broken beat anyone?

spcspc 534 Posts
edited September 2005 in Music Talk
Is anyone into broken beat? What're you thoughts on it?
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  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    My homegirl spins broken beat. She comes from a House background when it comes to spinnin'. It probably will last as long as Jungle or any other dance sub-genre.

  • spcspc 534 Posts
    My homegirl spins broken beat. She comes from a House background when it comes to spinnin'. It probably will last as long as Jungle or any other dance sub-genre.

    Hm, I don't know, I think (and hope) it will still be there in 5-10 years. Do you like those tracks? I've heard some nice tracks with some good old breaks in it, very nice and jazzy.

  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    not a fan

    i've yet to hear a broken track that did anything for me. I find alot of it to tread this very irritating line of over the top jazzy muso bits laid over incredibly unmusical beats that sound like they've never heard a real drummer in their lives.




  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    hell yes
    but to me it's such a broad category
    it's like dub/downtempo/garage/2 step/ragga/jungle/jazz/ all in a blender
    on a trak by trak basis
    I think they all have some stuff to offer that is valid

    I agree but when was the last time you went to a jungle party? Or seen a flyer w/
    Jungle being advertised. These various sub-genres have the longevity of a
    stick of celery. I dont know any high school kids listening to ragga. Dont frame me as a hatter - just sayin.

    Alot of dance cats just ride the wave of whatever new substyle emerges rendering
    the previous one passe.

  • hell yes
    but to me it's such a broad category
    it's like dub/downtempo/garage/2 step/ragga/jungle/jazz/ all in a blender
    on a trak by trak basis
    I think they all have some stuff to offer that is valid

    I agree but when was the last time you went to a jungle party? Or seen a flyer w/
    Jungle being advertised. These various sub-genres have the longevity of a
    stick of celery. I dont know any high school kids listening to ragga. Dont frame me as a hatter - just sayin.

    Alot of dance cats just ride the wave of whatever new substyle emerges rendering
    the previous one passe.

    Depends on where you at. NYC still has a pretty strong Jungle scene, even though most of the big name DJs spend more time travelling than in NYC. We got at least 3 big regular parties out here.

    And broken beat HAS been around for a while, it's more a London thing though, and I've found mostly the grown and sexy euros are into it here. 4Hero is my shizz though.

    Now 2-step is another story...

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Depends on where you at. NYC still has a pretty strong Jungle scene, even though most of the big name DJs spend more time travelling than in NYC. We got at least 3 big regular parties out here.

    And broken beat HAS been around for a while, it's more a London thing though, and I've found mostly the grown and sexy euros are into it here. 4Hero is my shizz though.

    Now 2-step is another story...

    Im in NYC.........

    Grunge is still runnin' thangs!

  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    there's this total shit local dive bar up the street from my place. The Hole In The Wall. It's literally the size of a hallway and i think you can fit 20 peeps in there. They typically blast tom petty and skynard on the regular.. this is also pretty much in the middle of nowhere toronto - the Junction we calls it.

    anyhow there's little posters all over the hood proclaiming "attention all junction junglists" and dudes are attempting to throw it down massive at this dive.

    BOOYAKASHA!!!!!


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    there's this total shit local dive bar up the street from my place. The Hole In The Wall. It's literally the size of a hallway and i think you can fit 20 peeps in there. They typically blast tom petty and skynard on the regular.. this is also pretty much in the middle of nowhere toronto - the Junction we calls it.

    anyhow there's little posters all over the hood proclaiming "attention all junction junglists" and dudes are attempting to throw it down massive at this dive.

    BOOYAKASHA!!!!!


    LOL



  • hell yes
    but to me it's such a broad category
    it's like dub/downtempo/garage/2 step/ragga/jungle/jazz/ all in a blender
    on a trak by trak basis
    I think they all have some stuff to offer that is valid

    I agree but when was the last time you went to a jungle party? Or seen a flyer w/
    Jungle being advertised. These various sub-genres have the longevity of a
    stick of celery. I dont know any high school kids listening to ragga. Dont frame me as a hatter - just sayin.

    Alot of dance cats just ride the wave of whatever new substyle emerges rendering
    the previous one passe.

    Depends on where you at. NYC still has a pretty strong Jungle scene, even though most of the big name DJs spend more time travelling than in NYC. We got at least 3 big regular parties out here.

    And broken beat HAS been around for a while, it's more a London thing though, and I've found mostly the grown and sexy euros are into it here. 4Hero is my shizz though.

    Now 2-step is another story...


    agreed drum n bass is still around and actually doing as good as ever. tons of different styles for people to get into. All the more soulful stuff referred to as liquid (i hate this term) is killing it. I mean in DC we still have a bunch of DNB parties every week. A couple of weeks ago this dude High Contrast spun here (if you don't know go get his stuff) and I haven't seen a night like that in a long time. Straight killed it. But yeah anyways, jungle or drumnbass is far from dead and it isn't going anywhere. Been around over 15 years now so.

    yeah 2step garage is pretty much dead right now. grime is that really underground shit in the uk right now. i hate the stuff but it seems a lot of those kids into uk garage all migrated over to that shit.

  • pasepase 89 Posts
    I am pretty into it. have done a couple broken records myself. I don't think it ever took off as a "scene" and that's the reason why it's still around... the beat in and of itself is just a way to keep the party moving, but it's almost a little too "intelligent" to dance too. more lounge type music I think. Madlib's DJ Rels album was really tight and overlooked IMO...

  • spcspc 534 Posts
    I am pretty into it. have done a couple broken records myself. I don't think it ever took off as a "scene" and that's the reason why it's still around... the beat in and of itself is just a way to keep the party moving, but it's almost a little too "intelligent" to dance too. more lounge type music I think. Madlib's DJ Rels album was really tight and overlooked IMO...
    Under what artist name did you release? I'm about to make a EP with some friends for our new label and we also got a nice broken track on it, along with house,disco and a disco edit by myself.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    hell yes
    but to me it's such a broad category
    it's like dub/downtempo/garage/2 step/ragga/jungle/jazz/ all in a blender
    on a trak by trak basis
    I think they all have some stuff to offer that is valid

    I agree but when was the last time you went to a jungle party? Or seen a flyer w/
    Jungle being advertised. These various sub-genres have the longevity of a
    stick of celery. I dont know any high school kids listening to ragga. Dont frame me as a hatter - just sayin.

    Alot of dance cats just ride the wave of whatever new substyle emerges rendering
    the previous one passe.

    Depends on where you at. NYC still has a pretty strong Jungle scene, even though most of the big name DJs spend more time travelling than in NYC. We got at least 3 big regular parties out here.

    And broken beat HAS been around for a while, it's more a London thing though, and I've found mostly the grown and sexy euros are into it here. 4Hero is my shizz though.

    Now 2-step is another story...


    agreed drum n bass is still around and actually doing as good as ever. tons of different styles for people to get into. All the more soulful stuff referred to as liquid (i hate this term) is killing it. I mean in DC we still have a bunch of DNB parties every week. A couple of weeks ago this dude High Contrast spun here (if you don't know go get his stuff) and I haven't seen a night like that in a long time. Straight killed it. But yeah anyways, jungle or drumnbass is far from dead and it isn't going anywhere. Been around over 15 years now so.

    yeah 2step garage is pretty much dead right now. grime is that really underground shit in the uk right now. i hate the stuff but it seems a lot of those kids into uk garage all migrated over to that shit.

    2step/garage actually got on the radio. And now it clears the dance floor.
    I've heard good music in all of the various styles. I just dont inve$t in the records like I used to. Alot of my 12'' dont age well. I'll have to wait 15 years
    for Random Ragga collectors to emerge.

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    imo's:
    1st clip those style brokenbeats are a bit to minimalistic for my taste
    2nd clip sounds like james brown over brokenfunkbeats, very nice
    3rd clip I really like the girl on the dance floor... very cute
    4th clip soulful shit, sounds dope




  • spcspc 534 Posts
    not a fan

    i've yet to hear a broken track that did anything for me.


    How do you like this? http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3KW8B6C5FPCHS05J12TCGCV8NO
    3 of my favorite broken tunes.

  • imo's:
    1st clip those style brokenbeats are a bit to minimalistic for my taste
    2nd clip sounds like james brown over brokenfunkbeats, very nice
    3rd clip I really like the girl on the dance floor... very cute
    4th clip soulful shit, sounds dope




    the first clip kind of makes me understand how some people don't get broken beat - it had that almost cliched broken rhythm that could almost be a drum machine preset rhythm...

    however, a lot of the other stuff coming out of the broken scene (like the nu spirit helsinki/jazzanova remix in the third clip) are a lot more musically worthy...

    some recent bits i've been listening to:

    brotherly "put it out" ...this to me is just great soulful music
    likwid biskit "inner war" ...more goodness from ig culture
    slow supreme "african time" ...tight beats and proper jazz playing

    not fogetting people like mark de clive-lowe who bring great musicianship into the mix...

  • not a fan



    i've yet to hear a broken track that did anything for me. I find alot of it to tread this very irritating line of over the top jazzy muso bits laid over incredibly unmusical beats that sound like they've never heard a real drummer in their lives.










    Co-sign. On the whole, I find this music seriously boring. I simply stopped going to nights where this stuff gets played. Besides, this genre always seems to attract a demographic who thinks they're too sophisticated for other club sounds but refuses to make the effort to enjoy anything of substance.

  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    man danno hitting nails on heads right thur.

    ok peeping these clips now

    l'ayore: this is exactly what idislike about this genre.. completely unmusical over programmed beat.. lightweight rhodes noodling, and unneccessary muso noodling. the quantising on the drums is giving me brainache.

    Steppah huntah: intro is on the sightly funky tip, building towards something. The snare sound is horrible. Rhodes loop is the def of boring, vocals dont do anything for me. Builds into what sounds like 3 differant records playing at the same time with little actual relation to each other. Grittless unoffensive boutique computer music.

    Bellcrash: oh good god. those cymbals are horrid. the rhodes is horrid, the little cuttup bits are horrid... and that double bass is horrid. truely awful.

    do these guys listen to their mixes?? the first two have snares twice as loud as the rest of the mix, and the last one is like washes and washes of cymbal heiniousity.. you would play that on a PA???






  • i can't fuck with the "nu jazz" shit (attrocious music for expensive bars) but there's very awesome broken beat out there too.

    most everything that Seiji has done is really good, check for "yin yang" on honest jons or any of his remix stuff. harder drums and more of a dancehall influence.

    strut dude catalist has done a lot of cool broken beat tracks as well.


  • I just listened to these tracks and I completely agree with Dubious. Terrible stuff.



    Hasn't this aesthetic existed by one name or another for more than ten years now? When it first started in the mid 90s and was still below the raders of boutique hotels and the moneyed idiots too consumed by a need to be fashionable to have any capacity for appreciating substance, it was kind of interesting. Frankly, I now find this stuff depressing. It's boring and uninspired and makes me want to listen to free jazz.




  • PS My greatest criticism: some of that stuff reminds of--gasp!--St. Germain. Oi vey.

  • Post Post Script: An even greater criticism: that music made me want to read CONTRACT LAW! Now that's harsh. Off to the books for me.

  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    An exchange in my local Purveyor Of All Things Nu this past weekend:



    Older Dude: "Do you guys have any Maze? On cassette?"



    Me: "I don't work here...sorry."



    Dude Who's Looking For Some Maze: "Oh, my bad...What is this stuff they're playing [over the store system]?...What the hell would you call this?"



    Me: "I don't know...some kind of dance genre, I guess...This stuff isn't really my speed, so I don't know the exact name...That guy over there would know."



    Dude Who Clearly Feels That Maze--Now THAT Was Some Goddamn MUSIC: "Yuck. All right...Thanks...Hey, what would you call this kinda music?"



    Actual Store Employee: "Uh, 'broken beat'.........it's mostly English."



    Dude Who Can't Believe The Kind Of Shit People Spend Their Money On These Days: "'Broken beat', huh? Oh, iss broke all right--broke-dick! AHHHHHH-HAHAHAHAHAHA! But listen: Do y'all have any Maze? On cassette? 'Laid Back Kinda Guy'?..."

  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    i can't fuck with the "nu jazz" shit (attrocious music for expensive bars) but there's very awesome broken beat out there too.

    most everything that Seiji has done is really good, check for "yin yang" on honest jons or any of his remix stuff. harder drums and more of a dancehall influence.



    Co-sign on all parts. Ah just di ying yang ying yang...

    I think Danno and Dubious really have it all wrong. Broken Beat can really be anyhting that it wants to be, but blah...

  • If it can be anything it wants to be it's really not much of anything, is it?

  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
    I mess with some of that stuff. Some of it is really good. Some is really bad.

  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    If it can be anything it wants to be it's really not much of anything, is it?

    The "blah" portion of my reply was in expectation of this kind of argument. I guess if someone would have listened to a small handful of "insert genre name here" and taken in expectations of pre-existing forms of music, very few genres would be "not much of anything."

    blah.

    To each their own, carry on playa.

    I wouldn't be surprised if BB was one of those genres that snuck back up on ya in a few years. Future raers.

  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    cassless did you peep the examples in question?

  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    Regardless of the examples in question, my point is that an entire genre shouldn't be cast off because a handful of songs that might be strictly the personal preference (good or bad) of the selector (REEEEE-WIIIIIND!!!).

    Just like any other genre, there's subgenres within BB (twisted funk, etc).

    Seriously though, not trying to talk down to anyone, if you ain't feeling it, you ain't feeling it.

    the cats to me that can do no wrong in BB:

    Seiji
    Domu
    Daz-i-Kue
    Kaidi Tatham
    IG Culture



  • AserAser 2,351 Posts
    as with any genre, 95% is crap and 5% is good. If you're going ot judge a genre on the limited amount of things you'll hear, often the opinion is uninformed.

    It's the same as me saying techno sucks and I've only heard technotronic, y'know? Ok maybe that is extreme but you get the gist of my point.

    I listen/make some broken beat stuff and there is quality in the market. It's just w/ any genre experiencing growing pains, once it reaches a certain size, you'll see a lot more people trying to produce. Problem being the quality control is not there once it grows to a certain extent.

    Yes I can see what you're saying about dudes having no programming skills or musicality, I hear it too. But on the other side fo the coin, you have dudes like Dego, Kaidi Tatham, Moonstarr, Jazztronik etc who are really doing it right now.

    If you want to humour me and give your thoughts, I'll post a few songs in minute.

  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    i hear you cashless...im not writting the genre off do to these three examples alone. this shit was freaking massive up here over the last 4 years (though i hardly hear anything about it anymore).

    i dug quite a bit of garage / 2 step so i naturally investigated the broken stuff too. and like i said no luck.
    i've heard Domu spin many times.. and he hardly sticks with broken.. played a pretty diverse set of disco / house / hard funk from what i heard.. mixed in with a bit of the london sound.

    as for 4 hero / ig / new sector / de clive lo / seiji / bugz etc etc.. i've heard the big hyped releases / records and they honestly dont do anything for me.. that goes in triplicate for jazzanova.

    you'd have to be living under a rock to not be familiar with this stuff up here. So i think its fair to say i just dont like it.

    to me its the Socca of house music.

    though at least socca records have dope covers like Punnany Blasters Vol 10.

    that said i will also admit i don't like ANY music with sequenced drums / samples these days

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