Drum and bass

What it tastes like

Drum and bass — DnB — emerged from early-90s UK jungle as the genre evolved from raw breakbeat-and-reggae-bass into more polished, faster, structurally complex territory. By 1995, Goldie, LTJ Bukem, and Photek had established the template: 174 BPM rolling drums, a deep sub bassline, and tight engineering. The genre splintered into many subgenres (liquid, neurofunk, jump-up, minimal, drumstep, halftime), but the chassis stays the same.

A bar in and you’ve got it: a 174 BPM rolling drum pattern (usually based on the Amen or Think break, chopped to ribbons), a deep sub bassline and/or a Reese-style mid bass, and chord pads or vocal samples in the higher register. The drums feel fast and slow at the same time — the cut-time backbeat means it perceptually grooves at 87 BPM while the hats run at 174.

The chord moves

DnB’s harmonic palette varies wildly by subgenre. Liquid DnB uses lush minor 9ths and major 9ths; neurofunk uses dissonant intervals or no chords at all; minimal DnB uses sparse single notes. The classic move across most DnB is i–v–VI–III in natural minor with slow chord changes (every 2 bars at 174 BPM = ~2.7 seconds per chord).

--chord minor9 --pattern pad for a liquid feel; switch to --pattern stab and --chord minor7 for a harder neurofunk feel.

The groove

174 BPM rolling drums. The kick lands on 1, the snare on 3 (in cut-time feel — perceived backbeat at 87 BPM). Hi-hat 16ths run continuously, often with sampled live drum textures (room ambience, dust). The drum pattern is rolling — you should be able to mix two DnB tracks together for 8 bars and they sound like one continuous groove.

The bass carries the low-end. Either a deep sub (sine wave following root motion) or a Reese bass (two detuned saws with filter movement and modulation). Sidechained to the kick.

The sounds

• Drums: chopped Amen/Think break or layered modern DnB sample. Compressed for punch. Light tape saturation.
• Sub bass: deep sine wave following chord roots. Mono. Filter slightly closed.
• Reese bass: two detuned saws with LFO modulation. Stereo. Used in heavier subgenres.
• Pad: rich poly synth playing slow chord changes. Long reverb tail.
• Vocal: chopped vocal sample (jazz, soul, spoken word) for color. Often pitched.
• Atmospheres: vinyl crackle, room ambience, jazz piano stabs. Color, not foreground.

Production tells

Want it modern (neurofunk / minimal)? Tight engineering, loud master, clean low end, modern Reese bass design. Producers like Noisia, Mefjus, and Phace are the references.

Want it 1995-Bukem-vintage (liquid)? Lush jazzy chords, sampled live drums, warmer mix. Master quietly at -12 LUFS so the dynamics breathe. Run the bus through tape saturation.

python jamburgr.py --key "A minor" --style drum_and_bass --progression i,v,VI,III --pattern pad --output-mode pack --out ./jams/drum-and-bass