Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK garage styles (including 2-step, breakstep and dubstep).[1][2]

Etymology

The origin of the word "breakbeat" is the fact that the drum loops that were sampled occurred during a "break" in the music - for example the Amen break (a drum solo from "Amen, Brother" by The Winstons) or the Think Break (from "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins).[1][2]

History

1970s—1980s: Classic breaks and hip hop production

Beginning in 1973 and continuing through the late 1970s and early 1980s, hip hop turntablists, such as DJ Kool Herc began using several funk breaks in a row, using drum breaks from jazz-funk tracks such as James Brown's "Funky Drummer" and The Winstons' "Amen, Brother", to form the rhythmic base for hip hop songs. DJ Kool Herc's breaks style involved playing the same record on two turntables and playing the break repeatedly, alternating between the two records. Grandmaster Flash perfected this idea with what he called the "quick-mix theory": he would mark the points on the record where the break began and ended with a crayon, so that he could easily replay the break by spinning the record and not touching the tone arm.[3] This style was copied and improved upon by early hip hop DJs Afrika Bambaataa and Grand Wizard Theodore.[4][dubious ] This style was extremely popular in clubs and dancehalls because the extended breaks compositions provided breakers with more opportunities to showcase their skills.

In the late 1970s, breakbeats had attained a large presence in hip hop. In the 1980s, the evolution of technology began to make sampling breaks easier and more affordable for DJs and producers, which helped nurture the commercialization of hip hop. Through early techniques such as pausing tapes and then recording the break, by the 1980s, technology allowed anybody with a tape recorder to find the breakbeat.[5]

1990s: Evolution as electronic dance genre

In the late-1980s, breakbeat became an essential feature of many genres of breaks music which became popular within the global dance music scene, including acid breaks, electro-funk, and Miami bass, and a decade later big beat and nu skool breaks.

In the early 1990s, acid house artists and producers started using breakbeat samples in their music to create breakbeat hardcore.[6] The hardcore scene then diverged into subgenres like jungle and drum and bass, which generally was faster and focused more on complex sampled drum patterns. An example of this is Goldie's album Timeless. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave"[7] because the ever-changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out, trance-like state that the standard, steady 4/4 beats of house enabled.

Incorporating many components of those genres, the Florida breaks subgenre followed during the early-to-mid 1990s and had a unique sound that was soon internationally popular among producers, DJs, and club-goers.

In 1994, the influential techno act Autechre released the Anti EP in response to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, deliberately using advanced algorithmic programming to generate non-repetitive breakbeats for the full duration of the tracks, in order to subvert the legal definitions within that legislation which specified in the section creating police powers to remove ravers from raves that "'music' includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats".

In the late 1990s, another style of breakbeat emerged, funky breaks, a style that was incorporating elements of trance, hip hop and jungle. It was pioneered by the Chemical Brothers and James Lavelle's Mo'Wax Records imprint. The genre had commercial peak in 1997, when such music was topping in pop charts and often featured in commercials. The most notable artists of the sound were The Prodigy, Death in Vegas, The Crystal Method, Propellerheads.[8]

Characteristics

The tempo of breaks tracks, ranging from 110 to 150 beats per minute, allows DJs to mix breaks with a wide range of different genres in their sets. This has led to breakbeats being used in many hip hop, jungle/drum & bass and hardcore tracks. They can also be heard in other music, anywhere from popular music to background music in car and clothing commercials on radio or TV.[9]

The "Amen break"

The Amen break, a drum break from The Winstons' song "Amen, Brother" is widely regarded as one of the most widely used and sampled breaks among music using breakbeats.[10] This break was first used on "King of the Beats" by Mantronix, and has since been used in thousands of songs.[11] Other popular breaks are from James Brown's Funky Drummer (1970) and Give it Up or Turnit a Loose, The Incredible Bongo Band's 1973 cover of The Shadows' "Apache", and Lyn Collins' 1972 song "Think (About It)".[4] The Winstons have not received royalties for third-party use of samples of the break recorded on their original music release.[11]

Sampled breakbeats

With the advent of digital sampling and music editing on the computer, breakbeats have become much easier to create and use. Now, instead of cutting and splicing tape sections or constantly backspinning two records at the same time, a computer program can be used to cut, paste, and loop breakbeats endlessly. Digital effects such as filters, reverb, reversing, time stretching and pitch shifting can be added to the beat, and even to individual sounds by themselves. Individual instruments from within a breakbeat can be sampled and combined with others, thereby creating wholly new breakbeat patterns.

Legal issues

With the rise in popularity of breakbeat music and the advent of digital audio samplers, companies started selling "breakbeat packages" for the express purpose of helping artists create breakbeats. A breakbeat kit CD would contain many breakbeat samples from different songs and artists, often without the artist's permission or even knowledge.[12]

Subgenres

Acid breaks

"Acid breaks" or "chemical breaks" is acid house, but with a breakbeat instead of a house beat. One of the earliest synthesizers to be employed in acid music was the Roland TB-303, which makes use of a resonant low-pass filter to emphasize the harmonics of the sound.

Big beat

Big beat is a term employed since the mid-1990s by the British music press to describe much of the music by artists such as The Prodigy, Cut La Roc, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method and Propellerheads typically driven by heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in common with established forms of electronic dance music such as techno and acid house.

Progressive breaks

Progressive breaks or prog breaks, also known as atmospheric breaks, is a subgenre of breaks that is essentially a fusion of breakbeat and progressive house. Much like progressive house, this subgenre is characterized by its "trancey" sound. Its defining traits include extended synthesizer pads and washes, melodic synth leads, heavy reverberation, and electronic breakbeats. However, unlike progressive house, very few progressive breaks tracks have vocals, with most tracks being entirely instrumental or using only electronically altered snippets of vocal samples for sonic effect. Typical progressive breaks tracks will often have a long build-up section that leads to a breakdown and a climax, often having numerous sonic elements being added or subtracted from the track at various intervals in order to increase its intensity. Progressive breaks artists include Hybrid, BT, Way Out West, Digital Witchcraft, Momu, Wrecked Angle, Burufunk, Under This and Fretwell.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mullen, Matt; Truss, Si; Williams, Stuart (2022-09-15). "The history of breaks in music production". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  2. ^ a b "Breakbeat Music Guide: 3 Characteristics of Breakbeat". MasterClass. 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  3. ^ Necroguttural (2016-12-07), Hip-Hop Evolution - "Grandmaster Flash" The Origin of Scratching on Vinyl, archived from the original on 2021-11-17, retrieved 2017-12-09
  4. ^ a b Modulations: A History of Electronic Music, Peter Shapiro, ed. New York: Caipirnha Productions Inc., 2000, p. 152
  5. ^ Schloss, Joseph (2004). History in Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University. p. 40.
  6. ^ Thomas, Gideon. "Breakbeat Hardcore - Your Ultimate Guide". Core Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  7. ^ Generation Ecstasy, Simon Reynolds, New York: Routledge, 1999, p. 253
  8. ^ Vladimir Bogdanov; Jason Ankeny (2001). All music guide to electronica: the definitive guide to electronic music (4th ed.). Backbeat Books. p. 11. ISBN 0-87930-628-9.
  9. ^ "Nate Harrison". nkhstudio.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  10. ^ "10 Most Sampled Breakbeats". blog.whosampled.com.
  11. ^ a b "Musical history: Seven seconds of fire". The Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited. 2011-12-17. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  12. ^ Goodyer, Tim (March 1992). "Criminal Record?". Music Technology. United Kingdom: Music Maker Publications (UK). pp. 54–59. Retrieved 2020-01-20.

External links

  1. Live @ Isle Of Wight Festival, UK 15 06 2019 - Fatboy Slim 01:12:50
  2. Live @ S2O Festival, Bangkok, Thailand 13 04 2019 - Fatboy Slim 01:08:38
  3. UK TOUR 2019 - Birmingham, UK [EXTRACTS] 22 02 2019 - Fatboy Slim 42:48
  4. Brighton Rooftop B2B Set 30 11 2018 - Fatboy Eats 01:40:26
  5. Live @ Creamfields 2018, UK 26 08 2018 - Fatboy Slim 31:37
  6. Live @ Tomorrowland, Freedom Stage (Week End 2) , Belgium 28 07 2018 - Fatboy Slim 01:27:45
  7. Live @ British Airways i360, Brighton, UK 30 07 2018 - Fatboy Slim 01:29:55
  8. Live @ Tomorrowland, Belgium 21 07 2018 - Fatboy Slim 01:26:30
  9. Live @ Tuesdays On Mars, Pacha Ibiza, Spain 03 07 2018 - Fatboy Slim 03:04:03
  10. All Night Long - Pacha Ibiza 19 05 2018 - Fatboy Slim 05:16:00
  11. Record Store Day Desert Island Disco Mix, BBC 6 Music, UK 15 04 2016 - Fatboy Slim 28:31
  12. Beat Up The NME 60 Knockout Minutes (1997) Fatboy Slim 01:00:47
  13. Live @ Electric Gardens, Serafino Winery, Adelaide, Australia [EXTRACTS] 26 01 2018 - Fatboy Slim 01:04:05
  14. Live @ Hultsfred, Sweden 14 06 1997 - Fatboy Slim 01:03:14
  15. Live @ Personal Fest '17, Buenos Aires, Argentina 12 11 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:34:54
  16. Live @ Beats for Love 2017 Festival in Ostrava, Czech Republic 05 07 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:14:04
  17. Live @ Ultra Music Festival 2012, Miami, USA 24 03 2012 - Fatboy Slim 58:51
  18. Live @ Float Your Boat, Ibiza, Spain 21 09 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:30:48
  19. Live @ Brixton Academy, London, UK [EXTRACTS] 20 12 2014 - Fatboy Slim 01:00:00
  20. Live @ Creamfields 2017, Liverpool, UK 27 08 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:31:43
  21. Live @ Café Mambo, Ibiza, Spain 05 08 2017 - Fatboy Slim 38:21
  22. Live @ Tomorrowland Festival 2017,Lost Frequencies & Friends Stage,Belgium 29 07 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:25:04
  23. Live At National Cardiff 01 01 2000 - Fatboy Slim 01:13:23
  24. Live @ Super Bock Super Rock Festival, Lisbon, Portugal 15 07 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:30:31
  25. Live @ Kappa Futur Festival, Torino, Italy 08 07 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:29:26
  26. Live @ Electric Daisy Carnival, Tokyo, Japan 29 04 2017 - Fatboy Slim 30:25
  27. EDC Japan 2017 Mix Fatboy Slim 01:00:00
  28. Live @ Santa Cruz Boat Party, Ibiza, Spain 15 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:40:46
  29. Live @ The O² Arena, London, UK 17 12 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:28:37
  30. Beats 1 Radio Show #8 16 12 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:20
  31. Beats 1 Radio Show #7 02 12 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:56
  32. Beats 1 Radio Show #6 18 11 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:33
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  37. Beats 1 Radio Show #1 09 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:49:55
  38. DJ SET WMF, Berlin, Germany 29 09 2000 - Fatboy Slim 01:49:50
  39. BACK TO THE ODD SCHOOL feat. FATBOY SLIM's Desert Eagle Disc top ten 27 11 2016 03:00:42
  40. Essential Millennium 1999 (Disc 2) Fatboy Slim 01:16:05
  41. Live @ Boiler Room, Brighton, UK 11 10 2016 - Fatboy Slim 02:55:40
  42. One Mix: Fatboy Slim - Ep27 20 01 2016 - Beats 1 59:55
  43. Live @ Bestival 2016, Essential Mix, BBC Radio 1, UK 17 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:59:48
  44. Celebrating 20 years of Better Living @ The Social, London, UK 13 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 29:09
  45. Live At Carl Cox: Music Is Revolution, Space, Ibiza, Spain 10 08 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:57:43
  46. Live On A Night with Annie Nightingale, Maida Vale Studio, BBC Radio 1,UK 09 09 2010 - Fatboy Slim 21:29
  47. Live @ The House Of Blues, New Orleans, USA 25 03 2000 - Fatboy Slim 02:00:03
  48. Live @ Glastonbury 2016, UK 25 06 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:25:32
  49. From Punk Get Funk, BBC Radio 2, UK 06 06 2016 - Norman Cook 56:20
  50. Live @ The Metro, Chicago, USA 03 03 1998 – Fatboy Slim 02:03:33
  51. Live @ Club Cream 10th Birthday Special, Liverpool, UK 12 10 2002 - Fatboy Slim 41:51
  52. Live @ The Ultimate FSTVL House Party, Brighton, UK 21 04 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:30:20
  53. Live @ HARD Haunted Mansion, Shrine Expo Hall, Los Angeles, USA 28 10 2011 - Fatboy Slim 01:11:55
  54. We Are 30 Mixed By Fatboy Slim (2013) Mixmag 01:05:29
  55. Fatboy Slim - The Legend Returns (2010) Mixmag 50:59
  56. Live At Newquay Beach, Essential Selection, BBC Radio 1, UK 21 06 2002 - Fatboy Slim & Eric Morillo 01:29:08