History of D&B In 10 Tunes!

AndyOdysee

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So, the other day, a young guy was asking me about D&B and he asked me a really challenging question...
"How did D&B get to sound the way it does?" I had to think a little at that point because if you don't have the whole timeline in front of you it can seem pretty rapid and intense!!
He just couldn't believe that Disco was it's grandparent!! I told him it was like a chess board- you can't see how a knight can get to the other side without plotting it's moves 1 by 1 so... I played him 10 tracks that I thought got him from 1 side to another!!
Here they are- not necessarily because they are the only important tracks, but because he could see the progression from A to B:).....

Candi Stanton- You Got The Love
Guy Called Gerald- Voodoo Ray
Joey Beltram- Energy Flash
Nightmares On Wax- I'm For Real Remix
Carl Cox- I Want You Forever
Lennie De Ice- We Are I.E.
Return Of The Q Project- Champion Sound
Goldie- Terminator
Nasty Habits- Shadowboxin'
Bad Company- The Pulse
Job Done!!:)

What 10 tracks would you use?
 
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Ten tracks is extremely difficult
DnB had so many phases and cooking it down to ten single tracks is next to impossible for me...
I feel theres a distinction between 90ies and post 2000 stuff.

There was jungle, amen edit, Artcore, atmospheric, jump-up, jazzy, dark, techstep, Bristol, two step, early neuro, in the 90ies.
And disco, dubby, drumfunk, minimal, neuro, jump up second wave, skullstep, Autonomic, post 2000.
Probably forgot a ton of sub genres.

I think these track should be in there:

Goldie - Timeless *duh*
LTJ Bukem - Demon's Theme...jungle without ragga.
Alex Reece - Pulp Fiction, the track for an era of simpler beats.
'Carlito & Addiction - Supergrass' and 'Nasty Habits - Liquid Fingers' started the disco DnB era
One of the 'Mutant Jazz' remixes started techstep.
 
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I totally agree with you Zeroec! 90's and post 2000 defo stepped up the production because of hardware studios progressing to VST based production for sure.
Hey you could do this timeline with any number of 'representatives' as long as the person can follow the path from Disco to D&B!! That's the game!!
In that respect it's actually not so hard!- You'll always be missing out important tunes of course- I went for Shadowboxing as early 2-step over Pulp Fiction not because Alex Reeces tune isn't groundbreaking (we all know it is) but because the link from the bass sound of Champion Sound through Shadowboxing into The Pulse demonstrated the development of that type of synth bass that is synonymous with the typical mainstream D&B sound of today:)
eg. I could have replaced Champion Sound onwards with....
Baby D- Let Me Be Your Fantasy
Goldie- Inner City Life
Alex Reece- Pulp Fiction
Any early Liquid Tune- (Maybe Roni Size- Brown Paper Bag/Jazz Thing) Or KJZ- Photek
Ending with a nice Calibre/Sabre/Seba & Paradox thing?
 
I'm a bit young for this but I know my fair share of DNB, here are my ten:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9

10.

I know they are not all old tracks from the beginning of dnb but if someone asked me, this is the list they would get!
 
That's a bit of a jump from 1993 (Champion Sound) to 1996 (Shadowboxing). Think it would be worth adding one tune there representing the progression of this music at the jungliest stage. Think you could do away with one of the 1991 tracks (possibly Nightmares On Wax), and replace with a Tom & Jerry 94 bit, or hell even Incredible or Original Nuttah.

Agreed 10 tunes is way too few to show the evolution from disco to dnb. Good thread btw
 
There can be no wrong answers here which I love:) Yep 1994 should be there with Burial, Incredible ore Tom & Jerry vibes! @Vydx or perhaps the jump from 96 Shadowboxing to Bad Company is also pretty extreme...
 
jump from 96 Shadowboxing to Bad Company is also pretty extreme...
also the history of DnB does not stop with Bad Company.... ;)
The Pulse is from 1999.

Whatever one thinks of modern DnB, i think the disco stuff and the minimal/half step stuff were new directions in the grand scheme of this genre.

On the other hand, i can hardly think of an iconic minimal DnB track.
Maybe something by Instra:mental.
 
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DNB is a huge collection of different genres. I'd say We Are I E is the start. Then Terminator changed the game. Atlantis represents the best of Bukems stable. Then seven more to cover Jungle, tech step, liquid, neuro and the more minimanl ambient stuff.

send him this....
http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/

even this doesn't really collate all the links in depth but it's crazy to see how things exploded within electronic music that left live instrument music for dead.
 
There can be no wrong answers here which I love:) Yep 1994 should be there with Burial, Incredible ore Tom & Jerry vibes! @Vydx or perhaps the jump from 96 Shadowboxing to Bad Company is also pretty extreme...
Agreed for the 1994, not so much for the link between Shadowboxing and BC. I'm just thinking if a person was trying to understand how we get to dnb from disco, it would be important to show this by using tunes specifically contrasting the tempo and rhythm, use of samples and the effects used on them. Those elements stick out the most to me whenever I hear two tunes of different eras and tempos.

I find this by @Eazyflow to be a well written series of pieces on the history of dnb (with some bonus articles on top)
http://abasschronicle.co.uk/abc-history-sessions-timeline/
 
also the history of DnB does not stop with Bad Company.... ;)
The Pulse is from 1999.

Whatever one thinks of modern DnB, i think the disco stuff and the minimal/half step stuff were new directions in the grand scheme of this genre.

On the other hand, i can hardly think of an iconic minimal DnB track.
Maybe something by Instra:mental.
For sure- I just stopped the list at the Pulse because it had done its job by that point- my young friend could recognise the D&B sound clear as day by that era:)
Iconic minimal eh? I don't know but the production values are inspirational- Gremlinz, Loxy, etc. all sound so deep and spacious. I'm not sure I'll ever produce so stripped back as that but I admire it;)
 
Dunno about my ten tracks but would defo start off with this and then onto some Rebel MC - Comin on Strong/Wickedest Sound


Good call with Mantronix DeeGun :slayer:
 
so I thought I had to weigh in on the 90-91, and if I can a few other bits in between..

So whilst LFO's LFO had made people sit up and take notice of eth big bass, it was this track that had be looking for more of the same...especially samples fmr dark side films...so you can see how things came around to the Terminator as a big track...


and when Silver Bullit came along...


some guy called the scientist ( AKA HYPE)


Dance hall dangerous - jungle tekno mate..was raving to this at a Spiral Tribe do...fuck commercial club nights


things were starting to get faster


Darker


Bassier


The 2 bad mice remix of "FUture SOund" if I wasn't sure I was a junglist this one made me certain


ok so 2 more ..or I wil be here all afternoon and fuck ali G fo rtakin thepiss..booyaka is the sound of a shotgun

bit of a jump but often overlooked


also try ]
Goose tune,Psycosis,Piano Tune,Superhero..etc etc
 
Jonny L - Hurt you so
LTJ Bukem - Music
DJ Crystl - Warp drive
Ed rush, Trace - Proton
J Majik - Spaced invader
Bad Company - The Nine
Splash - Babylon
Jonny L - Piper
Konflict - Messiah
Marcus Intallex , St files - How u make me feel
 
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