Drill 'n Bass
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Drill 'n' bass is a subgenre of
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 Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
which developed in the mid-1990s as IDM artists began experimenting with elements of
jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaá¹…gala'' ...
and
breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...
music. Artists utilized powerful
audio software Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound * Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...
to program frenzied, irregular beats that often discouraged dancing. The style was often interpreted as having a lightly parodic relationship with the
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
styles that inspired it.
Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture. Reynold ...
. ''Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture''. Soft Skull Press, 2012. p. 382-383


Characteristics

''
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
'' referred to the genre as "a spastic form of breakbeat jungle that relied on powerful audio software and patient programming to warp old midtempo beats and breaks into a frenzied, experimental potpourri of low-attention-span electronic music." Critic Simon Reynolds described it as "jungle by non-junglists for non-junglists," stating that producers are "free to take the idiomatic features of jungle — fucked-up breakbeats, mutant bass, sampladelic collage —and exacerbate them away beyond any conceivable use-value to DJ or dancer." Author Peter Shapiro called it "double-time
drum 'n' 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) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre ...
with impossible-to-dance-to rhythms and
toilet humor Toilet humour or potty humour is a type of off-colour humour dealing with: defecation (including diarrhea and constipation), in which case it is called scatological humour (compare scatology); urination; flatulence, in which case it is called fla ...
."


History

Early exponents of drill 'n' bass included
Luke Vibert Luke Vibert (born 26 January 1973) is a British electronic musician and producer, also known for his work under several aliases such as Plug and Wagon Christ. Raised in Cornwall, Vibert began releasing projects in the 1990s across varied genre ...
,
Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...
, and
Squarepusher Thomas Russell Jenkinson (born 17 January 1975), known professionally as Squarepusher, is an English electronic musician, record producer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and DJ. His music spans several genres including drum and bass, IDM, a ...
. The style was pioneered by Vibert on his 1995 EPs under the name Plug. Other pioneering releases included Aphex Twin's '' Hangable Auto Bulb'' EPs (1995) (under his AFX moniker) and Squarepusher's '' Conumber E:P'' (1995). In 1996, the style appeared on long-form LPs such as Plug's ''
Drum 'n' Bass for Papa ''Drum 'n' Bass for Papa'' is a studio album by Luke Vibert, released under the alias Plug. It was originally released by Blue Planet Recordings in 1996, and in 1997 on Trent Reznor's Nothing Records with the bonus addition of Vibert's previou ...
'' and Squarepusher's ''
Feed Me Weird Things ''Feed Me Weird Things'' is the debut studio album by English electronic musician Tom Jenkinson under the alias Squarepusher. It was released on 3 June 1996 through Rephlex Records. Upon release, ''Feed Me Weird Things'' peaked at number 10 o ...
''. Aphex Twin continued working in the style on his '' Richard D. James Album (1996)'', '' Come to Daddy'' (1997), and ''
Drukqs ''Drukqs'' (stylised as ''drukQs'') is the fifth studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released in October 2001 through Warp Records. It is a double album that ...
'' (2001). The μ-Ziq album ''
Lunatic Harness ''Lunatic Harness'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music producer Mike Paradinas under the stage name μ-Ziq. It was released on 30 June 1997 in the United Kingdom on the Planet Mu label, and on 29 July 1997 in the United State ...
'' (1997) was described by ''
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...
'' as an "immaculate example" of the style. Subsequent artists like
Witchman John Roome (born 26 August 1968, a.k.a. Witchman) is a hip hop/breakbeat artist who has worked with The Orb and The Jungle Brothers. Having completed the score on five movies (''Messengers'', ''Dead End Road'', ''Song of Songs'', ''Want'' and ...
, Animals on Wheels,
Amon Tobin Amon Adonai Santos de Araújo Tobin (; born February 7, 1972) is a Brazilian electronic musician, composer and producer. He is noted for his unusual methodology in sound design and music production. He has released eight major studio albums unde ...
, Mung, and Plasmalamp also explored the style. By the end of the 1990s, it had largely dissipated. Later artists such as
Kid606 Miguel Trost De Pedro (born July 27, 1979), better known by his stage name Kid606, is an electronic musician who was raised in San Diego and later moved to San Francisco. He is most closely associated with the Glitch (music), glitch, Intelligent ...
drew on the style. It would help produce the IDM spin-off genre
breakcore Breakcore is a style of electronic dance music that emerged from jungle, hardcore, and drum and bass in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is characterized by very complex and intricate breakbeats and a wide palette of sampling sources played at high ...
, which took a more earnest and frenetic approach to the jungle sound.


See also

*
Intelligent dance music Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints.''"…the label 'IDM' (for avant-garde, 'intelligent dance music') see ...
*
Jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaá¹…gala'' ...
*
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 Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
*
Glitch (music) Glitch is a genre of experimental electronic music that emerged in the 1990s, which is distinguished by the deliberate use of glitches in audio media and other sonic artifacts. The sounds featured in glitch tracks usually come from audio record ...


References

{{Electronica Drum and bass genres English styles of music