How has Drum 'n' Bass evolved as a genre?

An examination of the genre that dominated the 90s

What is Drum 'n' Bass?

Drum and Bass, colloquially known as DnB or Drum 'n' Bass, is a genre of bass music that focusses on bass and drum rhythm, with little to no stress on tune or melody. Specifically, DnB uses what is known as breakbeats. Breakbeats are syncopated samples of drum rythym, often with a slight irregular "break" in which the regular tempo of 165 to 185 BPM increases. In general DnB relies on its complicated drum solos, with heavy sub bass and the occasional audio melody sample. DnB as a genre was most popular in the 90s, but still has a massive following to this day.

DnB set in Manchester England

Why is it significant?

As a genre, DnB was popularized by predominantly black artists and vocalists in the UK. But DnB's significance spans far beyond just the music, which would go on to influence many different types of modern dance music. Culturally, DnB allowed the black community to have a voice where they could express their feelings through music. These feelings were listened to, by thousands in clubs and festivals. DnB also allowed for further black representation in the music industry of the UK. For example, one of the first major DnB record labels was founded by Mike de Underground - a founding father of DnB's precursor known as Jungle.

Mike de Underground, Cool Hand Flex, DJ Randall, Johnny 2 Bad, MC Fats, and DJ Marly Marl

How is this topic related to me?

I have been interested in dance music for a while. It began in elementary school, when I did a music project on Techno, a genre of music that evolved from DnB. From there I explored other forms of more experimental music such as industrial bass. It was at this point that I became interested in breakbeats, syncopated samples of drums resembling drum solos, and began listen DnB. As for significance, DnB has shaped my appreciation for music as a whole and has introduced me to a plethora of new genres.

How does the use of geospatial enquiry help answer this question?

Like many forms of music, DnB is inextricably linked to a diverse assortment of geographical regions. This link manifests itself in musical components, physical spread of the genre and even location of famous record labels and festivals. These come together to paint a picture of DnB's origins, and answer my question on how it has evolved as a genre.

What was my approach for process and inquiry?

In order to answer the question on DnB's origins and how it has evolved as a genre, I decided to map the origins of its musical components, the spread of the genre since its birth, and the present day location of its biggest/up-and-coming record labels. These three factors, along with current festival locations and other demographic data allow me to make a statement on the origins of DnB, its evolution and my predictions for its future.


What are major themes in what you found from your research?

DnB music uses a unique and diverse assortment of musical instruments to achieve different sounds

Drum 'n' Bass, like many other forms of music, is made of many different musical techniques and sounds all derived from different genres in different geographical regions. By looking at all of these musical elements and techniques, one can see how truly diverse DnB's the roots are.

Classic 90s DnB has evolved into and influenced multiple other genres of music

Most popular subgenres DnB in recent years

While classic DnB is a popular form of Drum and Bass music, it has influenced and shares distinct qualities with multiple other genres of music. The genre DnB itself, has evolved into other genres of music over the years. In each evolution, something in the music is altered, whether that be intensity, drum type, or even overall mood. Even though each new iteration is different from the last, similarities can be observed in breakbeat pattern and tempo.

Jungle

  • The first iteration of Drum and Bass is known as Jungle originating in the early 90s. This is music heavily influenced by reggae, dancehall, funk, jazz as well as proto hiphop from Chicago. Jungle was mostly popular among Caribbean and Jamaican DJs in South London. The sound consists of Jamaican and African-esque drums with sparse voice or melody samples. The tracks revolve around bass and drum, which overlap to create complex melody and tempo.

90s DnB

  • The second and central iteration of Drum and Bass is known as 90s DnB. This music became popular in the early to mid 90s, and is central around breakbeats. These breakbeats produce an irregular beat different from that of earlier music. Vocal samples and chops are used with much more regularity then in Jungle. Already, in comparison to the sound of Jungle prior, 90s DnB sounds much more automated and electronic, with a constant bpm of around 165-185.

Hardstep

  • Late 90s hardstep was the third evolution of the DnB sound. Many DJs such as DJ Hype who grew popular in the mid 90s adopted this music as their main form. Hardstep uses unorthodox bass distortion to make bass noises that would be impossible to recreate on an acoustic machine. These "bass flops" mixed with harder more regular drums make hardstep a more aggressive form of music. Hardstep also saw the widespread introduction of lyrical monologues, in other words a sampled voice that talks over the track while its playing.

Young photo of legendary DJ Hype

Techstep

  • After hardstep came the popularization of techstep in the 2000s, a very similar but more subtle sound. Techstep featured less bass, with a much higher emphasis on treble drums. These treble noises give it a lighter more technical sound, earning it the name techstep. Techstep songs are, in general, more about evolution then constant beat. The ultra popular genre Techno was majorly influenced by Techstep.

Dub

  • In the very early 2010s Dub/dubstep, a brutal and industrial music sound revolving around heavy bass distortion birthed from the sounds of techstep. Dub was less about musicality and more about technical adjustments made by the DJ that alter the frequency of one main bass sound. Breakbeats are much less emphasized then in previous genres, as the rhythm takes much more from ska and reggae. In fact there is little drum emphasis at all, instead all attention is focused on creating harsh and unmelodic sounds.

Breakcore

  • In the mid to late 2010s, breakcore was popularized, despite having been around for a long time. This genre takes much from 90s DnB and even Dub, such as breakbeats and distorted sounds. Breakcore focusses on making a complicated and layered musical sound using frequent and aggressive breakbeats - hence the name breakcore. Breakcores overwhelming drums and bass have lead to some labeling it 'noise music'.

Speedcore

  • Another iteration of DnB is Speedcore. Much like breakcore, speedcore has been around for a while, but has grown most popular in recent years. speedcore is characterized by a violent sound with a tempo that rarely drops below 300bpm. It uses overlapping high-hats which create a wall of treble sound that engulf the song. On top of that random drum spasms cause a highly irregular almost 'glitchy' sound. Speedcore often utilizes aggressive and sometimes violent vocals for dramatic effect.

What are the geospatial trends with your topic and what are causing these trends?

Drum 'n' Bass spread fast, and widely in the 90s

In the timespan of about 1 decade, DnB spread across all of Europe and some of America. While always remaining most popular in its hearth, the United Kingdom, much of Europe gained interest in DnB causing it to take over the club scene and affect the lives of many. The geographical spread can be seen below.

There has been a recent growth in independent record labels outside of just Europe

Sao Paulo based label DNBB Recordings

Despite the fact that DnB's popularity will most likely never reach what it was in the 90s, multiple independent record labels have opened in North America, South America as well as southern European regions such as Portugal. These labels are encouraging, as they indicate that despite lack of concrete numbers showing popularity growth in these regions, there is a base interest in the music. DNBB Recordings in Sao Paulo, Brazil is an especially interesting label. DNBB is in a location that was relatively unaffected by the DnB hype of the 90s. In fact there are very few famous South American DnB artists. This labels location means that local artists in the region have the ability to join labels and produce music, giving Brazil the opportunity to have a greater presence on the DnB world stage. Below are the locations of major/up-and-coming labels.

DnB's popularity has not fully spread to Asia

Asia is one region with very little DnB presence. In fact the only real Asian DnB label, is Unchained Recordings, who are loosely based in China but source most of their artists and staff from the UK and function as a radio station. This overall lack of Asian representation is interesting, as many artists in Japan produce music similar to DnB. While a definite answer to why Asia lacks DnB representation is not obtainable, one can theorize as to the reasons.

For example one reason could be because of differences in popular culture. The US and the UK have similar pop culture scenes, as many artists are popular in both regions. This means that a new form of music is more easily transferable. Japan or Korea and the UK on the other hand don't share pop culture scenes in the same way. It is not surprising that despite the globalization of music, some genres of music just don't transfer as easily between cultures.

DnB club in the UK

Another reason, specifically for lack of representation in South Asia and Southeast Asia, may be the cultural and religious differences. DnB is a form of dance music, thus it endorses all the things that come with rave and club scenes; overindulgence, partying, and in some cases use of narcotics. Indonesia for example is a predominantly Muslim State that abides by a social code of conduct different from the UK. While partying and overindulgence may be looked upon as someone's right in the UK, it may be viewed with more judgement in Indonesia. As for somewhere like the Philippines, narcotics use and dealing is treated with much more severity then in the UK, thus the culture and law is less friendly to raves. It is very possible that these differences are a reason that DnB has never really spread to Asia.

What is controversial about your topic?

DnB production equiptment

DnB receives much of the criticism that other electronic genres receive, criticism mostly centered around the fact that it is produced with electronic equipment. Some argue that this reduces artistic integrity and that it makes the music easier to produce, while others argue that the ease at which someone can produce music has no impact on whether it is valid as music. However DnB is vastly different then acoustic music, thus a decision one which takes more skill is almost impossible to reach. DnB relies on knowledge of computers and synthesizers, while acoustic drums rely on hand eye coordination and appreciation of rhythm. Both are completely valid, and completely different.

What does the future of your topic look like?

While DnB may never reach its height popularity that was seen in the 90s, it continues to grow as a genre and attract listeners from all over the world. The major indicator we can use to predict future regions where DnB will be popular is major festival locations.

As seen in the graph above, DnB's hearth in the UK hosts Boomtown which has the highest number of attendees out of all locations. This is to be predicted, as the UK routinely clocks the highest number of listeners worldwide. The next highest attendance of a festival is seen in Belgium at the Rampage event. The third largest festival is Let it Roll, hosted in the Czech Republic. As for the rest, the host countries are the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, and Spain respectively.

Looking at the data gathered above, one can derive a few key things. The first is that that hearth of DnB still has the greatest popularity. The second is that predominantly European countries have DnB events. And the third is that these countries with DnB events are predominantly white. It is interesting to see how little presence DnB has in modern day Asia. Instead, presence seems to be growing in central and eastern European countries who are predominantly white. Croatia and Belgium for example, are relatively small countries, yet they both host large festivals devoted to DnB. Because of their limited size, it can be assumed that Croatia's festival is pulling people from the surrounding areas of Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, and even Austria, while Belgium's festival is attracting those from the Netherlands, France, and Germany. This information, despite the other information of independent record label locations, leads me to believe that the future of DnB lies mostly in the central and eastern European rave scenes.


What did you learn about your geospatial topic?

Early Jungle festival

This project not only allowed me to spend time researching and listening to music I like, but also to learn and absorb information that I otherwise wouldn't have learned. For starters, the diverse roots of DnB's sound shocked me - I had previously viewed DnB as a purely British phenomena - but after research realized that it contained instruments from quite literally across the globe. I now fully realize what a rich amalgamation of sounds are found in DnB. But most importantly, I learned about how DnB has evolved. What started as music of rebellion in the black community in the UK has evolved into a global form of music that expanded throughout Europe and into the Americas, while pushing boundaries and experimenting with BPM. Looking at the roots of DnB one may be shocked to see how much it has evolved, quite literally grassroots to mainstream. But this move mainstream has allowed for many to come forward and express themselves through music, whether it be justice oriented or just to make noise. On top of that, the evolution of DnB into a mainstream phenomenon has facilitated the birth of record labels in places like Brazil or Portugal, that make music production accessible to those who otherwise couldn't produce.

Which of the five themes from chapter 1 has influenced your topic most and why?

Out of the five themes, connection is the most important to the topic of DnB. As a music form, DnB is influenced by those who adopt it and those who listen to it. It changes every time it is passed from one person - or one group of people - to the next. Therefore the connection of these people and groups are incredibly influential in shaping the sound associated with DnB today. For example, the connections of Jamaican, American and British culture are what allow DnB to have distinct Reggae beats, with British vocals, and classic New York hip-hop beats. The importance of human connection when it comes to DnB cannot be understated.

What is a claim you can make after finishing your project?

After researching and writing about the fascinating world of DnB, I can claim that I am part of a global community of people who engage in DnB - a community with deep roots that hold much more then meets the eye. My involvement in this community opens up opportunities to hear music I like, and opportunities to connect with others who enjoy similar music. I now have a special appreciation of how diverse, complicated and impactful the genre DnB is.

Sources

DnB set in Manchester England

Mike de Underground, Cool Hand Flex, DJ Randall, Johnny 2 Bad, MC Fats, and DJ Marly Marl

Most popular subgenres DnB in recent years

Young photo of legendary DJ Hype

Sao Paulo based label DNBB Recordings

DnB club in the UK

DnB production equiptment

Early Jungle festival