Drill n bass - Definition and Overview

Drill n' Bass is a type of electronic music that emerged from Drum n' Bass in the mid-1990s. Artists like Aphex Twin (responsible for the quintessential Drill n' Bass release, the Richard D. James Album), Luke Vibert and Squarepusher helped originate the sound, which had emerged with some popular success by 1995 (see 1995 in music). The popularity was short-lived, however, and the style had become mostly underground again by 1998 (see 1998 in music).

The genre is characterized by rapid, highly distorted snare drum rolls, generally culled from the famous "amen" breakbeat sample being applied to normal drum and bass breakbeats. The exponential increase in complexity and attention to measure-by-measure detail found in Drill n' Bass is significant; it was the first substantial distancing from the dancefloor aesthetic of early Drum n' Bass. Drill n' Bass music can be characterized as "headphone music," less designed for dancing than for careful listening. While associated with a "busier" sound than that of mainstream Drum n' Bass, Drill n' Bass is generally representative of a minimalist design ethos owing to the genre's spare and often stark arrangements, using a small number of samples in many deployments and iterations.

Much of the energy from the drill scene made its way into the newly-forming IDM scene that accompanied the rise and fall of drill's popularity. Pop music, especially hip hop and R&B also borrowed from drill's unique and powerful drum sensibility.

See also:

• List of jungle and drum n bass artists