Drum and bass
Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute[4][5]) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines,[6] samples, and synthesizers. The genre grew out of the UK's jungle scene in the 1990s.[7]
"DnB" redirects here. For the Norwegian bank, see DNB ASA.Drum and bass
Early-to-mid 1990s, United Kingdom
The popularity of drum and bass at its commercial peak ran parallel to several other UK dance styles. A major influence was the original Jamaican dub and reggae sound that influenced jungle's bass-heavy sound. Another feature of the style is the complex syncopation of the drum tracks' breakbeat.[8] Drum and bass subgenres include breakcore, ragga jungle, hardstep, darkstep, techstep, neurofunk, ambient drum and bass, liquid funk (also known as liquid drum and bass), jump up, drumfunk, sambass, and drill 'n' bass. Drum and bass has been influenced by many other genres like hip hop, big beat, dubstep, house, trip hop, ambient music, techno, jazz, rock and pop.
Drum and bass is dominated by a relatively small group of record labels. Major international music labels had shown very little interest in the drum and bass scene until BMG Rights Management acquired RAM in February 2016.[9] Since then, the genre has seen a significant growth in exposure. Whilst the origin of drum and bass music is in the UK, the genre has evolved considerably with many other prominent fanbases located all over the world.
Mainstream acceptance[edit]
The earliest mainstream drum and bass releases include Goldie's album Timeless from 1995. Other early examples include the Mercury Music Prize-winning album New Forms (1997) from Reprazent;[82] 4hero's Mercury-nominated Two Pages from 1998; and then, in the 2000s, Pendulum's Hold Your Colour in 2005 (the best-selling drum and bass album).
In 2012, drum and bass achieved its first UK No. 1 single, "Hot Right Now", by DJ Fresh, which was one of the fastest-selling singles of 2012 at the time of release, launching the career of Rita Ora in the process.[83]
Numerous video games (such as Hudson Soft's Bomberman Hero, Hi-Rez Studios' Tribes: Ascend, Electronic Arts' Need for Speed: Undercover, Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series, and Sony's Wipeout series from Pure onward) have contained drum and bass tracks.[84][85] Microsoft Studios' Forza Horizon 2, 3, 4 and 5 feature a Hospital Records radio channel dedicated to the genre.[86]
The genre has some popularity in film soundtracks. Hive's "Ultrasonic Sound" appeared on The Matrix's soundtrack, and the E-Z Rollers' song "Walk This Land" appeared in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.[87] Ganja Kru's "Super Sharp Shooter" can be heard in the 2006 film Johnny Was.[88]
The Channel 4 show Skins uses the genre in some episodes, notably in the first series' third episode, "Jal", where Shy FX and UK Apache's "Original Nuttah" was played in Fazer's club.[89]