UK DnB (nMe)Part 2

It’s the 25th May 2019, Platform 5 at Berkhamsted station, (or maybe 4, it was a long day and I was rather inebriated at this point, oh the duality of 2 for £18 double cocktail pitchers at Wetherspoons), is full of 18-20 somethings, male and female, clad in shorts and sunglasses, the majority holding a beer or pre-mixed can in both hands. My brother, being the sort of man he is, intermittently sips on a bottle of Moët & Chandon as the train we are on hurtles towards London, the carriage packed with faces of people I recognized and usually wouldn’t talk to, but the excitement and adrenaline of the day combined with the sickly-sweet aftertaste of my pre-mixed JD & Coke, equipped me with everything I needed to take the day head on.

We were going raving.

The beauty of Drum and Bass is the sense of community that enshrines every event, (at least the ones I have been to) and this was no different. One stage must’ve been no more than about 8ft away from the crowd. At other raves I have stood next to or behind DJs and MCs who are very much on the scene, my brother actually shaking hands with DJ Guv at one point. I think this nature of the scene is a reason for why so many people get hooked and can’t help themselves but go to as many raves as they can, whatever sub-genre of Drum and Bass it is.

This then begs the question, what types of DnB are there? I don’t claim to know all of the sub-genres, there are always things one hasn’t heard yet, but hopefully this little run down will give you enough to go on to do your own homework:

• Jungle - Amen/Apache Breaks sampled & chopped up, Reggae or Ragga vocals, chest-vibrating bass (Roland TR-808)

• Jump Up - Faster than other DnB (pushing 174/175 bpm), aggressive bass heavy tunes, lots of samples from other music, bold and manic sounds

• Neurofunk - Flowing, complex rhythms, sampled breakbeats, layered soundscapes & percussive stabs

• Liquid Funk - Harmonic and melodic grooves, instrumental layers as opposed to samples, sentimental atmosphere

Now, as I said before, I don’t claim this to be the full expanse of the Drum and Bass universe, because it certainly isn’t, however these are certainly the styles I have been exposed to the most.

You may now be asking, if these are the styles, who are the big DJs of today? Well, this is always going to be subjective, so there isn’t any scientific method to how I have compiled this list, but here you go;

• Andy C

• Shy FX (yes, still)

• A.M.C

• Kings of the Rollers

• High Contrast

• Netsky

• Chase & Status

Some honourable mentions should be included, for being big proponents of bringing DnB to the mainstream (whether that’s a good thing or not), people like;

• DJ Fresh (‘Hot Right Now’ was the first No.1 on the Official UK charts that was a Drum and Bass track)

• Chase & Status (yes, I’m including them twice but they truly are a perfect example of dipping in and out of the mainstream, anyone who played Fifa 12 will instantly recognise their hit ‘No Problem’)

• Rudimental (had an OCC No.1 with their album ‘Home’

To finish off this two-part article, firstly thank you if you’re still reading, people can see the words ‘Drum and Bass’ and be instantly turned off. Now though, I will get a bit more academic *polishes and puts on pair of glasses*.

Looking forward, I am a firm believer that Drum and Bass has a bright and exciting future ahead of it; this next decade will produce some of the finest talent yet to grace the publics’ airwaves.

My reasoning for this is that I see lots of parallels currently, with what was going on in the late 80s/early 90s. The youth of today are fed up and are taking matters into their own hands, a new era of self-discovery and individualism is sweeping the country, which goes hand-in-hand with the community feel of the Drum and Bass scene.

Arguably though, I believe the greatest contributor to this will be the fact that Rap is omnipresent in today's popular culture. This may not seem related, but back in the 90s Rap music began to blow up, right around when Drum and Bass was doing the same. This obviously isn’t evidence but history does tend to repeat itself.

Ultimately, the combination of these factors will create the conditions for a movement to arrive and sweep the nation, just like it did 30 years ago.

Jae Maclaughlin