Chemical Breaks
The Australian breaks scene and its progressive, big-room sound.
History
Chemical breaks is a name used for the Australian breaks scene of the 2000s s1. It is also called Melbourne breaks s1. The music is breakbeat with a large, progressive and melodic sound s1. It often mixes breaks with progressive house and trance s1. The tempo is usually between 125 and 140 beats per minute s1. Australian DJs such as Kid Kenobi released popular breaks compilations s2. The act Infusion made melodic records that were played around the world s2. The group Nubreed released the breaks album The Original in 2004 s2. Festivals such as Breakfest in Perth helped keep the scene alive s1. The Australian scene was strong enough to support its own labels and tours s1. The name 'chemical breaks' is not used by all producers s1. It is mainly a regional and marketing name for the Australian form of the sound s1. The scene also had its own radio shows and club nights s1.
Sound
- A big, progressive breakbeat sound
- Melodic synthesizer leads
- Long build-ups and breakdowns
- A tempo around 130 beats per minute
- Fewer samples than big beat
Key figures
- Kid Kenobi — Australian breaks DJ behind popular compilations
- Infusion — Australian act with melodic breaks records
- Nubreed — Australian breaks group behind The Original
- Phil K — Australian DJ in the breaks scene
Labels
- Omnis Recordings — Melbourne , 2001
- Ministry of Sound Australia — Sydney , 1999
- TCR — London , 1995
Defining tracks
Connections
Came from: Breakbeat , Nu-Skool Breaks
Sources
- Breakbeat - the genre bible: history, artists and scenes — Optimal Breaks
- Breakbeat — Wikipedia