We wrote some words about the essential element of our favourite genre… Sure, it’s the drums that are sampled by dnb artists the most. Want to get deeper into the subject? Don’t miss our new feature!
The largest and probably the most prominent tradition in drum & bass and jungle is sampling of drum beats, also referred to as breaks. This method was spread by artists who recorded drum sounds from funk and soul records in order to apply them in their own tracks. Eventually, live drums in electronic music became even more twisted thanks to the emergence of samplers, which allowed to play with breaks in the craziest ways possible. To be fair, amen break is not the only good one: there are dozens of other bizarre samples, which are still rather underrated. Below, you can listen to the individual sounds and the original musical pieces, as well as recall dnb music based on this amazing technique.
P.S. Producers, you should definitely check this out 😉
James Brown – Tighten Up (1:50)
Source Direct – Stonekiller (Metalheadz, 1996)
Trace – Sonar (Prototype Recordings, 1998)
Capone – Tudor Rose (Hardleaders, 1999)
James Brown – Funky Drummer (5:35)
dBridge – Cornered (Metalheadz, 2012)
Calyx – Quagmire (Moving Shadow, 2000)
Seba & Robert Manos – Heaven Sent (Soul:r, 2006)
Lyn Collins – Think (About It) (2:16)
Breakage – So Vain (Bassbin, 2003)
Phobia – Back Track (Renegade Hardware, 2007)
Concord Dawn & Ill.Skillz – Unreal (Renegade Hardware, 2004)
Commodores – The Assembly Line (4:09)
Chris.Su – Consciousness (Renegade Hardware, 2007)
Universal Project – Jackhammer (Vicious Circle Remix) (Renegade Hardware, 2004)
SPL – Death (Tech Itch Recordings, 2006)
Jimmy McGriff – The Worm (0:05)
Shy FX – Plastic Soul (Bingo Beats, 2005)
Alix Perez & Sabre – Solitary Native (SGN:LTD, 2007)
Origin Unknown – Truly One (RAM Records, 1995)
Incredible Bongo Band – Apache (0:00)
Goldie feat. Diane Charlemagne – Inner City Life (FFRR, 1994)
Ed Rush & Nico – Sector 3 (No U-Turn, 1996)
Future Forces Inc. – Jeep Beats (Renegade Hardware, 1996)
Bobby Byrd – Hot Pants (Bonus Beats) (0:08)
Drumsound & Bassline Smith – Bandsaw (Renegade Hardware, 2004)
Seba & Paradox feat. Robert Manos – Move On (Hospital Records, 2005)
Technical Itch – Borg Mind (Penetration Records, 2001)
Boymerang – Soul Beat Runna (0:45)
Friction & K-Tee – Shogun Nightmare (Metalheadz, 2008)
Spectrasoul – Memento (dBridge Remix) (Shogun Audio, 2013)
Om Unit & Sam Binga – Transatlantic (BUNIT, 2015)
Rotary Connection – Life Could (3:13)
Dom & Roland – Thunder (Moving Shadow, 1998)
Loxy – Jinnel Killa (Renegade Hardware, 2005)
Future Forces Inc. – Dead by Dawn (Renegade Hardware, 1996)
Skull Snaps – It’s a New Day (0:00)
Dom & Roland feat. Hive – 1134 (Dom & Roland Productions, 2009)
Dylan – Spasm (Renegade Hardware, 2000)
Pendulum – Ulterior Motive (Uprising Records, 2003)
The Vibrettes – Humpty Dump (0:00)
dBridge & Vegas – True Romance (Metalheadz Platinum, 2004)
Utah Jazz – Runaway (Liquid V, 2008)
DJ Zinc – Reach Out (True Playaz, 1996)
The Headhunters feat. Pointer Sisters – God Make Me Funky (0:00)
Ed Rush & Optical – Bacteria (Virus Recordings, 1999)
Universal Project – The Craft (Remix) (Renegade Hardware, 2002)
The Militia – War Cry (Renegade Hardware, 2004)
Dyke & The Blazers – Let a Woman Be a Woman – Let a Man Be a Man (1:45)
Roni Size – Brown Paper Bag (Talkin’ Loud, 1997)
Fierce & S.P.Y – Borderline (Quarantine, 2012)
Silent Witness & Break – Total Recall (No U-Turn, 2003)
Blowfly – Sesame Street (0:26)
Roni Size – Phizical (V Recordings, 1994)
Q Project – Credit Crunch (Hospital Records, 2008)
Nu:Tone – Our House (BrandNu Recordings, 2003)
James Brown – Soul Pride (3:21)
Om Unit – The Crossing (Metalheadz, 2014)
Paradox – 96 Paragons (Tech Freak Recordings, 2004)
B-Key – Man Of Science (Scientific Wax, 2011)