History of drum and bass

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Main article: Drum and bass

Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated to DnB, drum n bass and drum & bass) is a type of electronic dance music also known as jungle. This article deals with the history of this musical style.

[edit] Beginnings in the UK

See also: Oldschool jungle

Drum and bass began as a musical paradigm shift of the United Kingdom breakbeat hardcore and rave scene of the late 1980s; and over the first decade and a half of its existence there have been many permutations in its style, incorporating elements from dancehall, electro, funk, hiphop, house, jazz, metal, pop, reggae, rock, techno and trance.

The symbol of early Acid house

Early drum and bass (referred to initially as jungle) evolved from the acid house period in the UK in the late 1980s. Acid house laid the foundations for both hardcore and jungle. Key acid house tracks in the evolution were Renegade Soundwave's 'The Phantom' and 'Ozone Breakdown' (both 1988), Meat Beat Manifesto's 'Radio Babylon' (1989), 808 State's 'Cubik' (1990), and Humanoid's 'Stakker Humanoid' (1988); all are examples of acid-era experimentation with broken beats and acoustic, analogue, and digital basslines / subsonic frequencies. In addition, the bleep techno (or Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass) sound of 1989 - 1991 would prove hugely influential, featuring bass-heavy cuts by acts such as Unique 3, Nexus 21, Nightmares on Wax and LFO, and spearheaded by Sheffield's Warp Records. The third immediate and direct influence on drum and bass' existence was the 'Belgian Techno' sound, actually an internationally-created fusion of hardcore, house and techno (with a strong accent of both the UK industrial and Belgian New Beat sounds), pioneered by Joey Beltram, LA Style, Frank De Wulf, CJ Bolland, Richie Hawtin and others. This scene existed briefly from approximately 1989-1992, a period of cross-pollination with the UK hardcore sound. This sound did survive in various forms in its mother countries - primarily Belgium, Holland and Germany - beyond 1992, but by then the general scenes in these countries had moved forwards to trance, industrial techno or gabba (with happy hardcore / hard house being the equivalent 'Belgian Techno' - derivative sounds in the UK).

 Music sample:

Rebel Mc "Wickedest Sound" (1991)

30 second sample illustrating dancehall ragga vocals combined with a broken beat.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Returning to the UK, drum and bass (as jungle) has its direct origins in the breakbeat hardcore part of the UK acid house rave scene. Hardcore DJs typically played their records at fast tempos, and breakbeat hardcore emphasised breakbeats over the 4-to-the-floor beat structure common to house music. Breakbeat hardcore records such as Lennie De Ice's "We are I.E" (1991), The Prodigy's "Experience" (1992), Rebel MC's "Comin On Strong" feat Tenor Fly (Rough Neck Mix) (1990), 'Wickedest Sound' (1991) and "Tribal Bass" (1991), Shut Up And Dance's "£10 to get in" / "£20 to get in" (both 1989), the Ragga Twins' "Spliffhead" (1990), Genaside II's "Sirens of Acre Lane" (1990) and "Narramine" (1991), DJ Dextrous' "Ruffneck Biznizz" (1992), Nightmares On Wax's "Aftermath" (1990) and LTJ Bukem's "Demon's Theme" (1992) are generally credited as being among the first to have a recognizable drum and bass sound.^[1] The very first record would arguably be Meat Beat Manifesto's "Radio Babylon", recorded in 1989, and is still recognisably 'drum and bass' in sound today.

Some hardcore tracks at the time were extremely light and upbeat; the most extreme example of this were the so called "toy-town" tracks such as Smart E's' "Sesame's Treat" which features the children's show "Sesame Street" theme song. This style of hardcore would many years later be known as happy hardcore.

In response to these lighter tracks, some producers started focusing on darker, more aggressive sounds; this style became known as darkside hardcore, or darkcore. Strange noises and effects, syncopated rhythms made from rearranged funk breaks and loud bass lines defined the genre. Examples of darkcore include Goldie's "Terminator" (1992), Rufige Kru's 'Darkrider' (1992), Top Buzz's "Living In Darkness" (1992) and Nasty Habits' (aka Doc Scott) "Here Comes the Drumz" (1992). These took their cue from the darker sounds of 'Belgian Techno', as found in tracks such as Beltram's "Mentasm" and "Energy Flash" (1991), as well as the dark breaks of 4 Hero's "Mr Kirks Nightmare" (1990) and The Psychopaths' "Nightmare" (1991) among other examples. These tracks were not widely called jungle or drum and bass by the mainstream media at their time of creation (although the terms "jungle" and "jungle techno" were in common use in the rave scene by then, with "drum & bass" appearing here and there on particular mixes of several vinyl releases), but they can nevertheless be found on later jungle and drum and bass compilations. The first major round-up of these tracks which was to use the term 'drum & bass' was probably "The Dark Side - Hardcore Drum & Bass Style": a compilation on React Records, released March 1993, which featured both "Here Comes The Drumz" and "Terminator". ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

This darker, more aggressive sound appealed to many in the dancehall and reggae communities. Both darkcore and dancehall shared an emphasis on rhythm and bass, and the tempos were well suited to be mixed together. Soon many elements of dancehall reggae were being incorporated into the hardcore sound.

The Jamaican sound-system culture began to influence the emerging sound through the use of basslines and remixing techniques derived from dub and reggae music, alongside the fast breakbeats and samples derived from urban musics such as hip hop, funk, jazz, and r&b alongside many production techniques borrowed from early electronic music such as house, and techno.

As the yet un-named genre evolved, the use of sampled funk breakbeats became increasingly complex. Most notable and widely spread is the Amen break taken from a b-side funk track "Amen, Brother" by the Winston Brothers^[12]). During this time producers began cutting apart loops and using the component drum sounds to create new rhythms. To match the complex drum lines, basslines which had less in common with the patterns of house and techno music than with the phrasings of dub and hip hop began to be used. As the beat-per-minute range rose above 165, the emerging drum and bass sound became incompatible for straight-forward DJ mixing with house and techno, which typically range dozens of beats-per-minute less (making it impossible to play the tracks at the same speed on club equipment). This sonic identity became highly-distinctive for both the depth of its bass and the increasingly-complex, rapid-fire breakbeat percussion. Vastly different rhythmic patterns were distinctively being used, as well as new types of sampling, synthesis and effects processing techniques, resulting in a greater focus on the intricacies of sampling/synthesis production and rhythm. This notably included early use of the time stretching effect which was often used on percussion or vocal samples. As the influences of reggae and dub became more prominent, the sound of drum and bass began to take on an urban sound which was heavily influenced by ragga and dancehall music as well as hip hop, often incorporating the distinctive vocal styles of these musical genres. This reggae/dancehall influenced sound is most commonly associated with the term jungle.

 Music sample:

A Guy Called Gerald "28 Gun Bad Boy" (1992)

30 second sample illustrating the combination of basslines, broken beats, rave melody and aesthetics.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Particular tracks from the 1992 - 1993 period that demonstrated some of the beat and sampling progression within drum and bass include: A Guy Called Gerald's "28 Gun Bad Boy", 2 Bad Mice "Bombscare" (1992), Kaotic Kemistry "Illegal Subs" (1992), DJ Crystl "Warpdrive" (1993), Foul Play "Open Your Mind" (Remix) (1993), Bizzy B "Ecstacy is a Science" (1993) and Danny Breaks / Droppin Science "Droppin Science vol 1" (1993). This was an ongoing process however and can be demonstrated as a gradual progression over dozens of tracks in this period.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] [23] [24]}

[edit] Early pioneers

Goldie, one of the pioneers of drum and bass music and perhaps its most widely recognized face

Pioneers such as Andy C, Aphrodite, Bizzy B, Danny Breaks, Brockie, DJ Dextrous, DJ Hype, DJ SS, Fabio, Grooverider, Goldie, The Invisible Man, Kenny Ken, Krome & Time, LTJ Bukem, Omni Trio, Ray Keith, Rebel MC, Remarc, Rob Playford, Roni Size, and others quickly became stars of the genre. Most of the early producers and DJs (of the music then mostly called jungle) still produce and play in today's drum and bass scene, forming something of a jungle 'old guard'.^{[25][26] [27]} Some important early artists such as A Guy Called Gerald with his seminal early jungle LP, "Black Secret Technology") and 4hero ("Mr Kirk's Nightmare") later developed their own styles, leaving the drum and bass mainstream. ^{[28][29] [10] [10]}

These early pioneers heavily used Akai samplers, Roland TR-808s and sequencers on the Atari ST to create their tracks.^[30] Without these electronic instruments, the first wave of consumer priced but versatile electronic instruments, it is doubtful drum and bass (or many electronic music styles) could have appeared.

[edit] Jungle name

See also: Jungle

While the origin of the term 'jungle' music to refer to the developing electronic sound of the 1990s is debatable, the emergence of the term in musical circles can be roughly traced to Jamaican/Caribbean toasting (a pre-cursor to modern MCs), circa 1970. References to 'jungle', 'junglists' and 'jungle music' can be found throughout dub, reggae and dancehall genres from that era up until today. It has been suggested that the term 'junglist' was a reference to a person either from a section of Kingston, Trenchtown also known as 'the Concrete Jungle' or from a different area, 'the Gardens', which was a leafy area colloquially referred to as 'the Jungle'. The first documented use of the term in drum and bass is within a song featuring jungle producer and lyricist Rebel MC - "Rebel got this chant alla the junglists".

[edit] Junglists

Main article: Junglist

"When I'm weak, you're tellin' me that I'm strong. When I'm right, you're tellin' me that I'm wrong! But I know, now I understand, now I see, I see your wicked plan. I'm a junglist!" - Tribe of Issachar "Junglist" (Congo Natty) 1996

The appearance of jungle also resulted in the appearance of the junglist subculture, which, while not nearly as distinctive, alienated, ideological or obvious as other youth subcultures, and having many similarities with hip hop styles and behaviour, does function distinctively within the drum and bass listening community. Many drum and bass listeners would and do refer to themselves as junglists, regardless of their attitude on whether jungle differs from drum and bass (see below). ^[11]

[edit] Jungle to drum and bass

The phrase "drum and bass" had been used for years previously in the London soul and funk pirate radio scenes and was even a bit of a catchphrase for UK Radio 1's R&B Guru Trevor Nelson in his pirate days, who used it to describe the deeper, rougher funk and "rare groove" sound that was popular in London at the time. A station ID jingle used on legendary London pirate Kiss FM from the late 1980s would proclaim "drum and bass style on Kiss".

However, as the early nineties saw drum and bass break out from its underground roots and begin to win popularity with the general British public, many producers attempted to expand the influences of the music beyond the domination of ragga-based sounds. By 1995, a counter movement to the ragga style was emerging, dubbed "intelligent" drum and bass by the music press, and its ambassador was LTJ Bukem and his Good Looking label alongside Moving Shadow artists such as Foul Play, Omni Trio and Cloud 9.^{[31][24] [10]}

Since the term jungle was so closely related to the raggae 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. Ironically, the compilation which had 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 a ragga tune. It is fair to say the media did not help matters here by emphasising the supposed difference in styles. ^[32]

^[11]

Some say that the move to intelligent drum and bass was a conscious and concerted reaction by top DJs and producers against a culture that was becoming tinged with gangster types and violent elements, and stereotyped with the recognizable production techniques of ragga-influenced producers. The release of General Levy's "Incredible" record in 1994 is taken by many as being the key-point in the transformation. This ragga influenced track contains a statement by General Levy claiming to be the "original junglist" at a time in which he was proclaiming publicly that "I run jungle" which in turn angered the most powerful and influential drum and bass producers, resulting in a blacklisting of General Levy and a conscious step away from the ragga sound.^{[33][34] [10]}

"The whole tag jungle took on a real sinister... It just got so smashed in the press. We were like: "If we’re going to carry on we’re gonna have to change the name here, cos we’re getting slaughtered here."" - Fabio.^[10]

Intelligent drum and bass maintained the uptempo breakbeat percussion, but focused on more atmospheric sounds and warm, deep basslines over vocals or samples which often originated from soul and jazz music. It should be noted however that alongside other key producers in the scene, LTJ Bukem, arguably the single most influential figure behind the style, is especially noted for disliking the term, owing to the implication that other forms of drum and bass are not intelligent. From this period on, drum and bass would maintain the unity of a relatively-small musical culture, but one characterised by a competing group of stylistic influences. Although many DJs have specialised in distinctive sub-genres within jungle and drum and bass, the majority of artists within the genre were and remain connected via record labels, events and radio shows.

The mid 1990s also saw a large splintering of the drum and bass scene. Each sub-genre would tend to be known by its name as opposed to either jungle or drum and bass, though today all sub-genres are usually grouped by the umbrella term drum and bass.

Alongside the evolution of intelligent drum and bass, the ragga jungle sound became more stripped-down and also evolved; The complex chopped beats were dropped in favor of simplified rhythms featuring loud, aggressive-sounding snare drums. This hard percussive style eventually became known as hardstep. Simultaneously, certain producers developed a more-hip hop and funk influenced style known as jump-up, which was and is exemplified by artists like Mickey Finn and Aphrodite (with their Urban Takeover label), and the releases on the Ganja Kru's True Playaz label. Outside these genres, which became the most popular styles, other artists pushed a smoother, dubby style of music which had more in common with the jazzy and soulful interests of intelligent drum and bass. Records in this style were often referred to as rollers.

 Music sample:

Adam F's "Circles" (1995)

30 second sample. Notice the subtle usage of drums and melodic elements, as contrasted to previous music samples. It still contains a fast broken beat but the beat is less audible.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Through 1996, hardstep and jump-up sounds became very popular in clubs and at raves, whereas intelligent drum and bass pushed a sound which was considered more accessible to the home listener. This, combined with the popularity amongst the intelligentsia of the nascent techstep style, resulted in mainstream attention. CD album releases by 4 Hero and Goldie with his classic Timeless album (engineered and produced by Rob Playford) were more accessible to listeners both in the musical and actual buying sense than the underground dubplates which characterised the club-based styles and quickly became the calling-card of drum and bass.^[35][36] Stylistically, drum and bass began to adopt an ever more diverse range of influences, crossbreeding with many other forms of dance music to produce a series of hybrid sounds. In 1997, a sound which was influenced by the double-bass work of jazz musicians came to the forefront, producing a funky, accessible style which achieved mainstream success for artists such as Roni Size and Reprazent, having been instigated by the huge success of Adam F's 1995 double-bassline powered track, "Circles" and Goldie's with his Timeless and Saturnzreturnz album.^[26] The group's "New Forms" album won the UK's Mercury Prize, and their innovative live band helped drum and bass to break out of the DJ circuit, winning acclaim for performances at music festivals and on television shows.^{[37] [11]}

Around this time, drum and bass also sealed its popularity by winning a Friday night slot on Radio One, the BBC's flagship radio station, the legendary "One in the jungle" show. Initially presented by a revolving groups of jungle luminaries, hosted by MC Navigator, the station eventually secured the presenting services of Fabio and Grooverider, two of the oldest and most-respected DJs in the scene. Many DJs made a suddent shift from pirate radio to legal radio at this time.

It should be noted that up to this point, pirate radio was the only radio source of jungle music and in particular Kool FM's and Rush FM's contribution to the development of this sound should not be overlooked or denied. ^[10] It is doubtful whether jungle would have gained popularity without pirate radio stations. It should also be noted that the transition in name from "jungle" to "drum and bass" occurs at the same time as its legal appearance on airwaves.^{[38] [27]}

One another aspect to note in the evolution of drum and bass is that the advent of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 specifically aimed at stopping illegal raves prompted the move of jungle (and other electronic music genres) into legal (mostly) nightclubs.

"Each new hour holds new chances. For new beginnings. Do not be wedded forever. To fear, yoked eternally. To brutishness. The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change." - Ltj Bukem "Horizons" (Looking Good) 1995

[edit] Jungle vs. drum and bass

 Music sample:

4 track illustration of the evolution and continuity of the drum and bass sound

2 minute sample. This clip contains 4 tracks ranging from proto-jungle "Tribal Bass" (1991) to a jungle "Here I Come" (1995) to an ominous early drum and bass remix (1995) to a white label modern drum and bass remix in the jump up style (2005?). All contain the same Barrington Levy vocals (originally contained in the title song of the album Here I Come). Listen and compare the sound. Barrington Levy's vocals illustrate the wide degree of cross over with dancehall/ragga.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Nowadays the difference between jungle (or oldschool jungle) 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 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) has some popularity, but is not widespread elsewhere. Probably the widest held viewpoint is that the terms are simply synonymous and interchangeable: drum and bass is jungle, and jungle is drum and bass. ^[10]

"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^[39]

In noting the controversy over the terms, it should be noted that the majority of the previously listed early pioneers of what was called jungle music when it appeared, today continue to produce broken beat strong bass-line music nowadays called drum and bass.

[edit] The birth of techstep and "drum and bass" is dead

 Music sample:

Bad Company's The Nine (1998)

30 second sample. This eponymuous techstep tune contains all the ominous and dark elements of its subgenre and is regularly stated as a favourite by listeners and producers. Compare it to the lighter sounds of Circles or Warhead. Bassline once again is limited by ogg file constraints.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

As a lighter sound of drum and bass began to win over the musical mainstream, many producers continued to work on the other end of the spectrum, resulting in a series of releases which highlighted a dark, technical sound which drew more influence from techno music and the soundscapes of science fiction and anime films. This style was championed by the labels Emotif and No U-Turn, and artists like Doc Scott, Trace, Ed Rush and Optical, and Dom and Roland, and is commonly referred to as techstep, which in turn gave birth to the neurofunk subgenre. A significant influence on techstep producers was the effect of high THC content marijuana on sensibilities as compared to the earlier ecstasy-fuelled rave scene.^[40] Techstep focused intensely on studio production and applied new techniques of sound generation and processing to older Jungle approaches. Self-consciously underground, and lacking the accessible influences of much other drum and bass, techstep is deeply atmospheric, often characterized by sinister or science-fiction themes (including samples from cult films), cold and complex percussion, and dark, distorted basslines. The sound was a conscious move back towards the darker sounds of Belgian Techno and Darkside Hardcore (again the already mentioned darkcore), albeit with a greater electro / techno emphasis than darkcore. ^[41]

The sound also marked a period when drum and bass became more insular and began to draw inspiration from itself rather than other musical genres. The sampler at this time became less important with home computer equipment and generated beats and sounds becoming capable of creating an entire drum and bass track from scratch.

As the 1990s drew to a close, drum and bass withdrew from mainstream popularity and concentrated on the new more ominous sounds which were popular in clubs, rather than on mainstream radio. Techstep came to dominate the drum and bass genre, with artists like Konflict and Bad Company amongst the most visible. As time went on, techstep became more minimal, and increasingly dark in tone, and the funky, commercial appeal represented by Roni Size back in 1997 waned. A characteristic of this was the increasing disproportion of male to female club goers and a generally more aggressive and dark atmosphere at clubs.^[42][43]

The withdrawal of drum and bass from the mainstream was not only a result of its growing fascination with its own (progressively darker) sound, but also resulted from the explosive birth and growing popularity of UK garage (2 step and 4x4 garage, aka speed garage), a musical genre heavily influenced by jungle, with similar beats, vocal and basslines but slower speeds and more friendly (or at least radio-friendly) beats.^{[44] [45]}Drum and bass suddenly found itself losing popularity and established drum and bass producers expressed shock at its sudden alienation and abandonment by the general public.^[46] This turn fuelled the harder sound of techstep. ^[10]

"And then garage came along: the death knell for drum and Bass. It was the new drum and bass. It was the biggest kick in the teeth for us ever...Yeah! They had all the girls, it was where all the girls from the jungle scene had gone. drum and bass was at its worst." - Fabio.^[10]

Perhaps ironically despite media declarations that "drum and bass/jungle is dead" and killed by garage, drum and bass has survived after a difficult period with the turn of the millennium seeing an increasing movement to "bring the fun back into drum and bass", heralded by the chart success enjoyed by singles from Andy C and Shimon ("Bodyrock") and Shy FX and T Power ("Shake UR Body").^[47][48][24] In the clubs there was a new revival of rave-oriented sounds, as well as remixes of classic jungle tracks that capitalised on nostalgia and an interest in the origins of the music. Many felt that drum and bass music had weathered the ignorance, then support, and then hostility, of the mainstream media (which had declared that "drum and bass is dead" in the late 90s), and that the revival of chart success indicated that the style was more than a passing fashion.^[49]

In turn, UK garage, after a brief period of extreme popularity, has found itself pushed to the underground and mostly superseded by grime. Drum and bass' survival reflects the tenacity of its original producers and artists who continued and continue to produce drum and bass, as well as the vitality of the new generation of producers, such as London Elektricity.^[50]

[edit] Since 2000

Since the revival in popularity of the genre in circa 2000, the drum and bass scene has become very diverse, despite its relatively-small size, to the point where it is difficult to point to any one subgenre as the dominant style though techstep appears to be losing its previous dominance, with a "return to old skool" movement apparent in tracks & clubs.^[51]

In 1998, Fabio began championing a form he called "liquid funk".^[52] In 2000 he released a compilation release of the same name on his Creative Source label. This was characterised by influences from disco and house, and widespread use of vocals. Although slow to catch on at first, the style grew massively in popularity around 2002-2004, and by 2004 it was established as one of the biggest-selling subgenres in drum and bass, with labels like Hospital Records, State of the Art Recordings and Soul: R and artists including High Contrast, Calibre, Solid State, Nu:Tone, London Elektricity and Logistics among its main proponents. Having mentioned these artists, it should be noted that Alex Reece and LTJ Bukem were amongst the first producers to experiment fully with deep smooth drum and bass, and as such could be considered the forerunners of liquid funk.

 Music sample:

Aphrodite "Ganja Man" (2002)

30 second sample. A modern jump-up track with simple beats, a Lauryn Hill sample and vocal throwbacks to the ragga era of jungle

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

The decade also saw the revival of jump-up. Referred to as "nu jump up", or pejoratively as clownstep, this kept the sense of fun and the simplistic, bouncing basslines from the first generation of jump up, but with tougher and more edgey production values, including increased sound compression. Notable artists are DJ Hazard, DJ Clipz and Taxman.

This modern period has also seen the development of the style known as "dubwise", which returns drum and bass to its reggae-influenced roots and combines them with modern production techniques which had advanced immeasurably since the early days of jungle. Although the dub-influenced sound was not new, having long been championed by artists like Digital and Spirit, 2003-2004 saw a significant increase in its popularity and visibility.

Similarly, whilst there had long been a niche dedicated almost entirely to detailed drum programming and manipulation, championed by the likes of Paradox, the first half of this decade saw a revival and expansion in the subgenre known variously as drumfunk, "edits", or "choppage". Major labels include Inperspective and Synaptic Plastic and the new wave of artists in this style include ASC, Fanu, Breakage, Fracture and Nepture, 0=0 and Equinox.

Ravers & Goldie.

The new millennium also saw a fresh wave of live drum and bass bands. The likes of Reprazent and Red Snapper had performed live drum and bass during the 1990s, but the re-creation of London Elektricity as a live band focussed renewed interest on the idea, with acts like The Bays, Keiretsu, Southampton based Gojira, Deadsilence Syndicate and U.V Ray (feat. Yuval Gabay) as well as Birmingham's PCM, pursuing this avenue. In addition the popular Breakbeat Kaos label has begun to focus more and more on bringing a live sound into drum and bass, both in the records they release and in the live band (music played on live acoustic instruments, including guitar) night the previously signed group Pendulum have hosted in London (e.g. October 2006 at the Fabric club).

[edit] North America beginnings and scene

The rave scenes in the US (New York) and in Canada (Toronto) embraced the transition of hardcore to jungle around 1994. America's longest running party, Konkrete Jungle also born in NYC, discovered the first US drum and bass MC's Blaise (Naughty Ride), Panic and Johnny Z. Outside of NYC. Dieselboy in Pittsburgh, Karl K & Kaos with MC Dub2 in Philadelphia and DJ Slant and the 2Tuff Crew in Washington, DC heavily promoted the style. This small handful of US pioneers spent years in the underground playing "back rooms" before the sound caught on throughout America.^[53]

Perhaps most responsible for the extensive introduction of drum and bass to the U.S.in the 1990s was Bassrush, headed by Raymond Frances, whose innovation was to present House, Techno, and Drum & Bass in separate rooms -- making Drum & Bass, for the first time, a major feature at U.S. rave parties. The Bassrush DJ Agency also introduced many major UK DJs to the American scene, including Shy FX, Kenny Ken, and DJ Randall.

While New York and Toronto thrived in this culture in the early 90's, new scenes were rapidly gaining recognition in the mid 90's in: Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Orlando, Denver, Seattle, Minneapolis and San Francisco. Producers and DJs such as AK1200 (ORL), DJ Dara (NY), Danny the Wildchild (CHI), and in particular Dieselboy (PHI) who helped push the genre further and darker, by producing, promoting, releasing compilations available for the public, and performing at raves. He is also one of the first US producers and DJs to break out on the international scene. Evol Intent, Ewun and SPL have followed suit. These artists have had a profound effect on the surrounding areas movements, causing drum and bass to spread in the majority of the United States. Clubs such as Buzz (DC), Breakdown (DEN), Seminar (CHI), Firestone (ORL), Platinum (PHI), Eklektic (SF), Science (LA), Masquerade (ATL) and Baltic Room (SEA) helped generate a scene outside of the then prosperous rave scene.

[edit] Media

A musical sample time-line of the history of jungle and drum and bass.

[edit] Literature

• A History of Rock Music, , 1951-2000 by Piero Scariffo (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
• Knowledge Magazine Article on the history of drum & bass radio pirates by Sarah Bentley [1]
• Roots 'n Future by Simon Reynolds (ISBN 0-330-35056-0), nonfiction
• Rumble in the Jungle: The Invisible History of Drum and Bass by Steven Quinn, Transformations, No 3 (2002), nonfiction (ISSN 1444-377) PDF file
• State of bass, jungle: the story so far by Martin James, Boxtree (ISBN 0-7522-2323-2), nonfiction
• The Rough Guide to Drum 'n' Bass by Peter Shapiro and Alexix Maryon (ISBN 1-85828-433-3), nonfiction
• King Rat by China Melville (ISBN 0-330-37098-7), fiction

[edit] References

As a musical genre that has recently emerged, drum and bass has not been the subject of much academic or printed study. As such, reference materials are generally primary (particularly interviews), and online.

[edit] External links

• "London Someting Dis", a 1994 documentary on the history of drum & bass
• "Dub Echoes", a documentary about dub's influence on the birth of drum n bass, electronic music and hip hop
• "History of drum & bass", a BBC timeline on the history of drum & bass with track listings, quotes and samples