Neurofunk
Encyclopedia
Neurofunk 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 consecutive stabs
over the bassline
and razor-sharp backbeats. The first sounds
of neurofunk's early evolution - when diverging from techstep - can be heard on Ed Rush
and Optical
's "Funktion" single for V Recordings
and on their first album Wormhole for Virus Recordings
in 1998.
The first mention of the term was in the book Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture by Simon Reynolds
. This is where the English music critic coined the name as a result of his personal perception of stylistic shifts in techstep - back beats replacing breakbeat
s, funk harmonies replacing industrial
timbre
s and lack of emphasis on the drop
- by referring to them as, "(Neurofunk) is the fun-free culmination of jungle's strategy of cultural resistance: the eroticization of anxiety".
Konflict
formatted Optical's style into a harsher, stripped-down form with a stronger techno influence at the forefront of their tracks such as "The Beckoning" (released on Renegade Hardware
in 1999). In 2002, Sinthetix, Cause 4 Concern
, and Silent Witness & Break took Konflict's hard edge, minimalist
approach with emphasis on colder, precision beat
engineering
, harder stabs over the bassline, sharper mixdowns
and simultaneously, hastening the advancement of the style's sound design
between the periods of 2002 and 2005 along with Gridlok
, Corrupt Souls
, Noisia
, Phace
, and The Upbeats
. Gridlok also worked on sampling
big band
horn arrangements during his time on Violence Recordings, bridging the gap between the subgenre's techno and jazz influences yet, maintaining the elements of classic neurofunk dissonance
and minimalism in his music.
As the subgenre developed, with artists starting as purists and later changing their musical direction into broader musical settings, so new artists have emerged to fill the vacuum, re-energizing the sound by taking production back to its roots.
Between 2007 and 2008, a decade after the pioneering artists first established neurofunk's technical soundscape
, the style was enhanced with a series of diverse, forward thinking debut albums set to redefine its concept production with the rough-cut antics of Break The System by Gridlok (Project 51/CD/2007); the minimal techno
-funk fueled Psycho by Phace (Subtitles Music/2007); the blending of rhythmic guitar chord progressions on Black Lotus by Mindscape (Citrus Recordings/2007); the melodic
experiments
of My Light Year by Telemetrik (BSE Recordings
/2008), the highly conceptual and intensive Nobody's Out There by The Upbeats (Bad Taste Recordings/2007), and the innovative Black Box singles compilation (Syndrome Audio Recordings/CD/2008), featuring various artists and highlighting remix
es by second and third-wave producers, among the second-wave, Phace and Misanthrop contrasting the rhythmic grit of third-wave producers Chook, Dose & Menace.
Silent Witness & Break began producing their groundbreaking tracks when recruited by legendary No U-Turn, label founder/producer Nico who released their first singles "Contact" and "Higher Rates" (No U-Turn Recordings/2002 and 2003) with Silent Witness eventually establishing his own DNAudio imprint with partner, DJ
Squire as an outlet for his music alongside Break's and Survival's. UK
's DNAUDIO crew have since combined both techstep and neurofunk subgenres as their signature approach to drum and bass with Break often using stark, amen
influenced breakbeat
s in his solo tunes. By mid 2008, Silent Witness, Break & Survival released their first album, Hard Times on DNAudio Recordings composed of powerful breakbeats and back beats, upfront low-end basslines and soaring, futuristic
production.
As an MC and lyricist
, Ryme Tyme played the neurofunk style as an integral member of Ed Rush & Optical's live, DJ sets and studio
sessions.
As a producer, Ryme Tyme's combined vision and recording techniques are highlighted by his track "We Enter" (produced by Ryme Tyme/Optical RMXS
/No U-Turn Recordings/1999), along with "Payback" (produced by Ryme Tyme/DSCI4 Records/1999), "White Lightning" (produced by Optical & Ryme Tyme/The Creeps album/Virus Recordings/2000), "Abyss Remix" (produced by Ryme Tyme & Nasis/1210 Recordings/2001) and "Lightsleeper" (produced by Ryme Tyme, Matrix & Fierce/C4CLTD/2002). Some of these tracks were compiled for the album entitled Ryme Tyme (1210 Recordings/2001), consisting mainly of his 12-inch single
s for 1210 Recordings.
and his blending of jazz, rock and funk genres
, the switching of his trumpet on to wah-wah pedals and marshall stacks
and the use of distortion.
Neurofunk is mainly characterized by mid-range
, synthesizer
sounds intertwined with an opening and closing filter
on a funk influenced bassline. The concept of distortion on bass and brass
instrumentation was innovated by Miles Davis during his late 1960s period after listening to The Jimi Hendrix Experience
and Sly & the Family Stone
, becoming a significant feature in his development of jazz fusion
.
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
which emerged between 1997 and 1998 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
as a progression of techstep. It was further developed by juxtaposed elements of heavier and harder forms of 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...
with multiple influences ranging 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...
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and 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...
, distinguished by consecutive stabs
Stab (music)
In music, a stab is a single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition. Stabs are usually provided by horns , thus the term horn stab, or an orchestral sample, usually occur on a 1-beat, and are frequently used in funk, freestyle, and ska.As well, stabs are used in electronic music,...
over the bassline
Bassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
and razor-sharp backbeats. The first sounds
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...
of neurofunk's early evolution - when diverging from techstep - can be heard on 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 Optical
Optical (artist)
Matt Quinn, better known as Optical, is a drum and bass producer and DJ from England.He is best known for his work with Ed Rush, fellow head of the Virus Recordings label, and as a pioneer of the techstep and neurofunk sound...
's "Funktion" single for V Recordings
V Recordings
V Recordings is a drum and bass record label, based in London. Started by DJs Bryan Gee and Jumping Jack Frost, V Recordings is one of the longest-running Drum and Bass imprints, with a large catalogue of releases stretching back to 1993...
and on their first album Wormhole for Virus Recordings
Virus Recordings
Virus Recordings is an influential UK-based drum and bass record label, specialising in the techstep and neurofunk sub-genres. Founded by Ed Rush and Optical in 1998, the label is known as the main home of the duo as well as Fierce, Matrix, and MC Ryme Tyme...
in 1998.
The first mention of the term was in the book Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture by Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
. This is where the English music critic coined the name as a result of his personal perception of stylistic shifts in techstep - back beats replacing breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
s, funk harmonies replacing industrial
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...
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 and lack of emphasis on the drop
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....
- by referring to them as, "(Neurofunk) is the fun-free culmination of jungle's strategy of cultural resistance: the eroticization of anxiety".
Overview
Konflict
Konflict, also known under their separate artist names Kemal and Rob Data, were a musical duo that composed Drum and Bass music, consisting of Kemal Okan and Robert Rodgers. Their music had a strong techno influence and it was influential in the shaping of the neurofunk sub-genre...
formatted Optical's style into a harsher, stripped-down form with a stronger techno influence at the forefront of their tracks such as "The Beckoning" (released on Renegade Hardware
Renegade Hardware
Renegade Hardware is one of the major record labels in the drum and bass music industry.-History:Creatively born in 1995 Renegade Hardware has without question cemented itself as one of the most pioneering Drum & Bass labels in the world....
in 1999). In 2002, Sinthetix, Cause 4 Concern
Cause 4 Concern
Cause 4 Concern is a drum and bass recording and production group, consisting of Ed Holmes , Mark Clements , Stuart Perkins , and Tobie Burrows. Founded in 1999, the group initially signed with Moving Shadow label under the alias nCode...
, and Silent Witness & Break took Konflict's hard edge, minimalist
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
approach with emphasis on colder, precision beat
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
engineering
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, harder stabs over the bassline, sharper mixdowns
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and simultaneously, hastening the advancement of the style's sound design
Sound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
between the periods of 2002 and 2005 along with Gridlok
Gridlok
Ryan Powell, also known as Gridlok, is an American drum and bass producer and DJ.- Music career :Gridlok was raised in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and trained as a classical violinist. He soon found himself edging away from the constraints of a traditional musical education...
, Corrupt Souls
Corrupt Souls
Corrupt Souls was a drum and bass group from Washington D.C, United States. The members were Telemetrik and Impulse . Alvarado has gone on to release a solo album in 2008 titled "My Lightyear" on Black Sun Empire Recordings....
, Noisia
Noisia
Noisia, stylized as NOISIΛ , is a Dutch Electronic music trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen, The Netherlands. They now produce a wide variety of music including drum and bass, dubstep, breakbeat and house music...
, Phace
Phace
Phace is the alias used by Florian Harres, a drum and bass producer and label owner from Germany. With long time friend Michael Braeuninger, more widely known as Misanthrop, they both teamed up to create the record label, Neosignal, in 2008...
, and The Upbeats
The Upbeats
The Upbeats are a drum and bass production duo consisting of Jeremy Glenn and Dylan Jones from Wellington, New Zealand. They have also produced various other genres of music including dubstep and breaks.-Biography:...
. Gridlok also worked on sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
horn arrangements during his time on Violence Recordings, bridging the gap between the subgenre's techno and jazz influences yet, maintaining the elements of classic neurofunk dissonance
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
and minimalism in his music.
As the subgenre developed, with artists starting as purists and later changing their musical direction into broader musical settings, so new artists have emerged to fill the vacuum, re-energizing the sound by taking production back to its roots.
Between 2007 and 2008, a decade after the pioneering artists first established neurofunk's technical 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...
, the style was enhanced with a series of diverse, forward thinking debut albums set to redefine its concept production with the rough-cut antics of Break The System by Gridlok (Project 51/CD/2007); the minimal techno
Minimal techno
Minimal techno is a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to...
-funk fueled Psycho by Phace (Subtitles Music/2007); the blending of rhythmic guitar chord progressions on Black Lotus by Mindscape (Citrus Recordings/2007); the melodic
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
experiments
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
of My Light Year by Telemetrik (BSE Recordings
Black Sun Empire Recordings
Black Sun Empire Recordings is a Dutch Drum and Bass record label run by production trio Micha Heyboer, Milan Heyboer & Rene Verdult aka Black Sun Empire. This record label mainly releases material from the owners, however the label has released material for various artists such as: Ill.Skillz,...
/2008), the highly conceptual and intensive Nobody's Out There by The Upbeats (Bad Taste Recordings/2007), and the innovative Black Box singles compilation (Syndrome Audio Recordings/CD/2008), featuring various artists and highlighting remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es by second and third-wave producers, among the second-wave, Phace and Misanthrop contrasting the rhythmic grit of third-wave producers Chook, Dose & Menace.
Silent Witness & Break began producing their groundbreaking tracks when recruited by legendary No U-Turn, label founder/producer Nico who released their first singles "Contact" and "Higher Rates" (No U-Turn Recordings/2002 and 2003) with Silent Witness eventually establishing his own DNAudio imprint with partner, DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Squire as an outlet for his music alongside Break's and Survival's. UK
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...
's DNAUDIO crew have since combined both techstep and neurofunk subgenres as their signature approach to drum and bass with Break often using stark, amen
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...
influenced breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
s in his solo tunes. By mid 2008, Silent Witness, Break & Survival released their first album, Hard Times on DNAudio Recordings composed of powerful breakbeats and back beats, upfront low-end basslines and soaring, futuristic
The Art of Noises
The Art of Noises is a Futurist manifesto, written by Luigi Russolo in a 1913 letter to friend and Futurist composer Francesco Balilla Pratella...
production.
Lyrical content
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”...
, Ryme Tyme played the neurofunk style as an integral member of Ed Rush & Optical's live, DJ sets and studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
sessions.
As a producer, Ryme Tyme's combined vision and recording techniques are highlighted by his track "We Enter" (produced by Ryme Tyme/Optical RMXS
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
/No U-Turn Recordings/1999), along with "Payback" (produced by Ryme Tyme/DSCI4 Records/1999), "White Lightning" (produced by Optical & Ryme Tyme/The Creeps album/Virus Recordings/2000), "Abyss Remix" (produced by Ryme Tyme & Nasis/1210 Recordings/2001) and "Lightsleeper" (produced by Ryme Tyme, Matrix & Fierce/C4CLTD/2002). Some of these tracks were compiled for the album entitled Ryme Tyme (1210 Recordings/2001), consisting mainly of his 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
s for 1210 Recordings.
Origins and influences
Besides the subgenre being an evolution of techstep, some of its origins and influences can be traced back to the late 1960s to mid 1970s period of trumpeter Miles DavisMiles 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,...
and his blending of jazz, rock and funk genres
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
, the switching of his trumpet on to wah-wah pedals and marshall stacks
Marshall Amplification
Marshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
and the use of distortion.
Neurofunk is mainly characterized by mid-range
Range (music)
In music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing voice, the equivalent is vocal range...
, 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...
sounds intertwined with an opening and closing filter
Electronic filter
Electronic filters are electronic circuits which perform signal processing functions, specifically to remove unwanted frequency components from the signal, to enhance wanted ones, or both...
on a funk influenced bassline. The concept of distortion on bass and brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
instrumentation was innovated by Miles Davis during his late 1960s period after listening to The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
and Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
, becoming a significant feature in his development of jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
.