Drum and bass
Drum and bass (aka drum'n'bass or d'n'b) emerged in the UK in the early 1990s from breakbeat hardcore and its derivatives darkcore and (hardcore) jungle. Its main characteristics are fast breakbeats in a tempo range between 165 and 185 bpm, kick drums from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and massive (sub-)bass lines. Strong influences came from dub and reggae as well as syncopated funk beats. The heartland of drum and bass were London and Bristol.
First traces of drum and bass can be found on breakbeat hardcore records like »£10 to Get In« (1989) by Shut Up and Dance, Ragga Twins' »Spliffhead« (1990), »Anything« (1991) by A Guy Called Gerald or The Prodigy’s debut album »Experience« (1992). With some hardcore tracks being very upbeat, light and »happy« – and thus would be labeled as »happy hardcore« – other producers embarked on a darker, more aggressive and complex sound which resulted in the so-called darkcore genre. The dancehall and reggae scene liked this darker sound, mixed it with their elements and created what would become known as (hardcore) jungle. With new and easier available technology like samplers and sequencing programs the editing of the breakbeats and drum loops resulted in complex beats which in turn required basslines more like the ones from dub or hip hop than from house or techno.
A bassline that inspired and was used on many jungle and drum and bass tracks – one of the first ones being »Terrorist« (1994) by Ray Keith aka Renegade – was the drone-like and so-called »Reese bassline« from »Just Want Another Chance« (1988) by Detroit techno legend Kevin »Reese« Saunderson. Other tracks using the Reese bassline include Alex Reece's »Pulp Fiction« (1995) and »Sonar« (1998) by DJ Trace. The breakbeats very often based on the famous »Amen break«from »Amen Brother« (1969) by The Winstons and the »Scorpio break« from »Scorpio« (1971) by Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band. Other popular breaks used were »Apache«, »Funky Drummer«, »Soul Pride«, »Think (About It) and »Hot Pants«.
The genre name was coined when producers/artists engaged in more and more complex drum break editing as well as got rid of the ragga elements and the term »jungle« closely associated with them. Actually, the phrase »drum and bass« has also its roots in reggae as dub versions of reggae songs were often labeled this way in the 1970s. Nevertheless, »drum and bass« and »jungle« were and are often used synonymously within the London scene. One of the earliest uses of the term »drum and bass« was the 1993 compilation »The Dark Side - Hardcore Drum & Bass Style«by React Records which included now-classics »Here Comes The Drumz« by Doc Scott aka Nasty Habits and »Terminator« by Goldie, who should become one of the genre’s most prominent artists.
»Terminator« (1992 released under the alias Metalheads) is considered as a blueprint for drum and bass, and with his successful debut album »Timeless« (1995) reaching No. 7 in the UK charts, drum and bass entered the mainstream. In 1994, Goldie and the djane duo Kemistry & Storm founded the label Metalheadz. Among the Metalhead collective was jazzstep pioneer Alex Reece, known for genre classics like »Basic Principles« (1994) and the aforementioned »Pulp Fiction« (1995). The »Metalheadz Sessions« on Sundays at the Blue Note club were an important genre hotspot featuring djs/artists like Fabio and Grooverider who are regarded as »originators« of the scene. Another important club night was Speed at the Mars Bar.
London-based label V Recordings was actually founded in 1993 by Brian Gee and Nigel Thompson aka Jumpin Jack Frost to release the music of the Bristol scene and launched the careers of Roni Size, DJ Krust, DJ Die and DJ Suv who would later be known as the Full Cycle Crew (after their label Full Cycle Records). Important V Recordings releases are »Set Speed« (1995) by DJ Krust, »Fresh« (1995) by Roni Size, and »Brand New Funk« (1998) by Adam F.
The first drum and bass track to reach No. 1 in the UK charts was »Hot Right Now « by DJ Fresh feat. Rita Ora in 2012 (one year earlier, with »Louder« DJ Fresh also had the first dubstep hit to reach No. 1 in UK charts). Despite some mainstream popularity in its homeland, outside the UK drum and bass remained more of an underground genre. Drum and bass spawned several subgenera like drumfunk, liquid funk, breakcore, techstep or drill’n’bass. It also was an important influence on genres like digital hardcore (as invented by German band Atari Teenage Riot ), grime or dubstep.
