'Big beat' music

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Big beat (sometimes called ) is a term first employed in the early 80s, by the British music press - gaining popularity in the mid 90s, in description of the music of The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, Propellerheads & The Prodigy, that relied on beat-driven, drum-heavy mixes. Almost certainly influenced by the work of studio legend Dougie Wright, big beat tends to feature distorted, compressed breakbeats at moderate tempos (usually between 90 to 140 beats per minute), acidic synthesizer lines and heavy loops from jazz, rock or 60's pop. They are often punctuated with punkish vocals and driven by intense, distorted basslines with conventional pop and techno song structures. Big beat tracks have a sound that include: crescendos, builds, drops, explosions, crowd-inciting drum rolls, and whooshing sounds that pan across the stereo-field. Particularly in the style of Fatboy Slim, the genre features a heavily compressed, and a thunderous drum sound (hence the name). It can also contain off-the-wall samples such as explosions, police sirens, and snippets of turntablism. Big beat is similar to jungle, both sharing frantic breaks, heavy bass, and an odd "jittery-rhythm" but big beat tends to have more rhythmic loop beats than jungle. Big beat is also characterized by a sort of "happy innocuous absurdity" to the feel of the music.

Releases (Ordered by newest)

  • Life Begins (Single)
    mrSimon
    February 2012

  • Not with you
    Gringle
    January 2012

  • Soaked In Win
    The Brothers In Shit
    May 2011

  • Musique Pour Les...
    Breakmaster Cylinder
    April 2011

  • Lifetime EP
    Mason James
    March 2011

  • PLANETCORE EP
    mrSimon
    January 2011

  • Shockwave
    ADSRe
    December 2010

  • FREEEKCORE EP
    ReeceA
    July 2010

  • SAY HELLO TO KLAUS
    Breakmaster Cylinder
    July 2010

  • Dolomite! EP
    Breakmaster Cylinder
    July 2009

  • Your Mums Face Remastered:...
    mrSimon
    December 2010

  • The Remixes 2005-06
    mrSimon
    October 2008