BREAKS STYLE

Jungle drum patterns.

Chopped and time-stretched breakbeats at 160 BPM and up over reggae-weight bass, the root of drum & bass.

81 grooves
1969–2022
5 landmarks

The Jungle timeline

19 of 19 grooves

1969
Amen, Brother Open Amen, Brother in a new tab
The Winstons
Root: G.C. Coleman's four-bar Amen solo, sped up, chopped and re-sequenced, became the backbone of jungle and drum & bass
1990
Mr Kirk's Nightmare Open Mr Kirk's Nightmare in a new tab
4hero
Reinforced breakbeat hardcore built on the Isley Brothers' Get Into Something break; a dark, sped-up rave template for jungle
1991
Tribal Base Open Tribal Base in a new tab
Rebel MC feat. Barrington Levy & Tenor Fly
Hardcore breaks under Barrington Levy's hook and ragga MCing; UK No. 20 and an early bridge from sound-system reggae to jungle
1991
Landmark
We Are I.E.Open We Are I.E. in a new tab
Lennie De Ice
Often named the first jungle record: a looping Amen break pushing a ragga-style sub-bass line, recorded back in 1989
1992
Landmark
Terminator Open Terminator in a new tab
Rufige Kru (Goldie)
Darkcore cut credited with pioneering time-stretched, pitch-shifted breakbeats, so the drum loop itself phases like a lead line
1993
Valley of the Shadows Open Valley of the Shadows in a new tab
Origin Unknown
Andy C and Ant Miles' RAM roller on edited Think breaks; a darkside-era staple, reissued as a single in 1996
1994
Terrorist Open Terrorist in a new tab
Renegade feat. Ray Keith
Ray Keith's re-edited Amen under one of the first sampled Reese basslines; the Amen-plus-Reese blueprint of peak jungle
1994
Landmark
Original Nuttah Open Original Nuttah in a new tab
UK Apache & Shy FX
Shy FX's rapid-fire chopped breaks under UK Apache's ragga vocal; one of the first jungle tunes to reach the UK top 40
1994
Inner City Life Open Inner City Life in a new tab
Goldie
Soul-vocal jungle single (UK No. 39) that led into Timeless, one of the first drum & bass albums to reach the mainstream
1995
Horizons Open Horizons in a new tab
LTJ Bukem
Atmospheric roller that launched Looking Good: light, rolling breaks under ambient pads, the core of Bukem's intelligent style
1995
Landmark
Pulp Fiction Open Pulp Fiction in a new tab
Alex Reece
Metalheadz single that popularised the sparse two-step break with Reese bass, moving drum & bass off full Amen rolls
1995
Super Sharp Shooter Open Super Sharp Shooter in a new tab
DJ Zinc
Hip hop/jungle fusion with a bouncing bass riff over chopped breaks, widely cited as a founding jump-up anthem
1997
Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu (Two Swords Technique)Open Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu (Two Swords Technique) in a new tab
Photek
Surgically edited, precision-programmed breakbeats; UK No. 37 and a high point of cut-up drum programming in DnB
1997
Brown Paper Bag Open Brown Paper Bag in a new tab
Roni Size & Reprazent
Jazzstep single (UK No. 20) from Mercury-winning New Forms: rolling breaks under a walking bassline played by a live band
1998
The Nine Open The Nine in a new tab
Bad Company
Techstep's stark two-step snare and distorted bass; Knowledge readers voted it the top drum & bass track of all time in 2008
1998
Landmark
Wormhole Open Wormhole in a new tab
Ed Rush & Optical
Title track of the album credited as the first neurofunk LP; drums cut into single hits and re-sequenced at original pitch
2002
LK (Carolina Carol Bela)Open LK (Carolina Carol Bela) in a new tab
DJ Marky & XRS feat. Stamina MC
Brazilian-sampling roller on a light two-step break; UK No. 17 and a reference point for soulful, liquid drum & bass
2005
Tarantula Open Tarantula in a new tab
Pendulum
High-energy, rock-weight drum programming; a UK Dance No. 1 that previewed Pendulum's Hold Your Colour album
2022
Baianá Open Baianá in a new tab
Nia Archives
Jungle-revival single setting chopped breaks against a Brazilian choir sample and samba/baile funk flavour