A Brief Look into Drum & Bass
“The main thing that’s excited me about Drum & Bass is the next thing”
Labeled as “Acid house” in the press, the police and mainstream media often portrayed the scene and its music as being synonymous with hedonism and drug use. Despite this backlash, raving took root, leading to the emergence of a domestic dance music industry that paved the way for the UK’s distinct sounds. Less upbeat sounds were emerging in the early 90s, signaling a shift away from the rave scene and initiating its evolution into the birth of the new UK sound.
A new urban soundtrack, combining two decades of Black music and youth culture. This blend included reggae, rare groove, hip-hop, soul, acid house, funk, hardcore, Detroit techno, and various other influences, leading to the emergence of “jungle” or “drum and bass.”
As one of the UK’s most acclaimed international exports, drum and bass bears a deep connection to the past, with roots in the early rave scene, Jamaican sound system culture, and other communities and histories specific to its birthplace and spiritual home in London, England.
Drum and bass introduced ultra-fast tempos to electronic dance music and played a pivotal role in advancing the manipulation of breakbeats. This genre further developed the practice of sampling snippets of isolated percussion from soul, jazz, and rock records, which was originally pioneered in the early days of New York hip-hop.
Drum and bass tracks are constructed using house chords, techno sound design, dancehall lyrics, and occasional reggae basslines. An aggressive tempo from 160 to 190 BPM, distinguishes it from the slower rhythms of hip-hop. It involves sample chopping, re-pitching, and tempo mapping to align the source material with the beat.
The groundwork of the Drum and Bass pattern was based on the “Amen Break” by the Winstons drummer G.C. Coleman for the song “Amen, Brother” in 1969. This six-second drum loop has changed the course of music history, being used in countless songs across genres. It continues to inspire producers and musicians to this day.
The Winstons
In the 1990s, Drum and Bass emerged as a genre that pushed the boundaries of music. Known for its high BPM and intricate drum patterns, it found a perfect companion in the “Amen Break”. The break’s fast-paced rhythm and complex drum patterns provided an ideal foundation for the energetic and frenetic style of Drum and Bass music.
The “Amen Break” had a profound impact on music culture, helping to define the sound of many different genres and inspiring countless producers and musicians to create new and innovative sounds. It is also a symbol of the power of sampling, demonstrating that music is a collaborative process and that new and exciting creations can emerge by building on the work of others.
The Amen Break isn’t just a drum solo; it’s a force of nature. It’s the beating heart of jungle music, the driving rhythm of Drum and Bass, and the backbone of countless hip-hop classics. It stands as a testament to the enduring power of music to transcend boundaries and genres.
The sound has spent the last 25-plus years infiltrating and influencing club culture worldwide. It has done so on its terms, by its rules, and at its own tempo.
In the beginning of the 90s Pirate radio stations played an incredibly vital role in the development and popularity of jungle and drum and bass. Britain has a long history with pirate radio, dating back to the 1960s with the infamous Radio Caroline. This station operated from a boat anchored in international waters, escaping the legislation in Britain to bring popular music to millions of people in the country 24 hours a day.
Fast forward to the 90s, pirate radio had been on the air for 30 years and these stations played music that wasn't available to the public, they had no agenda but to play what they loved.
It’s unfair to suggest that jungle and drum and bass pirate radio was the only thing played on the airwaves. All types of music were being played across stations. Grime, hip-hop, reggae, ragga, soul, RnB, jazz, funk, gospel, and pretty much everything else. The pirate stations were playing music for the people, by the people.
In 1991, Fabio & Grooverider joined as resident DJs, every Thursday night at Rage, they laid the groundwork for what would eventually evolve into jungle Drum and Bass. They fused breaks, house dubs, hardcore, techno, and various other elements to create something entirely different.
Rage parties first emerged during the height of the acid house era in 1988, initially hosted at the London club Heaven.
The significance of their residency cannot be overstated. Without this seminal period of experimentation, musical liberation, audacity, and determination, breakbeat culture as we recognize it today would not exist. They opened the ears and eyes to a different approach to music. Drum and bass will become almost a bastard of all music. Taking from everything and bringing it into a new format.
In the mid 1991s, Valerie Olukemi A. Olusanya a.k.a Kemistry or just “Kemi” and Jayne Conneely a.k.a. Storm, who grew up together in a small town of UK East Midlands, Kettering, met this Golden teeth guy named Clifford, who missed a lot of the “Second Summer of Love” doing graffiti and art shows in NYC and Miami. He wanted to go out with Valerie (Kemistry) so she agreed to go on a date but with one condition and it was that he comes to Rage with her. It was his introduction to raving.
Kemi and Jayne introduced Clifford a.k.a Goldie as we would come to know him, to a world that would come to define him or more accurately, the world he would come to define. The three of them started developing plans to collaborate on a label that would become Metalheadz, while Jayne and Kemi's aspirations as DJs began to take shape.
He was hooked and envisioned a record label as a lifestyle that would be “the Stüssy of hardcore,” referencing the influential streetwear brand. He would produce the music and find artists with whom he felt a kinship to release, while Kemistry and Storm would be the DJs.
In late 1991, Kemistry and Storm took over the 6-9 am Sunday slot on the pirate radio station Touchdown FM. They were aware of the sexism within the scene. Initially, Goldie was their MC, but when he started touring, they began doing their calls and track IDs live on air. It was only then that most of their listeners realized they were women.
By 1992, two directions were emerging: the pitched-up vocals and big pianos of happy hardcore, and the heavier, darker, more uncompromising, and future-focused sounds of what would eventually become known as jungle Drum and Bass.
Metalheadz was launched in 1994 and became a significant part of Storm and Kemistry’s lives. When they weren't waiting at Music House in Tottenham to cut fresh dubplates, they were handling logistics and sending orders around the world from their bedroom floor. Storm managed logistics, while Kemistry wrote the press releases, often using a dictionary to find metal-related words to describe the sounds.
The accomplishments of Kemistry & Storm, along with Goldie, shaped the perception of drum and bass. Operating under the Metalheadz label, the movement flourished as a dark, unconventional, intense, trance-like atmosphere where various cultures and groups in Britain came together. While Goldie has become the face of this era in most people's memories, the pivotal roles that Kemi and Jayne played within the label should never be forgotten.
Kemistry and Storm played a significant role in establishing a community of drum & bass enthusiasts who were driving the genre forward. They organized meetings to guide the record label's emerging producers, influencing the musical direction of tracks and determining which DJs would receive the next release.
Their back-to-back performances were all about business too, while one cued up a record, the other answered questions from spotters—enthusiasts eager to identify the latest dubplates.
In January 1999 they released their DJ-Kicks series, a 17-track, one-hour mix, that served as an inspiration for a new generation of DJs. The mix both captured the twisted spirit of their dual character, as well as marking the first female-led entry to the hugely important series. It was this release that also led to Kemi and Jayne touring the US, where the DJ Kicks release had elevated their status even further on the international scene.
Unfortunately, just a few months after releasing their groundbreaking mix, Kemistry passed away in a tragic accident on her way home from a gig. Storm tried to keep Kemistry's spirit alive through her solo sets, but the drum & bass community was deeply saddened by the loss of one of its most influential figures.
While drum and bass stayed true to many of its conventions, continuing to include live MCs and dub-influenced DJ moves like the rewind, there were also changes in taste that separated the scene’s second wave from what came before.
In 1993, Fabio, LTJ Bukem, and agent Sarah Sandy founded Speed, a weekly event held every Thursday in London’s West End. Speed became renowned for championing the deeper sounds of drum and bass, which would later be recognized as 'intelligent drum and bass'. Fabio attributes much of the night's reputation to its midweek status.
By late 1994, the jungle sound had begun to gain mainstream popularity and became increasingly complex, featuring heavily edited breakbeat percussion and bass lines. As the style grew more aggressive sonically, its association with UK gang culture also intensified.
The British government targeted underground raves, shutting them down as quickly as they could in their pursuit of peace and quiet. Consequently, most drum and bass parties were hosted in rural areas to avoid the authorities, although this also made them increasingly unpopular with residents.
Drum and bass encompass numerous subgenres such as jump-up, liquid, Neurofunk, dancefloor, minimal, and deep, each deserving its dedicated chapter in any Drum and bass history book. However, it's the foundational traditions and attitudes that have cemented Drum and Bass music's enduring longevity and fostered a fiercely loyal community of artists and fans.
These characteristics include an unwavering commitment to innovation and a strong focus on the future, continuous integration of global influences, a dedication to upholding high production standards and powerful sonic dynamics, and a firm stance of independence from mainstream and major labels.
The dichotomy of Ruido.
A moment in the present.
Indulge in the music of culture.
A moment in the present.
Indulge in the music of culture.