In this article I will be describing the musical genre 'drum and bass' by writing about specific features commonly found in the writing process and song production. The features that I will cover include: Harmonic characteristics, melodic content, texture and timbre, subject matter and sonic characteristics.
Harmonic Characteristics
Drum and bass doesn't follow any trends in the fact that its either in a major or a minor key. They will usually use strong synth sections and strings to build up a powerful atmospheric sound. In the subgenre 'jump up drum and bass' they will usually use minor chords to create an eerie ambient sound. This ultimately leads to a drop in the song where the bass line and chords will change and the drums will go double time. An example of this is the song 'Saturate' by Mefjus.
Melody
The melodies in drum and bass are almost always either sung or played on various kinds of synthesisers. The main melodic parts of drum and bass are found during the buildup to the drop and during the breakdown. For example in the song 'Gorilla March' by Zomboy there is a breakdown with a piano melody at the end of the song. 'Liquid drum and bass' is known for its melodies and is by far the most melodic subgenre of drum and bass. A lot of drum and bass will use influences from different genres, a lot will use influences from world music. Chase and status are a prime example of this as they use indian melodies in their song 'Eastern jam' and Aftican drums and vocals in their song 'No problem'.
Instrumentation and texture
Drum and bass is usually written between 160 and 180 beats per minute. During the buildup they will often use syncopated rythms and it will often go double time at the drop. Sometimes drum and bass artists will add a section which is in half time and use heavier synths. This genre is called drumstep and is influenced by the genre dubstep.
Subject Matter
Drum and bass can be written about almost anything, but most of the music is written purely to get people excited and to make them dance.
Technological/Production elements
Drum and Bass is typically recorded using various different DAWs, and this depends on the artist's personal preference. DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation. Some examples of DAW's are: Logic, Cubase and even Garageband. Live drum and bass groups are very rare but one that has gained huge popularity is a band called 'Pendulum' they have also incorporated some metal themes in a lot of their music.
History
Drum and bass is known to have been inspired by a very famous drum break in a song called 'Amen brother' by the Winstons. This break has been sampled hundreds of times by various artists and over lots of different genres. It has been sampled in the following songs:
"Straight outta Compton" - NWA
"Pigs" - Tyler the creator
"Eyeless" - Slipknot
"Ill manors" - Plan B
"Time" - Chase and status
and it was even sampled in the Futurama theme tune and countless other tracks.
Other mentionable famous samples are found in the following songs:
"Scorpio" - Dennis Coffey
"Funky mule" - Ike Turner
"Think" - Lynn Collins
In 1991 a new musical genre gained popularity in the UK it was called 'Hardcore', people were starting raves to this music in fields in the middle of nowhere and breaking into abandoned warehouses. As the genre gained popularity it split into two sub genres 'Happy Hardcore' and 'Drum and bass'. Throughout the years drum and bass has also been divided into many of its own sub genres. These are: Drumstep, Jump up and Ragga Jungle.
3b - Links to songs mentioned
Mefjus - Saturate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEo8GStfiGc
Zomboy - Gorilla March
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwrx6tGnkVQ
Chase and Status - Eastern Jam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPb1w7s7iUQ
Chase and Status - No Problem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPRkYWVinF0
The Winstons - Amen Brother (break is at 1:26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxZuq57_bYM
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