Drum & Bass
October 1, 2008
As we venture in to the 21st century, among the many changes that we see, music is on the forefront. As a general rule, we have seen music slowly evolve into new genres that do little to radically change the sound.. An exception to this rule is a newly emerging type of music: Drum N Bass. To find out a little more about this genre and its origins, I caught up with DJ and music producer Vaski (Alex Brouwer) to get some questions answered.
Press: To start us off what exactly is Drum N Bass?
Vaski: In its simplest form Drum and Bass is a genre of electronic music that is characterized by very fast beats, a heady edge often pulling clips from things like movies, speeches, or political rallies for dramatic effect, and its non-redundant, complicated drum rhythms.
Press: What can you tell us about the origin of the sound?
Vaski: It all started in the late 80’s. We began to see DJ’s breaking up the traditional ‘4 on the floor’ dance rhythm. In the 90’s we began to see these beats mixed with Reggae influences. As time progressed we slowly saw the Reggae replaced with faster, darker, more technical sounds.
Press: How recently has Drum and Bass emerged in America?
Vaski: Well it is hard to say exactly when it began to gather more popularity in America. When it started it was a very minuscule thing, which is hard to measure. It basically started in 1998 with the introduction of Deislboy. He was the first popular American Drum and Bass producer.
Press: As a producer and DJ how does Drum and Bass affect and influence you?
Vaski: Drum and Bass to me is the equivalent to something like thrash metal or extremely hardcore rap. It is what I listen to when I want to feel like I’m in an action movie. That’s really the only way I know how to describe it. Some of the techniques that are used in Drum and Bass production I use for my own music, though I don’t specifically make music of the genre.
Press: Drum and Bass has seemingly developed its own mini culture, any comments on that?
Vaski: Drum and Bass has a huge online community, and it is solely based on the existence of the internet forum. It exists in a world completely different from our own, bringing together a massive amount of different culture into one scene. It is truly an incredibly diverse community. Due to the connectivity of the internet, we see the sound progressing exponentially faster than any other type of music. The fact that it is so internet based allows the the instant sharing, feedback, and mass distribution of the music, something that is completely new to us.
Press: Do you have any suggestions regarding interested readers in who to look up if they’re interested in the music?
Vaski: Absolutely. In the Euro scene we have huge names such as Spor, Phace, Misanthrop, Noisia. Those are going to be your household names. Three big names on the American side are Mayhem, Evol Intent, and Mayhem. They all have Myspace pages you can look up and sample their music at, so check it out.
Thanks to Alex for the interview!
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