Broken Beat
Breaks · 2001 · 120 to 130 BPM · also known as Bruk, West London Sound
Broken beat is the jazz and soul answer to quantized dance music, born in west London around the year 2000. Its rhythms sway in ways almost impossible to count, wrapped around rich chords and a direct heritage of jazz-funk and the Reinforced scene. Bugz in the Attic and IG Culture ran its laboratory, and the club Co-Op gave it a home. It is musicians' music for demanding dancers, reevaluated by a new generation every decade.
15 reference tracks
- 4hero: Hold It Down (2001)
- 4hero: Les Fleurs (2001)
- Seiji: Loose Lips (2002)
- Bugz in the Attic: Booty La La (2004)
- Floating Points: J&W Beat (2009)
- Kaidi Tatham: An Insight to All Minds (2021)
- Kaidi Tatham: Try N Follow (2021)
- We Smile: Remixes (2022)
- Chiara Civello: Sono Come Sono (2022)
- Kyoto Jazz Massive: Get It Together (2023)
- 4hero: Third Stream
- Domu: Taking Flight
- 4hero: Look Inside
- Bugz in the Attic: Once Twice
- 4hero: Play With The Changes
At a glance
- Tempo: 120 to 130 BPM
- First appeared: around 2001
- Machines: Fender Rhodes, Akai MPC3000
- The sound: Batteries programmées déhanchées, Rhodes et claviers joués, Basses jouées, MPC3000 avec swing poussé
- Labels: 2000 Black, Main Squeeze, People, Eglo, Rhythm Section, Bitasweet
- Key artists: Bugz in the Attic, IG Culture, Dego (4hero), Kaidi Tatham, Domu
Producing Broken Beat
Broken beat runs between 120 and 130 BPM, but the tempo matters less than the sway, which comes from an extreme MPC3000 swing, 65 to 70 percent on the sixteenths, and kick and snare placements landing beside the beat: the snare a sixteenth late on two or early on four, the kick shifting bar to bar. Program the kick on beat one, the sixteenth before three, and the and of four, snare on the sixteenth after two and on four, reversing next bar, wrapped in congas and agogo bells with their own swing. The bass should sound played, an electric bass or Moog line running root, fifth, sixth, minor seventh and octave in syncopated sixteenths, with glissandi and ghost notes. Center it on a played Fender Rhodes voicing ninth chords, the contrast between hand and machine being the point.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Broken Beat?
Broken beat is the jazz and soul answer to quantized dance music, born in west London around the year 2000. Its rhythms sway in ways almost impossible to count, wrapped around rich chords and a direct heritage of jazz-funk and the Reinforced scene. Bugz in the Attic and IG Culture ran its…
What tempo is Broken Beat played at?
Between 120 and 130 BPM.
Who are the key Broken Beat artists?
Bugz in the Attic, IG Culture, Dego (4hero), Kaidi Tatham, Domu.
