From: James Rogers (jamesr@best.com)
Date: Wed Dec 12 2001 - 17:11:01 MST
On 12/12/01 3:17 PM, "JERTEMP711@aol.com" <JERTEMP711@aol.com> wrote:
> I would go further to say that it is the Jungle variant on Drum
> N Bass that actually begins to sound more like its own original genre. The
> basic DNB pattern is really just a glorified 8 beat rock pattern or 16 beat
> rock pattern played quite often in cut time which then only makes the timbes
> fresh sounding. With the syncopated Jungle, Arabic and Indian time signatures
> were making their way into western dance culture so to me, that is more
> fundamentally "new" than basic DNB.
I think you are confusing "real" DnB with people that have co-opted the name
(kind of like how "ska" was co-opted by the music industry for music that
wasn't even close). I'm talking about some of the early pioneers, like
Talvin Singh, who was blatantly influenced by Indian music. That said, a
lot of good DnB seems to be heavily influenced by jazz. Jungle is related
to DnB, but the distinction as a genre isn't clear; the primary difference
is that it is about 10-15 BPM faster than DnB and Jungle sounds a little
more "urban" typically. DnB and Jungle could probably be folded together
into a single genre.
Proper DnB has a couple features that make it easily identifiable. First,
it almost never has kick drum and it doesn't have a "four on the floor" beat
(if it does, it isn't DnB). Second, most DnB is produced using a
combination of 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, or 7/4 drum patterns that have been mapped
into 4/4 or 3/4 time (yes, a few commercial DnB tracks are 3/4). In fact,
that is the primary secret to the distinctive DnB drum sound: you layer a
few sparse percussion tracks, all programmed in different unusual time
signatures. You may have to do a little cutting and pasting to make things
fit into 4/4 time, but the abrupt breaks just add to the charm.
Cheers,
-James Rogers
jamesr@best.com
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