The Amen Breakbeat is considered a ‘ubiquitous piece of the pop culture sounds cape’ (Harrison 2004) which was pivotal in the development of various musical genres. The popularity and use of the break over the past thirty years has entered into the ‘collective audio unconscious’ (Harrison 2004) whereby the endless permutation, slicing, chopping and rearranging of the original six second drum loop by the Winston’s has allowed for the reproduction and appropriation of the break within an array of musical genres. Not only is the break prevalent in the contemporary music culture, but it is also used as a rhythmic backdrop in promotional campaigns and popular television show theme songs including Futurama (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cYgqSdjMTk&feature=related) and the powerpuff girls (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8HdpBXLVYk).
The development of the Breakbeat overtime within various musical genres will be discussed as well as the rebirth and popularity of the break which is due to sampling or the sampler which is an important instrument in hip-hop and electronic music. The Amen is considered by Andrew Whelan (2009) as a ‘sample’; that being a particular segment of a sound recording. It is generally considered the most sampled piece of recorded sound in the history of western music (Whelan 2009, p2) although the break is so unfamiliar to so many of us.
The advent of the sampler in the 1980s allowed for the revival of the drum loop heard in the middle of the Winston’s song Amen Brother to be spread in several directions due to continuous sampling enabling users to apply and reproduce the break. The Sampler is a machine about the size of a VCR that allows users to record any sound into it for quick playback and arrangement where the samples can be modified in many different ways. The sampler is a principle tool responsible for the birth and development of hip-hop and electronic music whereby with the use of the sampler any drum beat, any guitar rift any sound that could be recorded could be used as a new composition; a new contextualisation (Harrison 2004).
Commercial produced music has been part realised with the sampler in shaping modern music where Hip hop and other electronic based music genres pioneered the creative use of samplers and the amen break was one of the first drum samples to be experimented with; ‘it’s a beat which transcends musical genre: effortlessly transposing into metal, to pop, to dance music’ (iammartin 2009). The six second drum solo from the song amen brother has been ‘looped, reversed, sped up and shattered into a million different compositions by a thousand producers, musicians and djs’ (iammartin 2009). A clip found on vimeo which is a popular sharing service to connect with people online where users can upload and share videos and restrict access presents some of the key elements of history 2.0; participatory, amenable (participate in fun projects), and fixity. The particular video found illustrates the journey of the simple drum beat that has been reused, built upon, used in countless different ways, remixed, re-sampled, which has all been made possible with the sampler. The short film explores the evolution and integration of the Winstons drum break from 1969 and the video can be considered a form of mashup through the digital combination of different songs. The audio and visuals progress from the early songs with the break through to songs being heard on today’s radio (http://vimeo.com/5670125).
In the last decade the break has been applied to various popular music and electronic sounds. The Prodigy and Fatboy slim (Info 2001) are recognised for their looping and cutting of breaks where their unusual sounds have made them unique and popular today. The Prodigy incorporates various styles in relation to break; rave, hardcore, industrial, and electronic rock. An example of the break within one of the Prodigy’s songs; ‘Everybody in the place’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpLdRewHVg4&feature=player_embedded#t=29). The gritty, compressed and slightly metallic qualities of the Amen are the techniques that essentially make it unique. This is continuously chopped and resequenced through the proliferation of break in new genres and it is through the use of samplers the explosion of the break has spread. The common genres associated with break stated in Whelan’s (2009, p3) reading consist of; hardcore, techno, reggae, jungle, drum and bass and hip-hop. When conducting further research there are even more subgenres associated. The pervasive nature of the Amen break in today’s musical culture is presented briefly in the Wikipedia site at the bottom of the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakbeat. This proves the extent to which the break has impacted and helped develop various music genres overtime.
The Amen Break gave birth to several music subcultures where one drum loop based on six seconds from 1969 has had so much influence in the development of various genres. Subgenres presented on the site entitled ‘Breakbeat paradise’ provides insight on the range of subgenres.
Breakbeats are the basis of the Hip Hop and Drum n Bass genres with them emerging from breaks. The hip hop genre became prominent in the mid 1980’s where it became influential within the UK music scene and youth culture. This is primarily due to the developed production techniques of scratching and mixing evident within break and also at this time there was a rise in the breakbeat phenomena; ‘the development of a subculture based around searching for rave breaks on soul and funk records and sampling and reconstructing beats’ (Mayers n.d.).
With the injections of breaks within the hip hop culture in the late 1970s and early 1980s it became the rhythmic elements for many hip hop songs (Mayers, n.d).
Secondly, Drum and bass is fast paced and rhythm-focused with electronic elements and emphasis on intricate and complex drum sequencing and breaks. Its characteristics of fast tempo, broken drum beats are relative to the styles of funk, hip hop, jazz, heavy metal and rock. Due to this it is one of the most practised subgenres of break where its all-inclusiveness nature within various genres allows for greater use by artists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyudrMvcxIc
Big beat is a well known subgenre of breakbeat where it’s a heavier and more beat driven variant of breakbeat which is suitable to the dance floor thus appealing to mass audiences. In order to achieve bigger beats songs are amplified with bassier electronic drum-sounds. Its heavy style is a fusion of rock
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ0PpcEIwRQ&feature=PlayList&p=DB8A9EACBC42ED25&index=2.
The Jungle subgenre is considered the predecessor of Drum n Bass that evolved from breakbeat and hardcore. It’s recognised for its speedy breaks, complex rhythms and varied percussion, as well as heavy baselines and the inclusion of reggae vocals. It has a funky edge where its combination of reggae, heavy base lines and high speed break beats centres its aesthetic almost entirely on the deconstruction of the Amen that being the slicing, chopping and rearranging of the original six second sample. Jungle uses many of the same production techniques pioneered by hip-hop DJs and producers. The use of samplers and sequencers along with the high value placed upon the beat are inherited from hip-hop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EISkK45rR7s&feature=PlayList&p=6EDC8BBAB59C7B22&index=1
Funky breaks are similar to big beat in many ways. Like big beat this style has elements from funk with more danceable rhythms but with a funkier edge. The biggest player in this style is without doubt Fat Boy Slim who has had several mainstream hits with his crazy style of funky breaks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDODGwtX7RA
The Nu Skool subgenre has darker elements also known from Drum n Bass and hardcore. It’s the newest form of breakbeat to enter the scene in 1998. The breakbeat rhythm appears to disband elements of techno, electro, and drum n bass into more danceable, accessible music, similarly to Big Break.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUFsCznbPJw&feature=PlayList&p=5F6663327CFDFD3C&index=1
Triphop goes in the opposite direction of the fast paced, rhythm focused Drum n Bass as its characterized by slow tempo acoustic elements and down-tempo fusions of jazz, hip hop, and breakbeat. It is often dark or minimalist orchestration, generally with down mood, and the use of trippy effects. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf1J_j9RyK8
Rock: the break can be heard in the Oasis song- 'D'You Know What I Mean'. Have a listen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGaRDN8IMcg
Bibliography
Harrison, N 2004, Video explains the world’s most important 6-sec drum loop, accessed 2/09/09, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac
iammartin 2009, Six seconds from ’69, accessed 10/09/09, http://vimeo.com/5670125
Sood, N 2009, Then future of the internet and online video, accesses 15/09/09, http://www.gadgetell.com/tech/comment/the-future-of-the-internet-and-online-video/
Breakbeat n.d., accessed 2/09/09, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakbeat
Mayers, N n.d., Urban Breakbeat Culture, accessed 17/09/09, http://urban-breakbeat.com/docs/Urban_Breakbeat_Culture.html
Breakcore and Drum and Bass n.d., accessed 17/09/09, http://www.dysphemic.com/breakcore.htm
The Breakbeat Genres 2001, accessed 17/09/09, http://www.breakbeat-paradise.com/bb_info.php
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment