Joining the Dots #2: Breakbeat
In this month's Joining the Dots, Nat Illumine explores the super-charged beats of Breakbeat music and its numerous offshoots such as Breakbeat Hardcore, Acid Breaks and Big Beat; all the way from their beat-looping Bronx forefathers, to the raves and parties of the UK's 'summer of love' in the early 1990s. Nat Illumine is a London-based journalist and aspiring ethnomusicologist, she is the former editor of Undercover Magazine and DJ on Itch FM London. She is now representing her bad self, Size Doesn't Matter, Poets Lounge & Universal Zulu Nation UK- Ed. Photo: Breakbeat producers The Freestylers, courtesy of Trailer Media.
This second instalment in my attempt to map out the musicology of current popular genres will focus on that big, bouncin’, block-rockin’ thing they call Breakbeat, or as some like to call it, simply Breaks. Originating from early Rave into Hardcore before fragmenting into numerous styles, the dance music genre known as Breakbeat is huge in the UK and Australia, and is well appreciated the world over as an alternative to the sometimes dark and edgy sound of Drum & Bass, the overly psychedelic blips and beeps of Trance or the rigidity of Techno or House. Owing its life-force to a couple of creative NYC DJs, Breakbeat as we know it now is a distinctly British form of music, created in response to the raving needs of the early 90s.
But lets first answer that fundamental question, what exactly is a breakbeat?
Kool DJ Herc - Bronx DJ who pioneered the looping of disco and funk breakbeats
In this context of contemporary music the concept of a musical ‘break’ is the section of the record where everything else stops and a solo instrumentalist, often the drummer, lets forth a bar or two alone. This is considered the ‘break’ in the record before the rest of the song continues. These breaks date back as far as the 1800s: according to ethnomusicologist and sound curator David Toop, an old piano ditty called ‘Buck Dancer’s Lament’ actually incorporated a two-bar silence every 8 bars to allow some fancy footwork, perhaps of the Tap variety, by the performer, but the ‘break’ as we’ve come to know it was first utilised by a few key people.
The first of these is New York-based Disco pioneer Tim Moulton, who, back in the early 70s, added a drum segment to a tune he was remixing, as parts of the record were slightly different in pitch. This drum break was extremely popular with the Disco kids, but also found favour with kids on another side of town, namely the black kids in the Bronx. Kool DJ Herc, a recent immigrant from Jamaica, was a young soundman and DJ putting on parties in his hood. At some point circa 1973 he began mixing the breaks from two copies of the same tune back to back to elongate the break, as it sent the b-boys wild.
This created the ubiquitous ‘breakbeat’: creating a loop from a break so that it evolved into a beat. It is unlikely that Kool Herc and Tim Moulton were aware that their sonic experimentation would create the most popular modern genre in American history, i.e. Hip Hop, but thanks to computer editing software that allowed these loops to be digitally spliced together, this ‘looping’ became the basis for Hip Hop and Breakbeat alike.
The 'Amen Break' is ubiqitous in Breakbeat and hip-hop. The drum break is sampled from ‘Amen Brother’ a 1969 track by The Winstons
Though the humble breakbeat went on to become a staple of the Hip Hop genre in the following decades, it wasn’t until the beginning of the 90s that Rave music utilised breakbeats for the Breakbeat Hardcore genre. In sharp contrast to the big, orchestral Deep House sounds at the time (which itself emanated from the fluffiness of Disco), Hardcore was its antithesis in its ominous, forceful, industrial electronic style, raging at 150+ BPM (almost twice the speed of Hip Hop). Hardcore and then Breakbeat owe much to the pirating of sampled breakbeats, as established by the Hip Hop genre, such as the overly-rinsed Amen break.
Named after the song from which it came, the Amen break is a drum break from ‘Amen Brother’ by The Winstons, a b-side released in 1969, which was sampled by the classic B-boy anthem ‘King Of The Beats’ by Mantronix in 1989, as well as NWA’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’ that same year. However this was just one of many breaks existing on previously recorded material from the annals of American contemporary music just waiting to be pillaged by Hip Hop and Rave music racketeers. All thanks to one small device: the beloved sampler. [1]
The sampler’s inception into music-making on the underground scenes here in the UK came to fruition in the late 80s. British producers making Acid House started incorporating sampled breakbeats, which evolved into the sounds of Hardcore, with its emphasis on breakbeats for its pulsating rhythms. Acid House, early Trance, Techno and Hardcore were essentially what evolved out of the concept of ‘rave’ music back in those early days after the first ‘summer of love’.
The Prodigy - "original rave kids" defining early Breakbeat- photo: theprodigy.com
A sampler can be used not only to cut, paste and then loop breakbeats, but also to add digital effects like time-stretching and pitch-shifting, as well as echo, delay, reverb etc. With just a sampler and some music software, anyone with a penchant for making mad sounds into Rave tunes could sample anything – individual beats, breakbeats, basslines, piano melodies, film and TV dialogue, police sirens, whatever… and create a tune out of it. And that’s exactly what the original rave kids did, to make what became known as Breakbeat Hardcore. [2]
Hardcore soon deviated into more styles such as Jungle and Happy Hardcore and then morphed into newer genres in the 90s such as Big Beat, Progressive Breaks, and Nu Skool Breaks. Thus Breakbeat is an umbrella term covering various types of dance music, originating from the Hardcore scene. Breakbeats are used in Hip Hop at a slower pace, around 60-110 bpm, whereas Hardcore maintained a hectic 160-190 bpm, and Breakbeat slowed into an acceptable 130-150 bpm. Incidentally, the type of breakbeats used in both Hip Hop and Breakbeat would be interchangeable if played at the wrong speed.
The various evolutions into what we now know as Breakbeat came in various stages throughout the 90s. These include, but no doubt aren’t limited to, Hardcore Breaks, Acid Breaks, Breakcore, Big Beat, Nu Skool Breaks and Progressive Breaks. And if you wanna get all pernickety then Broken Beat could also be considered a form of Breakbeat, but really that’s on its own tip, and was covered in the first instalment on Nu Jazz.
So, silly as the labelling might sound, Breakbeat Hardcore spawned Hardcore Breaks, a modern take on the old style Rave tunes but using the latest equipment to create fresh takes on the genre, and Acid Breaks, so named after the 1987 track of the same name, is Trance and Techno-influenced, with more psychedelic synths from the Roland TB-303 going on but without the rigid thump of Techno. [3]
Page 1 References:
[1] “Amen Break” by The Winstons - circa 1969
[2] “Let Your Mind Be Free” by Sonz Of Da Loop Era - Breakbeat Hardcore - circa 1991
[3] “Unborn Soul” by Zak B - Acid Breaks - circa unknown
Splitloop - "We never set out to write breakbeat... we were just making the kind of tunes we were into and they were all of a chemical beats vibe, then someone kindly pointed out that they were 'breakbeat'." Photo: Trailer Media
(Page 2 of 2)
Breakcore is another distinctive offshoot of Hardcore, much vaunted in the squat/free party scene. Taking elements from all aggressive dance forms like Techno, Jungle, Gabba, and any other kind of industrial sounds (drill’n’bass anyone?), Breakcore is like Punk’s bastardised breakbeat son in its add-all ethos. Breakcore artists include acts like Venetian Snares, who add classical music to the equation and the brilliantly named Shitmat. [4]
Whilst certain artists pursued these evolutions of the breakbeat sound, Big Beat came about. A cultural creation of the 90s chemical-induced party scene, the genre received mainstream popularity thanks to huge crossover acts like The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and Fat Boy Slim, the latter of which owned a club in Brighton called Big Beat Boutique which delineated the sound. Bentley Rhythm Ace, the Freestylers and Propellerheads exemplified the mid-90s Big Beat phenomenon, mashing up all styles, from Hip Hop to Rock to Ragga, with super-squashed breakbeats at a tempo of around 100-140 bpm.
According to the Freestylers, “groups from back in the day like Blapps Posse, Shut Up & Dance, Rebel MC, Shades Of Rhythm, Prodigy all inspired us.” Exuding Party style Breaks, Freestylers Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey enjoy the diversity the genre gives them. “We think it brings the best from all types of dance music, Hip Hop, Reggae, Drum and Bass and Jungle, and is put together in such a way that everybody can understand and appreciate such a wide spectrum of sound and energy.” As regards to their sample base, they say: “Anything from the last 50 years of popular music culture, but I’d say the 70s and 80s are the best decades to sample from.” [5]
Nu Skool Breaks represents the current crop of popular producers like Plump DJs, Stanton Warriors (pictured), ILS and Slyde. Photo: CTF! Glasgow.
Labels like Skint and Wall of Sound were at the forefront of the scene, as were legendary club nights like Passenger and Friction. DJ-producers like Adam Freeland, Rennie Pilgrem, Tayo, Lee Coombs and Freq Nasty were pioneering a futuristic breaks style that would continue to increase the genre’s popularity on a worldwide platform. Coined after two genre-defining compilations released in 1998, Nu Skool Breaks represents the current crop of popular producers like Plump DJs, Stanton Warriors, ILS and Slyde. Alongside this is Progressive Breaks, distinguished by a more ambient, intelligent approach, for example the work of Hybrid.
Splitloop are a recently formed crew who kicked off their career in 2005 with a funked-up Breakbeat sound. “We never set out to write breakbeat originally, we were just making the kind of tunes we were into and they were all of a chemical beats vibe, then someone kindly pointed out that they were ‘breakbeat’,” says Phil, one half of Splitloop. Citing Kool Herc as their inspiration (”the first DJ to go to great lengths to keep a break playing indefinitely for people to dance to,”) they credit Breakbeat’s popularity to its rave ethos. “I think it’s more accessible and generally great music for a party, states Bren, “…and the UK does like a good shindig.”
Krafty Kuts - "Breakbeat has made more of an impact than any other music I have come across" - Photo: Trailer Media
What some like to call Party Breaks is another strand taking its influence mainly from Hip Hop, particularly old school Electro and B-Boy classics, like the earlier mentioned Mantronix, the self-proclaimed king of the beats! DJ-producers like Krafty Kuts and A-Skillz purvey these blockrockin’ styles to perfection. “It is so accessible and can make any dance floor rock with the sub genres and styles created only in this country,” Krafty tells me. “People have learnt to appreciate its history. So many styles and sub forms of music have come from breaks: Speed Garage, Garage, Dubstep, Grime… so it has made way for some very interesting styles. I have played to hundred of thousands of people, maybe even millions now and to me [Breakbeat] has made more of an impact than any other music I have come across.” Again, Krafty points to early Rave acts as pioneering the sound. “Obviously The Prodigy made breakbeat mainstream to the masses, but Shut Up & Dance were just so creative and with their no care attitude - it was so funky.” [6]
Two labels that have really helped establish this side of the scene are Supercharged and Against The Grain. Lloyd, head of Supercharged, aka DJ-producer Skool Of Thought holds Adam Freeland responsible for pushing the Breakbeat gospel far and wide: “There were a handful of people involved in it’s initial outset but I don’t think it would have taken off without Adam Freeland who stirred the scene, gave it focus and used his passion and drive the sound around the world.” Lloyd has his reasons for choosing to release Breakbeat as opposed to other genres: “I appreciate a good house track but really a whole night of the same beat is so fucking boring. Personally I need more stimulation. Breaks in its original form is still the root of all good dance music, be it Drum n Bass, Dubstep or Nu Skool Breaks,” he reiterates. “I personally loved drum n bass but was disillusioned by the bad attitude in clubs and House music was very pretentious and formulaic. Breaks incorporated the sounds of both genres but attracted a friendly, social and up for it crowd.”
The fact that Breakspoll, an awards ceremony for the scene held annually at London’s biggest club Fabric, is on its 8th year is testament to the popularity of Breakbeat in the 21st century. Regularly playing to festivals of over 50,000 people, the DJs, producers and artists of the genre are like mini-celebrities in the current club scene. For those of us old enough to remember the heady days of Hardcore, the sound was considered fresh, innovative and a welcome antidote to the other sounds of the time. As far as my own tastes go, Breakbeat of now incorporates the best of both worlds: the frenetic tempo of dance music underpinned by the sheer funk of the breakbeats. Bring on the Breaks!
Nat Illumine
More JTD: Joining the Dots #1: Nu Jazz
Page 2 References:
[4] “Husikam Rave Dojo” by Venetian Snares - Breakcore - circa 2007
[5] “Painkiller” by The Freestylers - Big Beat - circa 2006
[6] “We Do This” by Krafty Kuts - Party Breaks - circa 2006
Posted in Culture & Music by Nat Illumine on September 25, 2008.
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