Drum and bass

Drum and bass (/ˈdrʌm ənd ˈbeɪs/) (also written as drum 'n' bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic music which emerged from rave and oldschool jungle scenes in England during the early 1990s. The style is often characterized by fast breakbeats (typically between 150–180 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines,sampled sources, and synthesizers.

The popularity of drum and bass at its commercial peak ran parallel to several other homegrown dance styles in the UK including big beat and hard house. Drum n bass incorporates a number of scenes and styles. A major influence on jungle and drum and bass was the original Jamaican dub and reggae sound. Another feature of the style is the complex syncopation of the drum tracks' breakbeat.

Drum and bass subgenres include breakcore, ragga jungle, hardstep, darkstep, techstep, Neurofunk, ambient drum and bass, liquid funk, deep, drumfunk, funkstep, sambass dnbnoise and drill and bass. From its roots in the UK, the style has established itself around the world. Drum and bass has influenced many other genres like hip hop, big beat, dubstep, house music, trip hop, ambient music, techno, rock and pop. Drum and bass is dominated by a small group of record labels. The major international music labels have shown very little interest in the drum and bass scene. Drum and Bass remains most popular in the UK, but has developed scenes all around the world, in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

DJ Hype

DJ Hype is the stage name of drum and bass producer and DJ Kevin Ford. His track "Shot in the Dark" appeared in the UK Singles Chart in 1993.

Biography

He was an early DJ on one of London's pirate radio stations, Fantasy FM, as well as Jeb FM, and has been popular on the international DJ circuit, landing awards for Best Male DJ and Best Radio DJ (in 1994 and 1995 respectively) at the UK's Hardcore Awards. He also presented on the London based radio station Kiss 100, and was a player in Suburban Base’s compilation series Drum and Bass Selection.

DJ Hype began producing in 1989, engineering and co-producing tracks (including "Exorcist" and "The Bee") for Kickin', Strictly Underground and Suburban Base.

His Ganja Records label gained popularity primarily through dance floor fillers such as "You Must Think First", "Tiger Style" and DJ Zinc's "Super Sharp Shooter". Their popularity peaked in 1996 with the release of their first album, Still Smokin' , a label compilation released jointly by Ganja and Pascal's Frontline imprint. Re-released in 1997, its success also led to a major label deal with BMG's Parousia sub-label and the establishment of True Playaz, a Hype led DJ and production unit also including DJ Zinc, Pascal and Rude Bwoy Monty. His 1997 Parousia EP, New Frontiers, with Ganja Kru, reached #56 in the UK Albums Chart.