What is now a complex mixture of influences and genre began from humble roots. Though many debate the original drum & bass record, it was a combination of Lenny De Ice's "We are ie" and the late 1989 Perfecto release 'Baz De Conga' which pioneered the movement. The cut was an amalgamation of ideas and sounds, combining the sax drop from "Monkey Say, Monkey Do" with Steel City bleeps and a gospel vocal lift. What producer Steve Bicknell brought to the cut however was attitude - the whole mix powered by a tumbling sub roll, clattering breakbeats and an unrelenting synth strike.

Wherever people sought their influence, what followed was a snowballing of interest within this new form of UK sourced dance music. London at the time was a flurry of activity as labels, shops and clubs grew, this fire fuelled by an ever expanding pirate movement. Although the formation of labels such as Mendoza and Reinforced in the spring of 1990 gave direction, as late as the closing stages of 1991 the music was being played back to back with other forms of dance music.

This wasn't to last however, as the months rolled on the tempo spiralled and the music moved further and further from its house roots, each producer developing a style of their own.

The music made a distinct split during 1992. The early months of the year saw the formation of Moving Shadow, who released Earth Leakage Trip's "Psychotronic EP" to critical acclaim, a breath of fresh air in the more dancefloor orientated releases of Sub Base, Ibiza and Sound Of The Underground, who were continuing on the rhythm based club cuts.

Nebula II's "Flatliners", typified the darkside sound of 92/93, menacing and unforgiving the sounds borrowed from Belgium techno wreaked havoc to the groove. Leeroy Small's Leicester based Formation at the forefront of this digression through the Dark & Moody series, the tempo again the deciding factor as it creept from the lower regions of 140 beats per minute all the way through to 170.

Two cuts turned around a darkside which had become somewhat overburdened with a cartoon horror film dynamic. Goldie's "Terminator" and a little known white stamped only as "Tic Tac Toe", the white bringing a new maturity to the sound, while Goldie brought the technical mechanics. His work at Reinforced, in addition to his legendary personality and enthusiasm for the music led to him becoming one of the first producers to sign for a major.

From this point the music continued to splinter, 1993 saw LTJ Bukem establish Good Looking Records. Although most quote "Music" as pioneer of d&b's more musical form, it was his earlier work "Demon's Theme" which laid out the framework for what later became known as ambient or intelligent drum & bass. What Bukem in fact pioneered was in fact neither ambient nor intelligent, moreover a more structured approach to the d&b production, which concentrated less on the percussives and more around the atmospheres of the track.

1994 also saw the advent of the drum & bass longplayer by way of the groundbreaking "Parallel Universe" from 4 Hero, a double album of pure abstract, bringing vocals and the first echoes of jazz to drum & bass. Marc Mac & Dego's technical prowess leaving most breathless - seventy minutes bringing more new breaks than had been used in the music within the last six months in addition to a number of new techniques one of which, filtering, has made an indelible impression on the way beat programming has been carried out since. This discovery and integration of jazz became a turning point for the music, these elements cropping up within a number of releases, perhaps most notably in Blame & Justice's "Icons" project released on Justice's own "Modern Urban Jazz" label as well as showing its head through D*Notes seminal "Criminal Justice" longplayer.

Bristol made an indelible impression both through a multitude of labels, Full Cycle stable and Brian G's London based V imprint leading the charge - releasing a wealth of tracks, responsible for bringing through artists such as Size, Krust, Die, Flynn & Flora and Bill Riley - who integrated jazz, dub and smokey trip hop elements into a whole new form.

1997 sees a number of developments in d&b's continuing expansion. The second wave of artists longplayers for majors are starting to appear - albums from 4 Hero, DJ Krust, Adam F, Goldie, Source Direct and Dillinjah are expected before the year is out, while many already released (Photek's "Modus Operandi" and "New Forms" from Full Cycle collective Reprazent) are receiving critical acclaim. In addition to this the work of labels such as Good Looking and James Lavelle's Mo' Wax are working at bringing d&b artists to instrumental hip hop and vice versa, while tours of the US and Japan by most major dj's in addition to clubs and pirates surfacing in most of the UK's towns and cities spread the word.

As a genre of dance music, drum & bass remains at the forefront of technological and production innovation while it's continual diversification ensures longevity.

By Ben Gilman

The UK, its 1991, a new style is blowing up the spot all over the country - its name is hardcore. Hardcore was a totally new type of music that was nothing like anything before it - events occurred in huge fields in the middle of nowhere or in warehouses that someone had just broken into. For these few years the rave/hardcore scene flourished and grew. However, who would have guessed that the scene was doomed. Tracks such as Urban Hype's "Trip To Trumpton" and the Prodigy's "Charly" gained chart success and hardcore music lost its underground culture - it became, some might say, "cheesy". Ravers all over the UK watched as the scene split. Born from the hardcore style were two new genres - happy hardcore and jungle/drum and bass. Happy hardcore is those people who are keeping the vibe alive with the manic pianos and chipmunk vocals. This scene still has a huge following all over the UK, Europe and Australia. The music is much more accessible by everyone than drum and bass, it is sub-divided into: gabber techno, 4-beat, breakbeat etc..

Drum and bass is the style characterized by the breakbeat, at first these were sped up hip-hop beats, this sound was pioneered by the likes of DJ Hype and others. Soon DJs and artists were creating more complicated breakbeats and the jungle scene was born. The style passed through phases of ragga - i.e. M-Beat feat. General Levy - Incredible and hip-hop i.e. Ganja Kru - Super Sharp Shooter - before emerging as a style in its own right. The drum and bass scene now in the UK is growing and developing all the time. The house music masses have been served up undiluted drum and bass from Grooverider and LTJ Bukem in the Cream Courtyard, Liverpool, UK. Drum and bass can not only be the music of outdoor events but the refined rollers for UK clubland.

As journalists sub-divide the scene we must remember that it is all drum and bass, from artcore to darkside and from techstep to intelligent. Drum and bass DJs are finally getting the residencies at top clubs and their own slots on UK-wide radio - (check out Fabio + Grooverider 2:00 - 4:00 Friday Night/Saturday Morning - Radio 1 - UK 97-99 FM.) The style seemed to be heading for emergence into general popularity a few years back, with every pop act wanting a fashionable jungle remix on their B-sides and every "trendy" advertising agency putting 160+BPM breakbeat to their TV commercials. However, fortunately a genre so embedded in the underground was destined to remain that way, and it probably saved it. To be widely accepted would have killed the cutting-edge nature of the drum and bass scene and destined it to a commercial onslaught that would have ultimately destroyed the most forward-thinking of music.

Some definitions

Ambient jungle Drum and bass tracks with an atmospheric feel/mood/style to them. Some have long intros or ambient breaks. The most popular example is Bukem's "Horizons."

Artcore / Intelligent These were the tracks that were initially written in a backlash against the big ragga jungle scene. The term was used most famously for the series of React Compilations, which have included mixes by Kemistry (R.I.P) + Storm. This was and still is a favourite style for Good Looking Records - a label that was initially ignored as it did not base its music on the dancefloor.

Darkside The exact opposite to the optimistic and catchy hardcore anthems. Darkside takes in samples from horror movies, deep, dark basslines and screams. Has undergone some serious developements but an ever-present style throughout drum and bass history. Still popular with todays producers i.e. Blue Sonics - Devil Inside. It is not so much characterised by the samples now but more by the general sound and feel of the beats and synths.

Happy hardcore This is what remains of the original hardcore style, after jungle split off in 1991/92 some DJs and ravers remained loyal to the manic pianos, cartoon samples and sped-up vocals. The music self-destructed to some extent by becoming stagnated and too repetitive, as a result it would appear to be fading fast in the UK but still retains a large following in other countries.

Hardstep A term borne out of Grooverider's seminal 1995 LP - "Hardstep Selection." Usually simple tracks with deep grinding basslines and minimal or simple breakbeats. jazzstep Another sub-genre for those artists who took in jazz influences for their productions. Originated with Alex Reece but more recently publicised by Bristol's Roni Size & Reprazent and 4 Hero. Still a style going strong.

Jump-up The style for the dancefloor. Big, bad drums and strong basslines. Often utilise vocal samples so once you hear some tracks you never forget them. Most at home in a club or event and guaranteed to get people moving (even if its only head-nodding.)

Ragga-jungle The style of the originators. Many of the early jungle tunes took in ragga influences - spawned one of jungle's greatest chart successes: M-Beat feat. General Levy's Incredible and Shy FX's Original Nuttah. The influence has died right down with the Tribe Of Issachar's Tribal Natty being a lone example of recent years.