Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated to D&B, DnB, dnb, d'n'b, drum n bass, drum & bass, dNb, deebee), is a type of electronic dance music which emerged in the mid 1990s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats (typically between 160–190 bpm, occasional variation is noted in older compositions), with heavy sub-bass lines. Drum and bass began as an offshoot of the United Kingdom rave scene of the very early 1990s. Over the first decade of its existence, the incorporation of elements from various musical genres lent to many permutations in its overall style.

                 History

Main article: History of drum and bass

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a growing nightclub culture gave birth to a new electronic music style called Rave music, which combined regular beats alongside broken, syncopated beats, strong basslines and a faster tempo than that of house music. By 1991, musical tracks made up of only "broken" beats began to be known as "jungle", branching off into a separate musical genre (circa 1991-1992) popular at raves and on pirate radio in urban Britain.[citation needed]

These tracks often combined ragga vocal tracks with broken beats and bass lines. By 1994 jungle began to gain mainstream popularity and fans of the music (known as junglists) became a recognizable part of British youth subculture.[citation needed] After being further developed by MC Jonny Waines of the Leeds Massive, the sound took on a very urban, raggamuffin sound, incorporating dancehall ragga-style MC chants, dub basslines, but also increasingly complex, high tempo rapid fire breakbeat percussion.[citation needed] At this time jungle began to be associated with criminals and criminal activity and perhaps as a reaction or perhaps independently of this, producers began to draw away from the ragga style and create what they labeled drum and bass.[citation needed] There is no clear point at which jungle became drum and bass, though most jungle producers continue to produce what they call drum and bass.[citation needed]

As the music style became more polished and sophisticated, it began to shift from pirate to commercial radio and gain widespread acceptance (circa 1995-1997). It also began to split into recognizable subgenres such as jump-up.[citation needed] As a lighter sound of drum and bass began to win over the musical mainstream, many producers continued to work on the other end of the spectrum. This resulted in a series of releases offering a dark, technical sound which drew more influence from techno music and the soundscapes of science fiction and anime films, this subgenre became known as techstep (circa 1997-1998).[citation needed]

Towards the turn of the millennium, the UK garage sound emerged and quickly eclipsed drum and bass in popularity. Drawing a key part of its inspiration from drum and bass, it was commonly believed that UK garage was a replacement of the genre and statements were made to the effect that "drum and bass is dead".[citation needed] However, consistent development of the genre proved otherwise. The appearance of the liquid funk and other subgenres brought a wave of new artists with new ideas and techniques, supporting continual evolution of the genre. Drum and bass is perhaps not well-known as a genre, but makes frequent, unrecognized appearances in the mainstream such as in television commercials, as well as being a major influence for other musical styles and some of its artists (notably Goldie).[citation needed]

 Tempo

Drum and bass is usually between 160-180 BPM, in contrast to other forms of breakbeat such as nu skool breaks which maintain a slower pace at around 130-140 BPM. A general upward trend in tempo has been observed during the evolution of drum and bass. The earliest forms of drum and bass clocked in at around 130 bpm in 1990/1991, speeding up to around 155-165 BPM by 1993. Since around 1996, drum and bass tempos have predominantly stayed in the 173 to 180 range. Recently some producers have started to once again produce tracks with slower tempos (ie. in the 150s and 160s), but the mid-170 tempo is still the hallmark of the drum and bass sound.

The speed of drum and bass is not however only characterised by that of the broken beat. Drum and bass has a bassline, which will typically play at half the speed of the drums, bringing its speed down to that of, for instance, a laid back hip-hop track.[citation needed] A listener or dancer can concentrate on this element rather than the faster drums.[citation needed]

An aggressively produced track with a complicated beat and synthesizer sounds may 'sound faster' than one with a sampled double bass bassline, guitar riffs and simpler beat, however the second track may be in strict BPM terms faster. Radio friendly tracks like Shy FX's "Shake Ur Body" often have higher BPMs than ominous techstep productions which might eject the uninitiated very quickly from a dancefloor.[citation needed]

The faster a track is in BPM terms, the less complex its drum patterns can be because at higher step the elements cease to be heard separately, turning them into a wall of sound. A faster drum and bass track will therefore generally have a less complex drum pattern than a slower one. These rules do not apply to a production from single drums (i.e., drum machines, sequencers, sliced beats.)[citation needed]

Live performances of drum and bass music on electric and acoustic instruments will often entail a drop in relative BPM (though not necessarily), unsurprising in light of the complexity of drum patterns and the high exertion required of a drummer.[citation needed]