Music / Styles A–Z / Groove and the dance floor · 10 of 35
Drum and bass
Drum and bass emerged in the UK in the early 1990s, with roots through jungle in Jamaican dub and reggae: fast breakbeats at 165 to 185 BPM over heavy sub-bass.
- Where and when
- United Kingdom, early 1990s
- Tempo
- Typically 165–185 BPM; 170–180 since about 1996
- Played on
- Sampled breakbeats, sub-bass, samplers, synthesizers
What it is
Drum and bass emerged in the UK in the early 1990s: fast breakbeats, typically 165 to 185 BPM, with heavy bass and sub-bass, samples and synthesizers. Its roots run through jungle back to Jamaican dub and reggae.
For the producer. The Amen break from the Winstons' "Amen Brother" is the most used break in the style; the Apache, Funky Drummer and Think breaks follow, and producers switch between two breaks bar by bar. The tempo rose from about 130 BPM in 1990–91 to 155–165 by 1993 and has mostly sat at 170–180 since about 1996. The bass is a deep sub you feel as much as hear; Kevin Saunderson's "Reese" bass line is one of its most copied sounds. Early pioneers worked on Akai samplers and Atari ST sequencers.
The records that made it
From the lesson Groove and the dance floor, where the sources are listed · links open a search
- 1991We Are I.E.Lennie De Ice · Often cited as a precursor.
- 1997New FormsRoni Size & Reprazent · Won the Mercury Prize.
- 1998Two Pages4hero · Nominated for the Mercury Prize.
- 2005Hold Your ColourPendulum · The best-selling drum and bass album.
Drum and bass in this month’s records
New releases the press we read wrote about, tagged drum and bass on MusicBrainz · updated with every build
No new record in the press we read is tagged drum and bass this month. The list fills as records come out.