence with the release of the track Bludclot Artattack in 1993...
and Nico already had a history of producing jungle/drum & bass and hardcore in a variety of styles.
Another explanation for the name change is that the scene was running into problems because of violence blamed on the ragga part of the music, the media was full of stories condemning jungle and the violence it brought, so it was this bad media hype that resulted in the name change, which coincided with, and was made possible by the progression of the genre's sound.
Confusion is increased by the term "jump up" which initially referred to tracks with a had a change in style at the drop, encouraging people to dance. Initially these new drum and bass style tracks had breakbeat-heavy drops, but producers of around the same time were creating tracks with hip-hop style basslines at the drop. This would become a new sub-genre Jump-Up, though many of the early jump-up tracks incorporated edited amens at the drop. Influential artists include DJ Zinc
DJ Zinc
Benjamin Pettit, better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass / breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop / jungle fusion.-Biography:...
, DJ Hype
DJ Hype
DJ Hype is a stage name of drum and bass producer and DJ, Kevin Ford. His 1993 track, "Shot in the Dark", appeared in the UK Singles Chart in 1993.-Biography:...
, Dillinja
Dillinja
Dillinja, is an English drum and bass DJ, record producer and entrepreneur.-History:...
and Aphrodite (artist)
Aphrodite (artist)
Aphrodite also known as A Zone or DJ Aphro, is a UK jungle and drum and bass DJ/producer commonly referred to as the "Godfather of Jungle", who works along with Micky Finn on their joint Urban Takeover label...
amongst many others. The Dream Team would also produce jump-up tracks, usually under the name Dynamic Duo on Joker Records, in a style with similarities and differences to their Suburban Bass releases. Notice also the early use of the term "jump up jungle" rather than "jump up drum and bass". The pigeon-holes for genres changed so quickly that jump-up was quickly also called drum and bass even as a sub-genre.
Opponents of a distinction would argue that there are many modern drum & bass productions with separated basslines, complex breakbeats and ragga vocals. This comes, however, from a mistaken distinction between tech step and drum and bass as outlined above, probably from interest in the music after mid-1995 when there was the creation of a variety of new styles or sub-genres, including Roni Size
Roni Size
Roni Size is a British record producer and DJ, who came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and leader of Reprazent, a drum and bass collective...
's more jazz-influenced drum and bass, tech step and jump-up.
"At the end of the day I am an ambassador for Drum and Bass the world over and have been playing for 16 years under the name Hype... To most of you out there Drum and Bass will be an important part of your lives, but for me Drum and Bass/Jungle is my life and always has been... We all have a part to play and believe me when I say I am no fucking bandwagon jumper, just a hard working Hackney man doing this thing called Drum and Bass/Jungle." DJ Hype
DJ Hype
DJ Hype is a stage name of drum and bass producer and DJ, Kevin Ford. His 1993 track, "Shot in the Dark", appeared in the UK Singles Chart in 1993.-Biography:...
Live drum and bass
Reprazent
Reprazent is a British drum and bass act formed by Roni Size. Their debut album New Forms won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997. Their follow-up album In The Mode featured artists including Rahzel, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine and Method Man.Roni Size resurrected Reprazent in 2008...
, Jojo Mayer's Nerve
Jojo Mayer
Jojo Mayer is a highly acclaimed Swiss drummer born in Zurich and currently resides in New York City.Mayer is the son of a touring musician and began his career as a drummer at an early age, receiving his first drum set at the age of two...
, Pendulum, Shapeshifter
Shapeshifter (band)
Shapeshifter are a live Drum & Bass act from New Zealand. They have been heralded as a musical phenomenon for their ground breaking live shows and unique blend of heavy soul with drum and bass...
, E-Z Rollers, STS9, KJ Sawka, London Elektricity
London Elektricity
London Elektricity is the DJ and stage name of musician Tony Colman who is best known as a recording artist of five albums, international DJ and formerly a live drum and bass act "London Elektricity Live".-History:...
, Chase & Status
Chase & Status
Chase & Status are an electronic music production duo from London consisting of Saul Milton and Will Kennard. MC Rage & Andy Gangadeen also make up the live band.-2003-2005:...
, Johnny Rabb
Johnny Rabb
Johnny Rabb is a professional live/studio drummer, author, inventor, and instructor. As a Product Specialist for , Rabb performs around 70 international clinic dates per year...
's BioDiesel, The Disco Biscuits, Lake Trout
Lake Trout (band)
Lake Trout are a rock band based in Baltimore. Their music is a combination of rock, ambient, jazz, and many other styles, including influences from post-rock and post-punk. The band has released six albums since its inception, four in-studio and two live...
, La Phaze, Stefanik, Perny & Kollar ....) have taken drum and bass to live performances, which features an acoustic drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, synthesizers, bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
(upright or electric), and other instruments. Samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
have also been taken live by playing samples on drum pads
Roland V-Drums
V-Drum is a trademarked umbrella term for a variety of electronic drums, drum brain modules, and related electronic percussion product manufactured and trademarked by Roland Corporation....
or synthesizers, assigning samples to a specific drum pad or key. MCs are frequently featured in live performances. Some acts such as Fragment use a lineup of a guitarist, bassist, at least one keyboardist, and an acoustic drummer, even if none of these instruments are present in the actual song, simply to give it a "thicker live sound". DJ FU and the Jungle Drummer
Jungle Drummer
Chris Polglase , known professionally as The Jungle Drummer, is a live drum n bass drummer. He is most noted for his work with DJ Fu and live drum and bass act London Elektricity...
also feature predominantly in modern day live dnb. Their show features them battling live on stage in a DJ v drummer scenario with Jungle Drummer drumming at speeds up to 180 bpm. Other acts to take note of on the live drum and bass scene include Pendulum, La Phaze and Chase & Status, who perform their tracks live. The DnB scene is still thriving in many urban areas, with a particularly strong showing in LA amongst such dedicated clubs as The Dragonfly. This has given both of these bands a way to access the mainstream, giving drum and bass a more commercial edge. Some bands have even taken the term somewhat literally, such as Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt is a noise rock duo from Providence, Rhode Island, composed of Brian Chippendale on drums and vocals and Brian Gibson on bass guitar. The band met and formed in 1994, when the members of the then-trio attended the Rhode Island School of Design. The band signed to Load Records in...
, White Mice
White Mice
"White Mice" was a special edition of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses, broadcast on 24 December 1985.-Synopsis:The show centres around a spoof investigation of Del Boy by the BBC Breakfast show, Breakfast Time, over allegations that he sold white mice to a customer with the promise that they...
, and Comparative Anatomy (band)
Comparative Anatomy (band)
Comparative Anatomy is an experimental drum & bass band from Charlottesville, Virginia. Known for their elaborate costumes, absurd humor, simple but diverse textures and unique sound, the band has recently become known in the experimental and noise rock scenes for their outlandish performances...
.
Subgenres
Recently, smaller scenes within the drum and bass community have developed and the scene as a whole has become much more fractured into specific sub-genres. The generally accepted and most popular forms of drum and bass / jungle are:- DarkstepDarkstepDarkstep is a subgenre of drum and bass that fuses elements of darkcore with uptempo breakbeats and ambient noises . Darkstep music is typically composed in a chromatic scale...
(or "Darkside" or "Dark", the return of the old school sound of Drum and bass made with new technology – Current Value, Lucio de Rimanez, Limewax and many more) - Drumfunk (or "Choppage", "Edits" – atmospheric drum and bass with heavy emphasis on break-styled drum loops, occasionally broken up by drumless atmospheric passages)
- HardstepHardstepHardstep is a subgenre of darkcore which emerged in 1994. It is characterised by a gritty production style, that has an inner-city feel to it. The breaks are less cut-up sounding than oldschool jungle, and harder, hence the name hardstep...
(A harder style of d&b which uses hard basslines and heavy yet simple electronic melodies for example,: The Panacea) - Intelligent (or "Atmospheric" or "Ambient")
- Jazzstep (or "Jazz and Bass")
- Jump-UpJump-Up (electronic music)Jump-Up is a subgenre of drum and bass that was first popular in the mid-1990s. Tunes typically were light-hearted, featuring hip hop samples and loud melodic basslines. The term is derived from the earlier use of "jump-up" to refer to tracks with often ambient intros which altered their style at...
- Liquid funkLiquid funkLiquid funk is a sub-genre of drum and bass. While it uses similar basslines and bar layouts to other styles, it contains fewer bar-oriented samples and more instrumental layers , harmonies, and ambience, producing a calmer atmosphere directed at both home listeners and nightclub...
(or simply "Liquid" - drawing heavily on harmonic grooves and samples from Funk music, Soul musicSoul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, R&B, House musicHouse musicHouse 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...
, Disco music, Pop MusicPop musicPop 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...
and SynthpopSynthpopSynthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
) - SambassSambassSambass, Drum 'n' Bossa or drum 'n' sambass is a regional sub-genre of drum and bass music mostly native to Brazil, which combines drum and bass rhythms with influences from Latin American music....
(or "Brazilian Drum and Bass") - Techstep (or "Tech")
- Techno-DNB (or "Techno Drum and Bass")
- NeurofunkNeurofunkNeurofunk is a subgenre of drum and bass which emerged between 1997 and 1998 in London, England as a progression of techstep. It was further developed by juxtaposed elements of heavier and harder forms of funk with multiple influences ranging from techno, house and jazz, distinguished by...
(or "Neuro" is the progression from Techstep)
The following would generally be described as separate genres by their proponents:
- BreakcoreBreakcoreBreakcore is a style of electronic music largely influenced by hardcore techno, drum and bass and Intelligent dance music. Its sound is largely characterized by a high-tempo, well-timed mingling of distorted kick drums , break beats arranged from samples of the Amen break, and audio samples from a...
- DarkcoreDarkcoreDarkcore is a subgenre of jungle that became popular in the United Kingdom hardcore rave scene in late 1992. It is recognized as being one of the direct precursors of the genre now known as drum and bass...
(both a precursor and a descendant of drum and bass since modern darkcore productions share much with darkstep) - Raggacore
- Ragga jungleRagga jungleRagga jungle is a genre of music that emerged circa 1989-1990 and was initially heavily based on production of Michael West...
(a modern sound which shares most if not all characteristics with early jungle music – difficult to differentiate – perhaps through frequent mention of H.I.M. Haile SelassieHaile Selassie I of EthiopiaHaile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
and other RastafarianRastafari movementThe Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
themes)
As with all attempts to classify and categorize music, the above should not be treated as definitive. Many producers release albums and tracks which touch into many of the above styles and there are significant arguments as to the classification of tracks as well as the basic defining characteristics of subgenres. The list of arguable subgenres in particular should not be treated as definitive.
The modern distinctive ragga jungle
Ragga jungle
Ragga jungle is a genre of music that emerged circa 1989-1990 and was initially heavily based on production of Michael West...
style (arguably subgenre or even separate genre) is a direct throwback to the 1994–1995 style of drum and bass production. However, many modern drum and bass mainstream productions contain ragga, dancehall and reggae elements, they are just not as dominant as previously.
Clownstep is not as it commonly misconceived to be, a derogatory term for "playful" Drum and Bass. "Clownstep" is a term which was popularised by Dylan, to jokingly describe how "Swing-beat" tunes like Bodyrock by Andy C
Andy C
Andy C , born Andrew John Clarke, is an English DJ and producer and co-founder of the RAM Recording Studio. He is the son of Mick Clarke, bass player and founder member of the Rubettes, who had hits in the seventies like Sugar Baby Love, Tonight and I Can Do It.He is considered a pioneering force...
made him think of clowns. DJ Clipz often produces songs adhering to the clownstep sound.
Drumstep, a somewhat misunderstood genre, is a term encompassing dubstep-styled tracks that borrow the tempo structure of drum and bass while retaining the percussive rhythm of dubstep. Rather than the syncopated double-time breaks or 2-step drum loops common in most drum and bass songs, drumstep adopts the half-time alternating kick-snare drum pattern on the 1st and 3rd beat of every measure commonly found in many dubstep tracks. As with all dubstep tracks, drumstep maintains a strong emphasis on deep bass. It often incorporates wobbles, hi-hats, and spliced samples to propel the rhythm in the absence of the emphasized percussion of regular drum and bass tracks. Unlike dubstep, however, the tempo of drumstep is around 150-175 BPM, with high usage of hi hats to make the beat sound faster, rather than the 140 BPM tempo of dubstep tracks. The term is somewhat controversial due to the already present similarities between dubstep and drum and bass, and is often used as a "grey area" term for tracks that draw influences from both of its parent genres. As a result, many dubstep tracks that emphasize heavily syncopated drum patterns are often mislabeled as drumstep, and songs that undergo the change from dubstep to drum and bass or vice versa (such as Zomboy's "Game Time" and Modestep's "Sunlight") are often classified as drumstep as well.
Genres influenced by drum and bass
Speed garageSpeed garage
Speed garage is a type of music, associated with UK garage and hard dance scenes.-Characteristics:Speed garage has sped-up NY garage 4-to-the-floor rhythms. Snares are placed as over the 2nd and the 4th kickdrums, so in other places of the drum pattern. Speed garage tunes have warp, heavy...
and 2step in the UK were born at the height of the popularity of jungle, copying the bass-lines, fast tempo (though much slowed down), ragga vocals (with frequent MC accompaniment) and production techniques. They may be referred to as descendants of drum and bass and at one time drove drum and bass into relative obscurity. Grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
and dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
, their descendants, have driven these genres underground whilst drum and bass has survived and evolved. Dubstep combines sounds of 2step with the deep basslines and the reggae vibe of early jungle.
Born around the same time as jungle, breakcore
Breakcore
Breakcore is a style of electronic music largely influenced by hardcore techno, drum and bass and Intelligent dance music. Its sound is largely characterized by a high-tempo, well-timed mingling of distorted kick drums , break beats arranged from samples of the Amen break, and audio samples from a...
shares many of the elements of drum and bass and to the uninitiated, tracks from the extreme end of drum and bass, may sound identical to breakcore thanks to speed, complexity, impact and maximum sonic density combined with musical experimentation. Raggacore resembles a faster version of the ragga influenced jungle music of the 1990s, similar to breakcore but with more friendly dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
beats (dancehall itself being a very important influence on drum and bass). Darkcore
Darkcore
Darkcore is a subgenre of jungle that became popular in the United Kingdom hardcore rave scene in late 1992. It is recognized as being one of the direct precursors of the genre now known as drum and bass...
a direct influence on drum and bass, is itself heavily influenced by drum and bass, especially darkstep. There is considerable crossover from the extreme edges of drum and bass, breakcore, darkcore and raggacore with fluid boundaries.
Despite never gaining the mainstream popularity of speed garage and 2step, drum and bass' impact in musical terms has been very significant and the genre has influenced many other genres like 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...
, metal, hiphop, big beat
Big beat
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 breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in...
, house music
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...
, 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...
, ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, 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...
, hardcore
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
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...
, with artists such as Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
, Incubus
Incubus (band)
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...
, Pitchshifter
Pitchshifter (band)
Pitchshifter are a British five-piece electronic-metal band from Nottingham, United Kingdom formed in 1989. The band was started by bassist and vocalist Mark Clayden, lead guitarist and programmer Johnny A...
, Thomas Lang
Thomas Lang
Thomas Lang is an Austrian drummer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. He is the founding member of the Los Angeles-based progressive/avant garde metal trio, stOrk.Lang took up drumming at the age of 5...
, Refused
Refused
Refused was a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1991. In total the band released five EPs and three albums, before splitting up in 1998...
, Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, Tabla Beat Science
Tabla Beat Science
Tabla Beat Science is a musical group founded in 1999 by Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell. Its style consists of a mixture of Hindustani music, Asian Underground, ambient music, drum and bass and electronica. Laswell met with Karsh Kale , and they later teamed up with Talvin Singh and Trilok Gurtu...
, Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh Matharoo , is a producer and composer and tabla player, known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass...
, Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
, MIDIval Punditz
MIDIval Punditz
MIDIval Punditz is an Indian fusion group consisting of two Delhi-based musicians, Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj. Their style revolves mostly around changer, jungle, electronica, and North Indian classical music...
, Jedi Mind Tricks
Jedi Mind Tricks
Jedi Mind Tricks is a hip hop duo with Vinnie Paz from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Jus Allah from Camden, New Jersey. The group was founded by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz and former producer/DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind...
, Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
, Pharell, Fat Boy Slim, Lamb
Lamb (band)
Lamb is an electronic music duo from Manchester, England, whose music is influenced by trip hop and drum and bass. The duo consists of producer Andy Barlow, who also produces under the pseudonym Hipoptimist, and singer-songwriter Lou Rhodes...
, Underworld
Underworld (band)
Underworld are a British electronic group, and principal name under which duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together since 1980.- Early years: 1979–1986 :...
, The Streets
The Streets
The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
, The Freestylers, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
(the last two both using elements of Goldie's "Timeless") and others quoting drum and bass and using drum and bass techniques and elements. This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of impact and influence. The USA has adopted the sound with a genre called Ghettotech
Ghettotech
Ghettotech or Detroit club music is a form of electronic dance music originating from Detroit. It combines elements of Chicago's ghetto house with electro, hip hop, techno, and grafts the perceived raunch of Miami Bass as the vocal stamp of the music. It is usually faster than most other dance...
which have synth and basslines similar to drum & bass.
Record labels
Drum and Bass as a whole is dominated by a small group of "hardcore" record labels. These are run mainly by some of the scene's most prominent DJ–producers, such as DJ FrictionDJ Friction
DJ Friction may refer to:*DJ Friction , a British Drum and Bass DJ and Producer.*DJ Friction , a German Hip Hop DJ and Producer....
's Shogun Audio , London Elektricity's Hospital Records, Andy C's Ram , Goldie
Goldie
Clifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...
's Metalheadz
Metalheadz
Metalheadz is a pioneering drum and bass record label based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1994 by Kemistry & Storm and Goldie, it has been home to some of the drum and bass scene's brightest talent and is notable for the high quality of its back catalogue....
, Chris Renegade's Lifted Music
Lifted Music
Lifted Music is a record label based in Harpenden, England that focus on releasing Drum & Bass and Dubstep. The label is primarily known for releasing forward thinking Avant Garde Drum & Bass from its roster of producers...
, DJ Fresh's Breakbeat Kaos and DJ Hype
DJ Hype
DJ Hype is a stage name of drum and bass producer and DJ, Kevin Ford. His 1993 track, "Shot in the Dark", appeared in the UK Singles Chart in 1993.-Biography:...
, Pascal and formerly DJ Zinc
DJ Zinc
Benjamin Pettit, better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass / breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop / jungle fusion.-Biography:...
's True Playaz
True Playaz
True Playaz is a drum and bass and Jungle record label, collective and club night run by DJ Hype, DJ Zinc and Pascal.Current artists recording for the label include all of the founding artists, as well as DJ Hazard, Potential Badboy, Phantasy and Swift....
(now known as Real Playaz as of 2006).
The major international music labels such as Sony Music, Universal have shown very little interest in the drum and bass scene though there has been a few signings, most recently Pendulum's In Silico LP to Warner. Roni Size's Full Cycle Records, which played a big, if not the biggest, part in the creation of Drum and Bass, with their dark, baseline sounds. V.Recordings was also a massive part of the development of Drum and Bass. With Roni Size, Krust and Dj Die producing tracks which were considered to be the first mainstream Drum and Bass tracks.
In recent times, Andy C's label Ram Records (UK)
Ram Records (UK)
Ram is a dance music record label, primarily releasing drum and bass music.Established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of close friend Ant Miles, the label and business today is run Andy C and business partner Scott Bourne Ram is a dance music record label, primarily releasing drum and bass...
is pushing the boundaries of drum and bass further into the mainstream with artists such as Chase and Status and Sub Focus releasing may tracks on RAM Chase & Status as well as Pendulum are already hovering in the mainstream and singles like "DJ Marky
DJ Marky
Marco Antonio Silva a.k.a. DJ Marky is a Brazilian drum and bass DJ.Together with DJ Patife, XRS Land and Drumagick, Brazilians were forging a new sound in drum and bass that became popular around the world with releases such as LK and Só Tinha Que Ser Com Você.-Career:He was brought to the...
and XRS
XRS
Xerxes de Oliveira is a drum and bass producer from Brazil. He uses several pseudonyms including XRS, XRS Land, Friendtornik, and Kapitel 06...
– LK" have in the past topped the UK charts. A new movement has become apparent with ST Holdings and SRD supporting new UK Future Jungle Labels Run Tingz Recordings and Armageddon beats backed by the controversial international Advertising Guerrilla Media Group. Bringing back UK Jungle Music
Jungle music
Jungle music can mean:* A style of music prominently featuring the "Amen break"* Drum and bass, a form of rave music that has bassline and drum influence, but does not contain much influence from the "Amen break"...
legends from LTJ Bukem
LTJ Bukem
LTJ Bukem is the stage name used by the drum and bass musician, producer and DJ Danny Williamson . He and his record labels Good Looking and Looking Good Records are most associated with the jazzy, atmospheric side of drum and bass music....
's label Good Looking artists Bay B Kane Breakbeat Hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore is a derivative of the acid house and techno, of the late 1980s and early 1990s, that combines four-to-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats, and is associated with the UK rave scene.-The rave scene:...
heavyweight Nebula II and Original Junglist
Junglist
Junglist is a slang term first referring to a person living in an area of West Kingston, Jamaica, called Jungle. Then after as a term referring to a dedicated listener of jungle and/or drum and bass. Tracks from this genre often contain calls and references to the "original junglists" and "jungle...
Gappa G who had a big hit with Information Center after remix's from DJ Zinc
DJ Zinc
Benjamin Pettit, better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass / breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop / jungle fusion.-Biography:...
and Ray Keith.
Purchasing
Drum and bass is mostly sold in 12-inch vinyl single format. With the emergence of drum and bass into mainstream music markets, more albums, compilations and DJ mixes are sold on CDs. Still, purchasing drum and bass music can involve searching for new releases in specialized record shops or using one of the many online vinyl, CD and MP3 retailers.Drum and bass used to be purchased in the form of "tape packs
Tapepack
Tapepacks are a collection of audio cassettes that feature live recordings of a music event/s. This form of distributing music is used predominantly in the Drum and Bass/Jungle & Happy hardcore scene in the UK....
", which are a collection of recordings recorded at a selected rave or party. Each tape contains the set by one DJ at that particular rave/party including the MCs.
Most tape packs contained 8 tapes with sets from different DJs. More recently tape packs have become available on CD as tape cassettes are being phased out and recordable CD media is more available, although the CD packs still retain their traditional name of "tape packs". Most of these packs contain 6 CDs.
Distributors (Wholesale)
The bulk of drum and bass vinyl records and CDs are distributed globally and regionally by a relatively small number of companies such as SRD (Southern Record Distributors), ST Holdings, & Nu Urban.Regional scenes
Despite its roots in the UK, which can still be treated as the "home" of drum and bass, the style has firmly established itself around the world. There are strong scenes in other English-speaking countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. It is popular throughout continental Europe, and in South America. São PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
is sometimes called the drum and bass Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
. Brazilian drum and bass is sometimes referred to as "sambass
Sambass
Sambass, Drum 'n' Bossa or drum 'n' sambass is a regional sub-genre of drum and bass music mostly native to Brazil, which combines drum and bass rhythms with influences from Latin American music....
", with its specific style and sound. In Venezuela and Mexico, artists have created their own forms of drum and bass combining it with experimental musical forms. Asia also has a drum and bass scene in countries and cities like Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai and Singapore.
Media presence
Drum and Bass is widely promoted throughout the world using different methods such as: video sharing services (YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, Dailymotion
Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a video sharing service website, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement, Paris, France. According to Comscore, Dailymotion is the second largest video site in the world after YouTube....
), blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, the latter being the most uncommon method.
More recently the importance of the internet in promotion is increasing. Music networking websites such as SoundCloud
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings.-History:SoundCloud was originally started in Stockholm, Sweden, but was established in Berlin, Germany in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss...
and MixCloud have become powerful tools for artist recognition, providing a vast platform that enables quick responses to new tracks.
The more market savvy record labels have adopted the use of Podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
s, these are an efficient way for the labels to keep their fan-base up to date with news on events and products. Audience participation in Podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
s can also develop a sense of community around the label itself, strengthening its following.
Radio
The two highest profile radio stations playing drum and bass shows are The Drum and Bass Show with FabioFabio (DJ)
Fitzroy Heslop better known by his stage name of Fabio, is a drum and bass DJ and producer from the UK. Fabio has been described as one of the best DJ's of all time. He runs the Creative Source record label.-Biography:...
and Grooverider
Grooverider
Grooverider is a British drum and bass DJ.-Biography:Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio...
on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, simulcast in the US and Canada on Sirius XM, and DJ Hype
DJ Hype
DJ Hype is a stage name of drum and bass producer and DJ, Kevin Ford. His 1993 track, "Shot in the Dark", appeared in the UK Singles Chart in 1993.-Biography:...
on Kiss 100
Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
in London. The BBC's "urban" station BBC 1Xtra also features the genre heavily, with DJs Bailey and Crissy Criss as its advocates. The network also organises a week-long tour of the UK each year called Xtra Bass
Xtra Bass
Xtra Bass is a free week long drum and bass tour of the UK hosted by the BBC's digital radio station 1Xtra.2007 is the fifth year of the tour and features appearances by well established drum and bass djs such as Bailey, L Double, Fabio & Grooverider and Crissy Criss among others.The tour covers 7...
. London pirate radio stations have been instrumental in the development of Drum and Bass, with stations such as Kool FM
Kool FM
Kool FM is a London pirate radio station, started on 28 November 1991.Kool FM has stated that it has been "the very first pirate station ever to play Hardcore Jungle". Simon Reynolds called it "London's ruling pirate station" in an account of the beginnings of jungle music in the early to mid 1990s...
(which continues to broadcast today having done so since 1991), Don FM
Don FM
Don FM was an influential London pirate radio station, which along with a handful of other stations, critical in the development of Breakbeat Hardcore, Jungle and Drum and Bass music. It first broadcast in November 1992 on the frequency of 105.7FM from South West London. On the 28th March 1994, it...
(the only Drum and Bass pirate to have gained a temporary legal license), Rude FM, Origin FM, Wax Fm and Eruption amongst the most influential.
Internet Radio
Internet Radio stations, acting in same light as pirate stations, have also been an instrumental part in promoting drum and bass music; the majority of them funded by listener and artist donations. Sites such as Bassdrive (est. 1999), JungleTrain (est. 2001), DnbRadio (est. 2002) were among the first and currently the stations of the 21st century.Satellite Radio
In North America, XM Satellite, 89.5 CIUT (Toronto), Album 88.5 (Atlanta) and C89.5fm (Seattle) have shows showcasing drum and bass. Seattle also has a long standing electronica show known as Expansions on 90.3 FM KEXP. The rotating DJ's include Kid Hops, whose shows are made up mostly of drum and bass. In Columbus, Ohio WCBE 90.5 has a two hour electronic only showcase, "All Mixed Up," Saturday nights at 10pm. At the same time WUFM 88.7 plays its "Electronic Playground." Also, Tulsa, Oklahoma's rock station, 104.5 The Edge, has a two hour show starting at 10:00PM Saturday nights called Edge Essential Mix mixed by DJ Demko showcasing electronic and drum and bass style. While the aforemention shows in Ohio rarely play drum and bass the latter plays the genre with some frequency. In Tucson, Arizona 91.3 FM KXCIKXCI
KXCI is a "community radio" radio station that serves Tucson, Arizona. KXCI broadcasts on the frequency of 91.3 MHz. Programs include talk shows, music shows and call-in shows...
has a two hour electronic show known as "Digital Empire", Friday nights at 10pm (MST). Resident DJ Trinidad showcases various styles of electronica, with the main focus being drum and bass, jungle & dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
. Founded in 2002, Digital Empire features weekly guest DJs and producers, as well as an extensive online playlist and live webstream at KXCI's website.
Other
In New Zealand, Aeon hosts a 4 hour Drum & Bass show called System Bypass on 105.4 BOPFM (Tauranga) every Sunday night from 7:00pm to 11:00pm, featuring some of New Zealand's, and the world's, latest Dnb tunes. Aeon also hosts a Dubstep show every Thursday on BOPFM.In Auckland, DJ Dub Panda and HT host a 3hr drum and bass and dubstep show called The Sunday Lax on 87.9FM from 1pm-4pm, featuring the very latest and greatest in global and NZ drum n bass and dubstep.In Australia, Spikey Tee plays an hour long Drum and Bass show, every Saturday night at 2am on 97.7 fm Sbs Radio Alchemy(Sydney)
In the Philippines, 103.5 Max FM has "The Bass Hour" every Saturday at midnight that caters to nothing but bass music.
In France, the American University of Paris
American University of Paris
The American University of Paris is a private, independent, and accredited liberal arts and sciences university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe...
has a two-hour Drum and Bass program called "Jungle B Eyrie" hosted every Wednesday at 6pm +1GMT.
In Belgium, the national radio station "Studio Brussel" has a weekly show called "Jungle Fever" the radio show is hosted by Murdock, one of the famous Drum n Bass dj's in Belgium.
In Estonia, Radio 2 has two shows, which play DnB – "Tramm ja Buss" (hosted by dj/producer S.I.N & the legend in Estonian D'n'B sceen Raul Saaremets) and "Tjuun In" (hosted by Qba, To-Sha and L.Eazy).
Magazines
The best known drum and bass publication was Kmag magazine(formerly called Knowledge Magazine) before it went completely online in August 2009. Other publications include the longest running drum and bass magazine worldwide ATM Magazine, and Austrian-based ResidentResident (magazine)
resident is an Austrian music magazine with strong focus on the German speaking drum'n'bass scene. Its released quarterly and includes a mix CD featuring a regional label or artist....
. Toronto-based Rinse Magazine, dedicated to the North American drum and bass scene, and established in 2002 by publisher John Tan, ran for 28 issues, ending in 2007. The editor was Richard Yuzon. London based 'DJ' magazine has also been running a widely respected drum and bass reviews page since 1993, written by Alex Constantinides, which many followers refer to when seeking out new releases to investigate.
Literature
- A History of Rock Music, 1951–2000 by Piero Scaruffi (ISBN 978-0595295654), nonfiction in HTML form
- All Crews: Journeys Through Jungle / Drum and Bass Culture by Brian Belle-Fortune (ISBN 0-9548897-0-3), nonfiction
- "Roots 'n Future" in Energy Flash by Simon Reynolds, Picador (ISBN 0-330-35056-0), nonfiction (British edition)
- Generation Ecstasy : Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture by Simon Reynolds, Routledge. (ISBN 0415923735), nonfiction (American edition)
- Rumble in the Jungle: The Invisible History of Drum and Bass by Steven Quinn, in: Transformations, No 3 (2002), nonfiction (ISSN 1444-377) PDF file
- State of Bass: Jungle - The Story So FarState of Bass: Jungle - The Story So FarState of Bass: Jungle - The Story So Far , published in 1997, was the first book length account of the dance music genre drum'n'bass. The book was written by renowned music journalist Martin James who went on to write several other critically acclaimed books on the dance music.State of Bass...
by Martin James, Boxtree (ISBN 0-7522-2323-2), nonfiction - The Rough Guide to Drum 'n' Bass by Peter ShapiroPeter ShapiroPeter Shapiro is a freelance music journalist, who has written for Spin, URB, Music Week, Uncut, Vibe, The Wire and The Times.-Literary works:*The Rough Guide to Hip-hop*The Rough Guide to Soul and R'n'B...
and Alexix Maryon (ISBN 1-85828-433-3), nonfiction - King RatKing Rat (1998 novel)King Rat is the debut novel by China Miéville. Unlike his Bas-Lag novels, it is not a New Weird story but an Urban Fantasy, set in London during the late 1990's. It follows the life of Saul Garamond after the death of his father and his meeting with King Rat...
by China MiévilleChina MiévilleChina Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
(ISBN 0-330-37098-7), fiction
Online
Drum and bass has a very strong, important and vocal online presence with many dedicated portals, forums, communities and internet radio stations – the internet has to much degree superseded the role of pirate radio stations in spreading and popularising the genre, as the stations have switched to newer genres. Internet sites are a source of the latest mixes (professional or amateur) and tracks by unsigned producers Drum and Bass for unsigned artists. The dominant and most popular websites are Dogs On AcidDogs On Acid
Dogs On Acid , is a UK-based electronic music website, established in 2001.-History:Dogs On Acid began life as a community on Bad Company's website, bcrecordings.com, back in 2000. One of the group's members, Dan Fresh, intended the community to be a place to discuss up-and-coming releases, mixes...
and Drum and Bass Arena
Drum and Bass Arena
Drum and Bass Arena is a drum & bass music website and brand, established in 1996. It offers up to date information on the worldwide drum and bass scene, and has an online shop, forum and digital download section...
. YouTube has played a major role for Drum and Bass on the internet with the appearance of Pandadnb in 2006, DnBrevolution in 2007 and later followed by Drum and Bass Arena, UKF and various other successful channels.
Mainstream acceptance
Certain drum and bass releases have found mainstream popularity in their own right, almost always material prominently featuring vocals.Perhaps the earliest example was Goldie's Timeless
Timeless (Goldie album)
Timeless is the 1995 debut album from Goldie and is a groundbreaking release in the history of drum and bass music. The album blended the complex, chopped and layered breakbeats and deep basslines of jungle and drum and bass with expansive, symphonic strings and atmospherics, and female vocals,...
album of 1995, along with Reprazent's Mercury Music Prize-winning New Forms
New Forms
New Forms is the debut album by the drum and bass act Roni Size / Reprazent and was released in 1997. The double-disc set was the winner of the Mercury Music Prize in 1997, and often cited as their magnum opus. In the UK, the first disc was released by itself, while two different vinyl versions exist...
in 1997, 4hero's Mercury nominated Two Pages
Two Pages
Two Pages is an album by the English band 4hero, which was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 1998 . Many cite it as very influential on the broken beat sound emerging around this time....
in 1998, and Pendulum's Hold Your Colour
Hold Your Colour
Hold Your Colour is the debut full-length album by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. The album was mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis in London. It was released in 2005 and reissued in 2007 by Breakbeat Kaos...
in 2005 (the biggest selling Drum And Bass album of all time.) Tracks such as Shy FX and T-Power's "Shake UR Body" gained a UK Top 40 Chart placing in 2005.
Video games such as Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
' Grand Theft Auto series have contained drum and bass tracks. The MSX/MSX 98 radio station by DJ Timecode
Timecode (DJ)
Timecode, real name Rob Playford, is a UK drum and bass DJ, producer and record label owner.-Biography:He is best known as founder of Moving Shadow—one of the biggest record labels in the drum and bass scene named Moving Shadow, formed in 1990—and as engineer and producer for Goldie on...
in Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar North and Rockstar Leeds. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto series...
, played drum and bass exclusively.
The genre has some popularity in soundtracks, for instance Hive
Hive (record producer)
Hive is the stage name of Michael Petrie , a San Francisco-based DJ, producer, and record label owner who has contributed to dozens of recordings in the drum and bass musical genre...
's "Ultrasonic Sound" was used in the Matrix's
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
soundtrack and the E-Z Rollers' song "Walk This Land" appeared in the film "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
". Ganja Kru's "Super Sharp Shooter" is heard in the 2006 film Johnny Was
Johnny Was
Johnny Was is an Irish/British gangster movie directed by Mark Hammond, written by Brendan Foley, and made in 2005 by Ben Katz Productions, Borderline Productions and Nordisk Film...
.
The Channel 4 show Skins uses the genre in some episodes. Notably in Series 1 – Episode 3 (Jal) Shy-Fx and UK Apache – Original Nuttah is played in Fazers club.
Drum and bass often makes an appearance as background music, especially in Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
and television commercials thanks to its aggressive and energetic beats. Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (United States)
Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...
's Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
programming block also employs it for television spots and show intros,like the relaunch of SCI FI Channel (1997) segue music by Jungle Sky label. However, due to the relative obscurity of the genre, most listeners would not recognize the music as drum and bass.
See also
- History of drum and bassHistory of drum and bassDrum and bass is a type of electronic dance music also known as jungle...
- JunglistJunglistJunglist is a slang term first referring to a person living in an area of West Kingston, Jamaica, called Jungle. Then after as a term referring to a dedicated listener of jungle and/or drum and bass. Tracks from this genre often contain calls and references to the "original junglists" and "jungle...
- List of jungle and drum and bass artists
- List of jungle and dnb emcees
:Category:Drum and bass record labels
- List of electronic music genres
- Oldschool jungleOldschool jungleJungle 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...
- Drum and Bass ArenaDrum and Bass ArenaDrum and Bass Arena is a drum & bass music website and brand, established in 1996. It offers up to date information on the worldwide drum and bass scene, and has an online shop, forum and digital download section...
- Dogs On AcidDogs On AcidDogs On Acid , is a UK-based electronic music website, established in 2001.-History:Dogs On Acid began life as a community on Bad Company's website, bcrecordings.com, back in 2000. One of the group's members, Dan Fresh, intended the community to be a place to discuss up-and-coming releases, mixes...
External links
- History of drum & bass, a BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
timeline on the history of drum & bass with track listings, quotes and samples