The Amen break explained: one drum solo from 1969 that built jungle
A few seconds of drums on the B-side of a 1969 soul single became the backbone of jungle and drum and bass. Here is where it came from and who got paid.
By D-N-B Desk
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The Archive
A series that goes back through drum and bass and jungle history.
A plain guide to drum and bass subgenres, from liquid to darkstep
Drum and bass runs at 160 to 180 beats per minute and splits into light, mainstream and heavy branches. Here is what each name means.
By D-N-B Desk
Five records that mark drum and bass's climb from the underground
A landmark album in 1995, a Mercury Prize in 1997, a best seller in 2005 and a number one single in 2012. The dates tell the story.
By D-N-B Desk
Jungle and drum and bass: how one scene became two names
Jungle came first, out of the rave and the sound system. Drum and bass followed in the mid 1990s. Here is how the two connect and who built the first.
By D-N-B Desk
The labels that built drum and bass, and who is behind them
Six labels keep coming up whenever the history of the sound is told. Here is each one and the name tied to it.
By D-N-B Desk
Liquid drum and bass explained: how melody and soul took over the breakbeat
A 1999 compilation gave the style its name, and by 2005 it was one of the biggest selling corners of drum and bass.
By D-N-B Desk
Neurofunk explained: where the cleanest, darkest drum and bass came from
A term from a 1997 magazine article, a pair of V Recordings and Virus records, and a style built on bass sounds that keep changing shape.
By D-N-B Desk
Pirate radio and jungle: the stations that carried the sound
Before jungle had legal radio it had Kool FM, Don FM, Rush and Rude FM. Here is what the record says about the stations and when the mainstream caught up.
By D-N-B Desk
Techstep explained: the cold, dark sound that drum and bass built for itself
Around 1995 a group of producers stripped the warmth out of jungle and replaced it with machine drums, distorted bass and a science fiction mood.
By D-N-B Desk
