Nu-Skool Breaks

As nu skool breaks , even Nu-Breaks is called a breakbeat variant. Like many other breaks, this style of music was born in England . Nu-Skool Breaks as a term first appeared in 1998 when Tayo, Adam Freeland and Rennie Pilgrem started a party series called "Friction" at the London club "Bar Rhumba". Around the same time, the young Adam Freeland launched his Marine Parade label, named after a street in Brighton.

The beginnings

In the mid-1990s , the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim began to create a new sound. The new thing about it: Unlike most of the genres popular at the time such as techno , house or trance , they used beats that did not contain a bass beat in every quarter of a bar. The bass drum did not go fully through the beat, but stopped within a beat. The term breakbeat may also be derived from here. The music that was created during this time is known as the big beat . The wave reached its peak as early as 1998, prompting producers and DJs in England to look for new directions and sounds. Many found their happiness in the newly formed genre "Nu-Skool Breaks". Various established artists (Terminalhead, BLIM, BT etc.) were able to identify with the music genre and contributed the first pioneering releases to the still young genre.

today

Some see Nu-Skool Breakbeat as a whole, but basically some basic variants can be defined.

Digital “technoid” breaks

Influences from trance and techno dominate this part. Often sounds and synthesizer sounds are processed that hardly remind of any real instruments - apart from the drums. Vocals and voices are mostly processed and alienated by digital filters. There is generally a calmer feeling when listening. Often some refer to this direction as Electro . In fact, the lines between the two genres are sometimes blurred in the work of producers and DJs.

Typical associated music producers are Adam Freeland , Evil 9 , Meat Katie , Christian J , Koma & Bones , Funk Senator , General MIDI , Hybrid.

Typical associated labels are Marine Parade, Kingsize, Chi Recordings, Streetwise, Distinctive, Thursday Club Recordings.

Analogous "house" breaks

Elements of acid , house and funk can mainly be found here. The arrangement of the drums is often the same as that of the drum and bass . This makes this style more danceable and aggressive. Voices and chants are heard much more significantly than with the "digital" counterpart. Real instruments are also used much more often. Over time, analog breaks retained their resemblance to the original Big Beat . Some house DJs use these breaks to expand their DJ sets.

Typical associated music producers are Plump DJs , Krafty Kuts , Meat Katie , Jammin , Stanton Warriors , Boogie Army , Funk Senator , Cedric Benoit & Matsa , Layo & Bushwacka .

Typical associated labels are Finger Lickin ', Against the Grain, Lab-rok, Bingo Beats, Bingo Soul, Botchit & Scarper (isolated), 697 Recordings, Skint.

Other forms

As is so often the case with electronic music, numerous sub-genres developed. For example, there is a type of Nu-Breaks with a faster tempo , the sounds and drums of which are made more aggressive. Aquasky vs Masterblaster , DJ Quest , Breakfastaz and Distorstionz publish such numbers on labels such as Passenger, Against the Grain, Cyberfunk or Shadowcryptic. The vocals and chants sometimes come from reggae and dancehall MCs.

popularity

Nu-Skool Breaks are very popular in their country of origin, Great Britain. However, the attention is much greater in Australia, the actual Mecca for breakbeat and southern Spain, with funky breaks being preferred in Australia, while the fast and harder game predominates in southern Spain. With the exception of Hungary, there are no other scenes worth mentioning in Europe. However, there is a growing number of followers in practically all European countries.