Drum and Bass

Breaks · 1994 · 165 to 180 BPM · also known as Drum n Bass, DnB, D&B, Drum & Bass

Jungle stylized and technicalized from 1995 onward: cleaner breaks, synthetic basses, jeweler's precision at 170 beats per minute. Goldie and Metalheadz turn it into a dark, futuristic club art, LTJ Bukem into floating elegance. Thirty years later the genre still turns, a global industry and an underground scene at once, a rare case of longevity in bass music, still built on the same two-step skeleton it invented.

12 reference tracks

1. Goldie: Inner City Life (1994)
2. Adam F: Metropolis (1997)
3. Roni Size: Brown Paper Bag (1997)
4. Andy C: Body Rock (1999)
5. Calibre: Mystic (2001)
6. Wilkinson & Sub Focus: Illuminate (2019)
7. Chase & Status: Baddadan (2023)
8. Pendulum: Propane Nightmares
9. Pendulum: Crush
10. Pendulum: Hold Your Colour
11. Pendulum: Slam
12. Chase & Status: No Problem

At a glance

• Tempo: 165 to 180 BPM
• First appeared: around 1994
• Machines: Akai S3000, Clavia Nord Lead, Roland TR-909, Steinberg Cubase
• The sound: Breaks édités au pas près, Basse Reese, Akai S3000 puis DAW, Sub sinusoïdale, Traitement parallèle des drums
• Labels: RAM Records, Metalheadz, V Recordings, Hospital Records, Shogun Audio, 1985 Music
• Key artists: Goldie, LTJ Bukem, Roni Size, Andy C, Photek, Dillinja

Producing Drum and Bass

Settle between 170 and 174 bpm, the break rebuilt step by step on a grid, groove coming from precise placement rather than swing. Build the two-step base, kick on 1, snare on 2 and 4, kick again on the and of 3, then layer a sub-heavy kick, a stacked snare, and a classic break, Amen, Think, Apache, high-passed underneath for hats and ghost notes. For bass, run two layers always: a clean sub sine between 40 and 55Hz, and a Reese on top, detuned saws in opposite directions, unison spread in stereo, filter moving by envelope then slow LFO, high-passed so it clears space for the sub. Add cold pads and saws for leads, white noise risers for transitions, and the signature heavily compressed parallel drum bus blended under the original.

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 Drum and Bass?

Jungle stylized and technicalized from 1995 onward: cleaner breaks, synthetic basses, jeweler's precision at 170 beats per minute. Goldie and Metalheadz turn it into a dark, futuristic club art, LTJ Bukem into floating elegance. Thirty years later the genre still turns, a global industry and an…

What tempo is Drum and Bass played at?

Between 165 and 180 BPM.

Who are the key Drum and Bass artists?

Goldie, LTJ Bukem, Roni Size, Andy C, Photek, Dillinja.

In the same family

• Breakbeat
• Breakbeat Hardcore
• Darkcore
• Jungle
• Techstep
• Neurofunk
• Darkstep
• Liquid Drum and Bass
• Jump-Up
• Drumfunk
• Drumstep
• Ragga Jungle

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