History
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music built on drum breaks s1s4. A break is a short drum section taken from a funk, jazz or R&B record s1. The well-known is the Amen break from 'Amen, Brother' by The Winstons s1. In the 1970s, hip hop DJs such as Kool Herc played these breaks on two turntables to make them longer s1. Samplers later made it easy to cut, loop and change breaks s1. Breakbeat music usually sits between 110 and 175 beats per minute s1. This lets DJs mix it with many other styles s1. In the 1980s and 1990s, breakbeats became the base for hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat and UK garage s1. Bomb the Bass's 'Beat Dis' from 1987 was an early British hit built from samples s1. In the 1990s, the American state of Florida developed its own breaks sound s2. Later, British producers made a new, more technical version called nu skool breaks s3. Breakbeat is still used in pop music today s1.
Sound
- A syncopated, sampled drum loop
- Heavy, rolling basslines
- Samples from funk and soul records
- A tempo range from slow to fast
- A less strict four-to-the-floor beat
Key figures
- Bomb the Bass — British act behind an early sample-based breakbeat hit
- DJ Icey — American DJ central to Florida breaks
- Rennie Pilgrem — British DJ who helped name nu skool breaks
- Adam Freeland — British DJ linked to nu skool breaks
Labels
- Finger Lickin' Records — London , 1998
- Freskanova — London , 1996
- Zone Records — Orlando , 1993
Defining tracks
Connections
Came from: Hip Hop Breaks , Electro , Funk and Boogie
Led to: Big Beat , Chemical Breaks , Florida Breaks , Nu-Skool Breaks
Sources
- Breakbeat — Wikipedia
- Florida breaks — Wikipedia
- Nu skool breaks — Wikipedia
- Breakbeat - the genre bible: history, artists and scenes — Optimal Breaks