Intelligent drum and bass

From DNBWiki

Contents 1 Definition 2 Characteristics 3 Notable Turning Points 3.1 Mid/Late 1992 3.2 Early 1993 3.3 Mid 1993 3.4 Late 1993 3.5 Early 1994 3.6 Mid 1994 3.7 Late 1994 3.8 Early 1995 3.9 Mid/Early 1995 3.10 Late 1995 3.11 Early 1996 3.12 Mid 1996 3.13 Late 1996 3.14 Early 1997 3.15 2000 3.16 Early 2005 3.17 Late 2005 3.18 Mid 2006 3.19 Late 2006 4 Notable Artists 5 Notable Labels 6 External links

[edit] Definition

“Intelligent” is a term used to describe the kind of music DJs such as LTJ Bukem, Fabio & Peshay championed in the drum and bass scene of the early/mid-90s. Other descriptive terms include “Atmospheric” & “Ambient”.

[edit] Characteristics

The characteristics of the music include spaced-out soundscapes, expanding/evolving pad sounds and a lot of melodic content. In the early 1990s, the nature of the music created a shift to more inventive usage of digital synthesis, but also to manipulation of actual acoustic instruments – an area not really explored by jungle/drum 'n' bass in the early stages. Just as early jungle music created a wave of experimentation with samplers, intelligent drum ‘n’ bass pushed forward experimentation with synthesis - bringing new sounds and, in turn, new moods & audiences to the music. Basslines and beats are made from a different approach – rather than the focus of the energy in the track, they act more to compliment the musical elements, with some exceptions, of course.

[edit] Notable Turning Points

[edit] Mid/Late 1992

• LTJ Bukem makes & starts playing “Demons Theme” (arguably the first intelligent drum 'n' bass track).

[edit] Early 1993

• LTJ Bukem releases “Demons Theme” and, in doing so, starts Good Looking Records.
• Omni Trio’s “Mystic Stepper” is released and is an important tune in bridging the gap between hardcore & jungle. It is highly influential in making a lot of people (including the not-yet intelligent drum 'n' bass artists) turn to the more melodic side of hardcore/jungle.

[edit] Mid 1993

• LTJ Bukem is breaking through even more with “Music” & his remix of “Atlantis (I Need You)” by Apollo Two.
• The Certificate 18 label shows signs of the sort of sound Bukem is pushing but is not releasing anything explicitly atmospheric yet.

[edit] Late 1993

• Legend Records moves toward the intelligent sound more and more. The Invisible Man engineers the releases and also gets involved with Good Looking Records. He is key in keeping the roots of hardcore/jungle active in the ever-evolving sound with the tracks he makes.
• After working on darker music with artists like Bizzy B, Peshay changes direction and begins writing influential intelligent records, released soon after on Good Looking Records & Streetbeats.
• Around December 1993, DJ Crystl’s “Meditation” on Dee Jay Recordings became a favourite among the intelligent drum 'n' bass DJs and it pushed production values forward. Dee Jay & Lucky Spin recordings began putting out more tunes of that style from then on.
• LTJ Bukem’s DJ career becomes distinguished resulting in headlining larger and larger venues such as the well-established Dreamscape event on New Year’s Eve.

[edit] Early 1994

• The Certificate 18 label starts putting out more and more tunes closer to the atmospheric sound LTJ Bukem is pushing forward and gives a few main players-to-be in the scene some of their first releases.
• After success on the Certificate 18 label, Photek moves deeper by creating a consistent stream of atmospheric music, balancing it out with an edge of the heavier breakbeat side of jungle. His music under the name “Aquarius” supported the progression of Good Looking Records for just over a year. He also engages in a lot of engineering work around this time with Ray Keith, Digital & Source Direct to name just a few.
• Basement Records launches a sub-label, Streetbeats; a platform for Peshay & Photek’s early intelligent works, as well as other artists.

[edit] Mid 1994

• Mike Bolton & Jamie Saker arrive in the form of PFM. They are to help to build a strong foundation for Good Looking Records in early 1995 with a barrage of well-produced releases.
• Philip Aslett & James Baker AKA Source Direct fully emerge into the intelligent drum 'n' bass scene with the help of their friend Photek. They, like Photek, manage to merge the two scenes – intelligent and jungle – together with their chaotic breakbeat approach.
• Lucky Spin & Dee Jay Recordings has an outburst of atmospheric productions which were neither intelligent or jungle, putting out tracks which were a mix of both worlds. The engineer for the label, Pete Parsons, began to give the label’s releases a unique sound. He also starts making his own intelligent drum 'n' bass under the name “Voyager”.

[edit] Late 1994

• Basement Records becomes recognised a regular output of breakbeat-heavy intelligent drum 'n' bass.
• Goldie’s “Timeless” album is a worldwide success and helps bridge the gap between hardcore, jungle and intelligent drum 'n' bass. Intelligent drum 'n' bass, as a result, is spread to other countries and the mainstream market.
• From mainstream interest, LTJ Bukem, now seen as the godfather of the scene, gets asked to remix for major labels and stamp his sound onto popular tracks.
• The Moving Shadow label begins to put out an interesting mix of, both, intelligent & jungle drum 'n' bass.
• LTJ Bukem alongside Leo Roche and Sarah Sandy start up what is to be regarded as a legendary drum 'n' bass night at the club, Mars. It is called Speed and is where the latest in atmospheric jungle gets blasted out, usually, before anywhere else every Thursday. The residents include Doc Scott, DJ Lee, Kemistry and Storm.

[edit] Early 1995

• Renegade Recordings is set up, another outlet for intelligent drum 'n' bass, bringing new artists through such as Shogun & Alaska.
• With the influence from Photek especially, the way drum 'n' bass tracks are structured becomes more fixed, and standardized, unlike the hectic structures of jungle. The drum 'n' bass structure that has become standard today has not changed much since.

[edit] Mid/Early 1995

• LTJ Bukem releases “Horizons” and Looking Good Records is set up as a sister label to Good Looking Records in the process.
• LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad feature on Radio 1’s “Essential Mix” show.
• Fabio launches a new record label, Creative Source.

[edit] Late 1995

• The intelligent drum 'n' bass scene is completely filled up with heaps of tunes by Photek, Source Direct, PFM and, as a result, a lot more artists emerge, trying to get a foot in the door. It’s grown so much now that it makes up about 33% of the drum 'n' bass scene.
• There is a lot of interest at this point from outside the drum 'n' bass scene. Around this time, it’s the outsiders which perpetuate the term “intelligent” as inexperienced listeners struggle from a word to differentiate it from the completely dissimilar, yet twin, genre of jungle.
• A lot of artists in hardcore/jungle/drum 'n' bass (and even from other genres) have either converted to or experimented a little with atmospheric drum 'n' bass. It’s at a very healthy point where it’s neither 100% disconnected or linked with the parallel of hardcore/jungle.

[edit] Early 1996

• Timeless Recordings, for a while, becomes the second biggest outlet for intelligent drum 'n' bass after LTJ Bukem’s labels. Vibe’z and Streetbeats begin to explode too.
• Like LTJ Bukem, PFM get asked to remix a lot after becoming prominent figures in the intelligent drum 'n' bass scene from a high-standard of output. It is these and LTJ Bukem’s remixes which are the link from the underground to the mainstream and drum 'n' bass music, as a whole, gets accepted more in the wider music scene because of them.

[edit] Mid 1996

• The mainstream has an ever-increasing interest in intelligent drum 'n' bass, especially after the success of Goldie’s “Timeless” CD so LTJ Bukem releases a double-disc CD called “Logical Progression” – one CD mixed and one unmixed, showcasing the most successful tracks of recent years. It is a huge success.
• After 18 releases, Legend Records comes to an end but Q Project & Spinback continue on.
• Again, LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad feature on Radio 1’s “Essential Mix” show after popular demand from listeners. Most listeners have knowledge of the DJ scene quite well which shows that LTJ Bukem and the sound he was pushing was really starting to make waves in general dance music, not just drum 'n' bass.

[edit] Late 1996

• LTJ Bukem sets up another sister-label called “Earth”. Following on from the success of the Logical Progression CD, this label put out albums on, both, vinyl & CD formats. For the first time ever, the music was not just for DJs/ravers, but also for the people who wanted to listen quietly at home. Because of the new audience involved, any pressure on artists to make their music “DJ Friendly” decreased. Tracks started to sound less computerized and some tracks being released on Earth were even at lower tempos. Before this, the “listener only” or “non-raver” market had never really been recognized before by dance music.
• More jazz influences come in to play; Basement Records, EZ Rollers, Blame & Justice being responsible for the early releases of the new style.
• The club night Speed comes to an end after 2 strong years.

[edit] Early 1997

• LTJ Bukem releases a lot more CDs as the mainstream demand for them increases.
• The Moving Shadow pushes out a few CDs/12”s which very effectively combine atmospheric drum 'n' bass, jungle & the new jazzy style. It appears CDs are taking off in the drum 'n' bass world, big time.

[edit] 2000

LTJ Bukem’s album “Journey Inwards” is released and uses a lot of live instrumentation of orchestral instruments. It is mainly down-tempo, classical-influenced music but with an electronic edge.

[edit] Early 2005

• A new label called Cintamani is started up in an attempt to push more of the style forward in times of a drought of intelligent drum 'n' bass.

[edit] Late 2005

• Good Looking Records stops putting out records for a while for a well-deserved break. As the sound of intelligent drum 'n' bass has evolved so much over the years and away from the original principles somewhat, Paradox – a fan of the original production/musical values - uses the opportunity to start a label with the vintage sound of 1994-1996 in mind.

[edit] Mid 2006

• Paradox’s Arctic Music label begins to release on white vinyl.

[edit] Late 2006

• LTJ Bukem prepares to re-start his labels with a whole host of new artists.

[edit] Notable Artists

• A Guy Called Gerald
• Adam F
• Alaska
• Aquasky
• Artemis
• Blame
• Blu Mar Ten
• Cloud 9
• DJ Crystl
• DJ Fokus
• Flytronix
• Funky Technicians
• Futurebound
• Goldie
• Intense
• LTJ Bukem
• Omni Trio
• oS
• Paradox
• Peshay
• PFM
• Photek
• Rantoul
• Seba & Lotek
• Shogun
• Skanna
• Source Direct
• Tayla
• The Invisible Man
• Voyager
• Wax Doctor

[edit] Notable Labels

• 720
• Arctic Music
• Ascendant Grooves
• Basement Records
• Certificate 18
• Cintamani
• Creative Source
• Creative Wax
• Dee Jay Recordings
• Good Looking Records
• Legend Records
• Looking Good Records
• Lucky Spin Recordings
• Moving Shadow
• Nexus Records
• Odysee
• Precious Materials
• Renegade Recordings
• Rugged Vinyl
• Spotlight
• Skanna
• Streetbeats
• Timeless Recordings
• Vibe’z Recordings

[edit] External links

• Good Looking Organisation
• Speed Tribute Page