The 10 Most Influential Drum And Bass Tracks.

The 10 Most Influential Drum And Bass Tracks.

There is much debate around the most influential drum and bass tracks. With so much music being produced in so many different sub-genres, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what the most influential drum and bass tracks actually are.

In thirty years there has been huge fluctuation and change within the drum and bass industry. This is not to say this hasn’t happened in all music genres, but perhaps the scale and magnitude of change is larger in drum and bass (potentially in all dance music) than say, in rock.

I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would disagree with me but the sheer enormity of sounds used to produce tracks, as well as the range in style and sounds, means that there is the potential to have massively influential sections of the genre as a whole. We have already seen that one sub-genre in jump up dnb came in, went out and is now coming back into style. Many of the DJ’s who introduced it are legends of the game and hugely influential themselves.

I also feel like this list has probably been done a few times, and certainly through my own research and discovery into what others’ think, there are some similarities. However, I also feel that a lot of the articles out there simply put in tracks that in from artists because they don’t want to upset the status quo. This person is a legend of the game because they were a pioneer, therefore, the music they created was influential.

I’ve listen to thousands of hours of drum and bass music in my time and I can tell you, there are some artists who have made records that have been utter shite. Yes, even the big name ones. I’ve even questioned whether certain ‘Golden Oldies’ albums are really as great as people say they are, or they think they’re great because they used to listen to it after taking a disco biscuit and it’s the nostalgia they love rather than the music itself.

 

So, now I’ve given you some context to this, it’s probably about time we looked at how the Amen Breaks team defined the most influential drum and bass tracks.

 

Defining Influence In Drum And Bass

How did we decide upon what the most influential drum and bass tracks were? There was much debate and so, we had to go to the route of what influence means and work back from there. Influence means to have an effect, either positively or negatively on the character behaviour or development of an individual. Well, at least it’s one form. There are others, but we won’t go into that now.

How can music change people’s behaviour, development or character? Well it can’t directly, but it does allow people to express themselves both physically and emotionally. Drum and bass is no different. People have particular attire for raves, language and attitudes towards things as part of the scene. This is all well and good, but we also wanted to take a look at what other impacts the track should have. We decided that they should have an impact on the following in order to be considered influential:

 

• Genre
• Sound production
• Musicality
• Scene
• Culture

 

The tracks in our list all have made an impact on all of these categories. Some more so than others and in larger doses in one section that the other. Without further ado, here are the Amen Breaks UK most influential drum and bass tracks.

 

The list:

 

Top Cat/Congo Natty/Rebel MC – Original Ses (Police In Helicopter)

The first record on our list. Original Ses was truly a fusion of the new and the old in every sense. It brought together the reggae roots of a man born and bred in the UK. It began to define the genre of ragga jungle and subsequently create a heavy part of the culture we know and love today across the drum and bass music spectrum. Congo Natty was himself transitioning musically at the time and provided a pathway for people within the industry to try their hands at cross-genre styles.

DJ Zinc – Ready Or Not (Remix)

This track, for some unknown reason, has been widely mistaken for being a remix by DJ Hype. Perhaps he played it a lot when it first came out, who knows? Otherwise known as Super Sharp Shooter.

We all know that hip-hop and drum and bass have flirted and intertwined over the years, but no track perfectly managed to make the cross over like this one. A genre defining sound and the use of a highly successful hip-hop sample meant that this track was able to be appreciated by even the most ardent of genre advocates. It represented a new style of drum and bass with an incredibly polished sound that made people stand up and take notice.

 

 

Roni Size – Brown Paper Bag

One of Bristol’s finest music exports, Roni Size had the drum and bass scene on lockdown from the late 90’s to mid 00’s (He still has it by the way). Roni’s sound was breakthrough and is still distinctive today as his preferred use of bass and drums were of the string and live variety.

The track itself samples James Brown’s Cold Sweat, blending even further across genres. What makes this such and influential track is that it was widely recognised in the mainstream music genre and became popular in such far-flung places as the Philippines. This track really split the scene, with some loving it and others hating, which is why this track made the list.

DJ Hazard & Distorted Minds – Mr Happy

This was probably the first real hype track of the drum and bass scene. In 2007 it was reloaded at every rave and festival going as people waited for the huge bassline and drop. It has iconic sounds in it throughout the track that people instantly know. People prepare to go ballistic when this tune is dropped.

Yet another track that made crossovers, this time from sound production. Hazard was, and still is, a hardware man predominantly. Not being happy with the mix down from his previous track Busted, he called up the guys at Distorted Minds. They then gave him some help on a DAW and Mr Happy was born. The rest, they say, is history…

Shy Fx & UK Apache – Original Nuttah

What can we say about this track? A bona fide jungle classic! This track burst onto our screens and into the clubs in 1995. Big breaks, huge rolling 808 basslines and of course, UK Apache. This was the only track UK  Apache ever released, real name Abdul Wahab Latif. Unlike the other tracks on this list, Original Nuttah was as much a jungle track as it was a political message about integration and identity. It became apparent that the people making it were from different backgrounds and they wanted representation in the scene and in everyday life.

The fact this has Islamic overtones and connotations from the call at the start shows the true integration of identities that this track brings. What makes this track so influential is that this was the only one ever made by UK Apache. The first one-hit-wonder in the jungle scene. It makes people sit up and listen and want to learn more about why such a talented artist only did the one.

LTJ Bukem – Atlantis

This record appears on top 10 lists of most influential drum and bass tracks everywhere and quite rightly so. Light years ahead of its time, progressive, intelligent atmospheric DNB is rolled out over the course of this track. The epitome of the entire movement and really shifted the way that people viewed and produced music. Bridging the gap between a wide range of genres, this could be played at any stage of a rave and would still get the same reception.

Possibly not his best body of work, but by the time Logical Progression came out, LTJ was already considered the finest producer of intelligent DNB during this time period.

Marcus Intalex – Temperance

This track was so different from the usual creations of Marcus Intalex. Much Atlantis, this track was so far ahead of its time. Futuristic, classic and so sleek you’d think this track was created by the gods themselves! It represented a shift in the way that people produced, mixed and perceived drum and bass.

Played at any stage of the rave, this rolling intelligent drum and bass anthem would make anyone who heard it get up and dance. A truly pan-generational and genre track.

Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up

Is this one really a drum and bass track? Probably not, but I don’t care. This track exploded onto the scene and made the rest of the nation stand up and take notice. People liked to party and some of them were very weird. It was aggressive, it was in your face and broke down barriers everywhere.

Associating yourself with the kind of music suddenly cast you in a new light. You were a raver and walked that thin line between legality and good clean fun. Guaranteed to cause a reaction when you played it a house party this one certainly influenced the way people looked at the whole underground music scene.

Origin Unknown – Valley Of The Shadows

Another tune that regularly makes it onto the most influential drum and bass tracks list around the world. Again, rightly so. Probably some of the most iconic samples ever used in the in drum and bass music, this is one of the most immediately recognisable tracks around.

Why is this an influential track? Well, it was a stark contrast to what was being produced at the time as was one of the key reasons why drum and bass shifted in the direction it did.

Pendulum – Tarantula

This typically is not considered as an influential drum and bass track by those who listen to the genre, but I can tell you it solidly is. Why? The reason is that Pendulum were an Australian band. Not just a dj or producer. They were a band that made music for raves. Not only this, they managed to get a whole continent to enjoy a type of music. They made it their own and then they brought it back to the UK public, which showed everyone that live drum and bass was just as much fun as that being played from vinyl.

 

Why You May Not Agree With Everything We Have Selected Here

There’s a lot of tracks here that don’t fit into conventional influential drum and bass tracks material, but that’s the beauty of this particular genre of music. A lot of them aren’t from the early pioneering days and probably don’t deserve to be classed as influential. Some of them are from much later times in established sub-genres, but their influence was no less important. Some of these tracks had political and societal influence, some of them had production influential and some of them just plain made us want to get on it. There’s no snobbery about these tracks or why I chose them. I could have selected many others that fitted into the standard formula but I truly believe these are some of the most influential drum and bass tracks ever made.

Influence is a tricky thing to quantify, but its impact is substantial. I really hope you’ve enjoyed reading my list and enjoying the tracks I’ve picked. I hope it goes some way to influencing your own thoughts on the scene and making you search beyond the normal boundaries of our chosen music to learn more about the people behind the music.

 

Much love, peace and Drum and Bass,

 

Aaron.