Drum and Bass Elements

Drum and bass music emerged from the UK underground rave scene in the '90s. Since then, it has branched into countless sub-genres and derivations, each with its artists and varying levels of prominence. Despite a complex set of influences and roots tied in Funk, British African-Caribbean sound system, and early hip-hop, we associate the genre with the classic drum pattern it was generally built upon - the famous "Amen break." All in all, this seems to be drum and bass's most valued asset. Therefore, let's see how we can recreate this characteristic sound.  

The Amen Break

This drum pattern, initially sampled from a 1969 song by The Winstons entitled "Amen, Brother," is widely seen as having "changed the face of music" (The Economist). How it did so vastly exceeds the scope of this article. With that being said, it is essential to recognize its importance. It is, after all, central to the genre of music we're looking at. Amen Break

Today, we hear variations on this original pattern. This stripped-down version is the most common one:

Most drum and bass tracks fall around 170 - 175 BPM. At these speeds, taking out the snare rolls (and perhaps only using them as fills) helps give the drums some room to breathe. The drum sounds I have used for this example are more deeply associated with the underground/tech influences of the genre. This is how we would notate this pattern. 

 The notes represent high hat, snare, and kick from top to bottom. Here is the same pattern with the snare rolls. As you can tell, they give the drums even more energy but take up a lot of space in the mix.

Adding snare rolls and double-time hi-hats at a slower tempo maintains the track's energy. This energy we feel from the Amen break is mainly responsible for its popularity. It also dictates the vibe of a lot of Drum and Bass tracks. Making natural-sounding digital/synthetic snare rolls is challenging - these rolls work best with an acoustic snare. 

 

In Context

The drum hits used for these two examples are from the BHK sample packs. Since drums and bass have been around for a long time and are technical, you can find a lot of good drum samples online. Achieving a good drum kit for drum and bass production requires many general design techniques - like sample choice, layering, and mixing. Yet, few things apply to this genre in particular.  

Keep It Tight

Again, your drum samples must be tight because of the fast tempo. They must be distinguishable and must not interfere with each other. Use the volume envelope on your samples to preserve the essential quality of your sample and eliminate undesirable content. For example, the impact of your kick in the sub-frequency region should be at (or very close to) the transient. A short volume envelope could potentially cut out the impact and power happening a little later in the temporal envelope of some of these samples. As for the snare, a short tail will give it the snap it needs to get people moving. This means the transient must be thick enough to provide the snare with some body. The same applies to hats and cymbals. They have to be shortened accordingly so that the shuffle rhythm is clear.  

Digital/Acoustic

Since drum and bass have been around for so long, the sound design seems to be split between digital and acoustic drums. As you delve into the underground sub-genres like Neurofunk, you hear much more aggressive, digitally designed kits. They have a different character from those you hear in the mainstream—many more popular drum and bass tracks layer digital samples with acoustic ones. The benefit is that you maintain an organic-sounding kick or snare, but the sample has all the right frequency content under the surface, which is difficult to obtain solely from acoustic samples. The different snares I used in each drum loop are an excellent example. The pitched-up snare in example 1 is a characteristic asset of Neurofunk.  

Sidechain

We can talk about drums on their own all day. However, in the end, they will be played alongside other elements in your track. It differs from Dubstep, where you often sidechain the kick and the snare with a key input from one ghost signal. This ducking technique is uncommon in drum and bass. The reason is  BPM. The rhythms of the kick and snare can cause your synths to duck too often and on syncopated notes. This is why, in some cases, it is worth considering a shorter and lighter sidechain signal keying the snare. This way, it still has space. However, the synths are not getting crushed every time it hits. Your ghost snares should not be sidechained. There you have it! With the amen break, the two rhythms, and general tips about applying drums, you have the core knowledge of modern drum and bass music. With that being said, synth processing is, in itself, a complex discussion to be had. That'll be for another time!