Booyaka Booyaka (Drum & Bass in general)

Name: kittykat18

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Product:	Drum & Bass in general
Date:	11.04.02 (242 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Energetic, revolutionary, atmospheric

Disadvantages: you have to be in the mood for it, ie-not when you have a headache, the sad kevins that like it!

Well there's drums. And there's bass. Lots of it. But I can't just say that, can I? I learnt percussion for four years so have a bit of a drum fetish, and a bit of bass is always a good thing, so you could say drum n bass combines these two things. But there is a lot more to the genre than that. To the untrained ear it may sound like a mass of noise but most drum n bass takes a fair few listens before you "get it".

Don't just think Ali G and Kevins in souped up escorts (although a lot of them like drum n bass). Drum n bass is great to listen to:

-In cars. Of course. The bass can blow your windows out and you look hard.

-As background music. It's nice to have on low in the background whilst you do other things. I like to have it on when I clean the house, as you do not have to listen to it too hard and do not start to sing along, but the rhythms get me working faster and make me energetic. I am sure my neighbours love it too.

-In intimate situations. People may not think of drum n bass as being sexy, yet it is very atmospheric and can help a man with his ahem, "rhythm".

-For chilling out.

Drum n bass is a British phenomena and been around for over a decade now. It developed out of hardcore rave music (you know, the sad stuff where people wear illuminous clothes and wave glow sticks around) and contains sources from ragga, hip hop, and dance music.

Most drum n bass tracks are instrumental only, although some have lyrics and some have MC's. Jungle is a genre very close to drum n bass but it has much more MCing (or rapping) over the music.

**Recommended albums/artists/tunes**:

~Goldie- InCredible Sound of Drum n Bass

A great introduction to the genre, a superbly mixed compilation containing a mixture of classic and relatively unknown tracks, from up beat to laid back.

~Adam F-Colours

A masterpiece from the Liverpo
ol born DJ who has recently collaborated with Redman. A complete album if ever there was one. Contains the popular single "Circles" and a beautiful track called "The Tree Knows Everything" on which Tracy Thorn, the lead singer from Everything But The Girl sings. Interesting fact: Adam F first learnt about programming and DJing on a keyboard he bought with money he earned doing magic tricks in Hamleys toy store.

~LTJ Bukem

A man brought up on a diet of classical music and piano lessons and who went on to become a ground breaking DJ. His first record was Logical Progression, and this set the standard for his music-lush, mellow vibes and crashing beats combined for a unique listening experience. You could call it the intelligent mans drum n bass. Recommended track- Horizons.

~Grooverider

Yes, the man who does the radio one shows with Fabio has actually been DJing for over 10 years and could be called one of the founders of the genre.
Recommended track- Rainbows Of Colour
(sung by former Archive singer Roya Arab)

~Roni Size

Brought up in Bristol and beginning in producing reggae music, Roni Size went on to form reprazent with MC Dynamite and singer Onallee. Their first album "New Forms" won the Mercury Music Award in 1997.
Recommended Track- Brown Paper Bag

**Events**:

Most cities will have a drum n bass club night or if you are lucky, a dedicated club. In Cardiff, the Emporium does a drum n bass night every Saturday. In Birmingham, the Que Club does regular events. Bristol has a good scene (as one of the places where the genre originated) as does London. For a full list of drum n bass events around the whole world, go here:

http://www.breakbeat.co.uk/events/allevents.as p

Drum n Bass is most popular here in Britain, but is growing in popularity in the USA, Canada and the Netherlands.

**Where to hear Drum n Bass**

Th
e best place and where the genre really took off is on pirate radio. If you live in a city, no doubt there will be a few of these around, especially at the weekend. Just twiddle your knob to the higher end of FM and you should find something. If not, Fabio and Grooverider have a show on Radio One every Friday night from 2-4am.

Drum n Bass is used extensively in advertising (it hurts when you hear a favourite track being used to advertise "Blue Peter". It really does) and increasingly for games soundtracks, notably Playstation 2 games.

**What to wear**:

I am no expert, ok? But in my experience, if you go to a drum n bass event in a short skirt and stilettos you will be laughed out of there. Trainers are the name of the game, but not any old trainer. DC ones are popular or the latest Nike ones that look more like space boots. Baggy trousers, tight tops. Mmmm. The clothes are not too important. Many blokes end up stripping off anyway (now you know why I like it!) as it gets hot dancing to those beats.

For a list of 80 essential drum n bass tunes and online interviews, go here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/documentaries/lama cq_docs_drum_bass.shtml

And get your head nodding and your feet a tapping. Ahem. Just turn it down when your nan comes round.

*********************************************
Let me pause for a second
Let me jog your conscience
Broaden your horizons
We'll have no nonsense
We'll shift another gear
Into a new format

(F-Jam, Adam F and MC Conrad)

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