Big beat (sometimes called chemical breaks) is a term deployed in the mid 1990s by the British music press to describe the work of artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy. Techno is a form of electronic dance music that became prominent in Detroit, Michigan during the mid-1980s with influences from electro, New Wave, Funk and futuristic fiction themes that were prevalent and relative to modern culture during the end of the Cold War in industrial America at that time. ... . The Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer, which provided the electronic squelch sounds often heard in Acid House tracks A yellow smiley face is considered the emblem of acid house. ... Electronic music in the classical sense is a form differentiated from popular electronic music, sometimes known as electronica or electronic dance music. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Synthesizer as used in music, is a term derived from a Greek word syntithetai < synthesis (συντίθεται < σύνθεσις) and is used to describe a device capable of generating and/or manipulating electronic signals for use in music creation, recording and performance. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... A Boss DR-202 Drum Machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. ... In the field of electronic music, a sequencer was traditionally a device or piece of software that allows the user to record, play back and edit musical patterns. ... An AKAI MPC2000 sampler Playing a Yamaha SU10 Sampler A sampler is an electronic music instrument closely related to a synthesizer. ... It has been suggested that Effects pedal be merged into this article or section. ... Fatboy Slim (born Quentin Leo Cook on July 31, 1963[1], also known as Norman Cook) is a British big beat musician. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Prodigy (or just Prodigy)[1] are an English band. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Electronica be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Fatboy Slim (born Quentin Leo Cook on July 31, 1963[1], also known as Norman Cook) is a British big beat musician. ... The Prodigy (or just Prodigy)[1] are an English band. ...

Style

Big Beat tends to feature distorted, compressed breakbeats at moderate tempos (usually between 90 to 140 beats per minute), acidic synthesizer lines and heavy loops from Jazz, Rock or 60's Pop. They are often punctuated with punkish-style vocals and driven by intense, distorted basslines with conventional pop and techno song structures. Big beat is also characterised by a strong psychedelic influence stemming from the influence of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and the acid house musical movement. Particularly in the style of Fatboy Slim, the genre features a heavily compressed, thunderous drum sound (hence the name). It can also contain off-the-wall samples such as explosions, police sirens and also can feature snippets of Turntablism. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about tempo in music. ... Beats per minute (bpm) is a unit typically used as either a measure of tempo in music, or a measure of ones heart rate. ... . The Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer, which provided the electronic squelch sounds often heard in Acid House tracks A yellow smiley face is considered the emblem of acid house. ... Synthesizer as used in music, is a term derived from a Greek word syntithetai < synthesis (συντίθεται < σύνθεσις) and is used to describe a device capable of generating and/or manipulating electronic signals for use in music creation, recording and performance. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... For the comic book character previously known as Techno, see Fixer (comics). ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Led Zeppelin were an English rock band that formed in September 1968. ... . The Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer, which provided the electronic squelch sounds often heard in Acid House tracks A yellow smiley face is considered the emblem of acid house. ... Turntablism is the art ofSubscript text manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and an audio mixer. ...

History

In 1971 The Doors released a song called 'The Wasp (Texas radio and the big beat)'. In the song, a reference is made to Big Beat music coming out of the Virginia swamplands. The psychobilly band 'The Cramps' have also released an album titled 'Big Beat from Badsville'. At the beginning of the 90's several local UK electronic music genres bordered at certain points. The disco scene at that time was very straight and promoted glamour and beauty. Out of many clubs in London a subculture emerged which opposed the pop scene but at the same time wanted to dance to electronic music. Sampling became an integral part of standard studio equipment and made the fusion of many genres easier. Norman Cook first defined the word Big Beat named after his club Beat Beat Boutique. The music played there combined breakbeats, rock, funk, industrial jazz, acid house, hip hop and trance. The term caught on, and was subsequently applied to a wide variety of acts, notably Bentley Rhythm Ace, Lionrock, Monkey Mafia, Meat Beat Manifesto, Lunatic Calm, Death in Vegas and David Holmes. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a set of behaviors and beliefs, culture, which could be distinct or hidden, that differentiate them from the larger culture to which they belong. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Fatboy Slim (born on July 16, 1963, Quentin Cook) also known as Norman Cook is a British musician in the dance music genre. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Funk is an African American musical style. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... . The Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer, which provided the electronic squelch sounds often heard in Acid House tracks A yellow smiley face is considered the emblem of acid house. ... Hip hop is a cultural movement that began amongst urban African American youth in New York and has since spread around the world. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bentley Rhythm Ace is a band formed in Birmingham, England in the late 1990s. ... Lionrock are a British electronic music group comprising Justin Robertson, MC Buzz B, and Roger Lyons. ... Monkey Mafia is the project name of Essex-born DJ Jon Carter and noted for producing big beat electronica. ... Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened to Meat Beat or MBM, is an electronic music outfit originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens formed in 1987 in Swindon, UK. This was also the hometown of the band XTC, who helped Meat Beat get started. ... Lunatic Calm is a UK-based electronic music group, specializing in big-beat hardcore and down-tempo trip-hop. ... Death in Vegas is a psychedelic rock and electronica band from the United Kingdom, currently comprised of two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes. ... David Holmes is a Northern Irish DJ, musician and composer. ...

Other notable 'Big Beat' acts include The Crystal Method, Overseer, Adam Freeland, many artists signed to Brighton's Skint label and London's Wall Of Sound label, and to some extent the later work of The Prodigy. By the time of the latter's successful 1997 album The Fat of the Land, the music press were increasingly drawn to using the catch-all term 'electronica' to describe the big beat sound. The Big Beat movement died by 2001, due to the genre's nature of playing out samples, and dumbing down the electronica wave of the late 1990s. The genre's mainstream popularity was to be taken by funky house, then later electro house in the mid-2000s. The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo consisting of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland. ... Rob Overseer (who publishes his music under just his last name) is a British DJ/producer, born in Leeds probably most well known from his works for soundtracks like Animatrix, Snatch or Any Given Sunday, or video games like Need for Speed: Underground or Stuntman. ... Adam Freeland is a UK-based DJ and producer specialising in nu skool breaks. ... Brighton is located on the south coast of England, and together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton and Hove. ... Skint Records is a Brighton based dance music record label owned by Damien Harris, who releases records through the Midfield General pseudonym. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Wall of Sound is a small, alternative record label from the UK, founded by Mark Jones. ... The Prodigy (or just Prodigy)[1] are an English band. ... The Fat of the Land is an album by dance/rave act The Prodigy. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Electronic music. ... ... Electro house (also known as dirty house, electrotech, and often shortened to electro) is a subgenre of house music that rose to become one of the most prominent genres of electronic dance music in 2004-6. ...

Notable big beat artists

This article is in need of attention. ... Apollo 440 (alternately known as Apollo Four Forty or @440) are an English musical band formed in 1990 in Liverpool by brothers Trevor and Howard Gray with fellow Liverpudlians Noko and James Gardner, although Gardner left after the recording of the first album. ... Bentley Rhythm Ace is a band formed in Birmingham, England in the late 1990s. ... Boom Boom Satellites are a Japanese electronic music duo consisting of Michiyuki Kawashima and Masayuki Nakano. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo consisting of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland. ... Death in Vegas is a psychedelic rock and electronica band from the United Kingdom, currently comprised of two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes. ... Fatboy Slim (born Quentin Leo Cook on July 31, 1963[1], also known as Norman Cook) is a British big beat musician. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Fluke is an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier with Julian Nugent as the bands manager. ... Hexstatic: Stuart Warren Hill (left) and Robin Brunson Hexstatic is a UK music duo, consisting of Stuart Warren Hill and Robin Brunson, that specializes in creating quirky audio visual electro. ... We dont have an article called Infusion (band) Start this article Search for Infusion (band) in. ... David Holmes is a Northern Irish DJ, musician and composer. ... Junkie XL (also JXL) is musician Tom Holkenborg, born in Lichtenvoorde, The Netherlands on 8 December 1967. ... Lemon Jelly is a musical collaboration between Nick Franglen and Fred Deakin. ... Lionrock are a British electronic music group comprising Justin Robertson, MC Buzz B, and Roger Lyons. ... The Lo Fidelity Allstars are a London, UK electronica group who have recorded from the late 1990s to the present. ... Lunatic Calm is a UK-based electronic music group, specializing in big-beat hardcore and down-tempo trip-hop. ... Monkey Mafia is the project name of Essex-born DJ Jon Carter and noted for producing big beat electronica. ... Rob Overseer (who publishes his music under just his last name) is a British DJ/producer, born in Leeds probably most well known from his works for soundtracks like Animatrix, Snatch or Any Given Sunday, or video games like Need for Speed: Underground or Stuntman. ... Rob Dougan in 2003 for the promotion of his debut album Furious Angels Rob Dougan, who started as Rob D, is a genre-blending music composer. ... The Prodigy (or just Prodigy)[1] are an English band. ... Propellerheads is a British big beat music band made up of electronic producers Will White and Alex Gifford. ... Glam Raid cover Space Raiders were a big beat/electronic glam band from Middlesbrough in the north-east of England. ... The Wiseguys was a British electronica hip hop band that was responsible for creating the song Start the Commotion that was in a Mitsubishi TV advertisement and the film Kangaroo Jack; and Ooh La La, which was used in Budweiser commercials. ... Xploding Plastix is a Norwegian two-man band playing Electrofunk/Big beat music with elements of jazz. ...

See also

• Acid house
• Rocktronica
• List of electronic music genres

. The Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer, which provided the electronic squelch sounds often heard in Acid House tracks A yellow smiley face is considered the emblem of acid house. ... This page has been deleted, and protected to prevent re-creation. ... This is a list of electronic music genres and sub-genres, though for the latter not all possess their own article (in which case, see the main genre article). ...

External links

• The DJ List's Big Beat artists
• Discussions, music and news from Sirius radio station for big beats, Boombox
• Onlineradio, Discussions and News about Bigbeat