Neurofunk
| Neurofunk | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Techstep, Drum and Bass, Techno, Funk, Jazz |
| Cultural origins | late-1990s, England, Scotland, Europe e |
| Typical instruments | Synthesizer - Drum machine - Sequencer - Keyboard - Sampler - Laptop - desktop |
(complete list) | |
| Other topics | |
| List of jungle and drum n bass artists List of jungle and drum n bass record labels | |
Neurofunk is a subgenre of the electronic music style of drum and bass, sometimes referred to as future funk, futurestep or next-level drum and bass.
Musicology
A progression of the techstep subgenre, neurofunk draws its main influences from techno and places more focus on the complexity of basslines and instrumentation than in other styles of drum and bass. Described by some as "clinical" and "obsessively precise", this style draws heavily from the latest in music technology. Neurofunk generally has a sci-fi or futuristic theme to its melodies and sounds. Rather than focusing on the percussion or gained midrange filling the space of a song (as with other drum and bass genres such as techstep or clownstep), atmosphere and spacial orientation take precedence. Emphasis on precision and intricacy have allowed for a maturity of sound that has become completely tangential from the mainstream, offering a soundtrack to the futurists of drum & bass, a sound that can best be described as "deep".
History
No one truly knows where the term "neurofunk" originated, but some say it was first mentioned in the book Energy Flash by Simon Reynolds (ISBN 0-330-35056-0), a history of Rave and Dance Music Culture. Neurofunk in its pure form can be said to have begun with artists like Matrix who decided to fuse DnB/House beats with Jazz/Funk from his favorite Miles Davis album "In A Silent Way" which is a fusion of Jazz, Rock & Roll & Funk but loaded with space/progressive overtones. Around the same time, Matrix's brother Optical of Virus Recordings was listening to alot of Parliament recordings and these influences made their way on to his debut album entitled "Wormhole" with Ed Rush, considered by many to be one of the best examples of Neurofunk ever recorded.
Stylistic Origins
The following Jazz/Funk recordings are highly regarded as the early prototypes of Neurofunk:
- Miles Davis - In A Silent Way
- Miles Davis - On The Corner
- Don Cherry - Brown Rice
- Funkadelic - Let's Take It to the Stage
Many of the breaks used by Neurofunk producers (and Drum and Bass as a whole) are sampled from early Funk and Jazz music.
Genre Confusion
Neurofunk is often confused with Techstep (aka technoid), a closely related genre which borrows elements from Techno but concentrates on heavier beats and uses minimal Funk influence.
Artists
Artists in a list below are grouped in clusters by label:
- Audio Blueprint, Underfire, Violence Recordings
- Stakka & Skynet (Audio Blueprint, Underfire)
- K. Tee (Audio Blueprint, Underfire)
- Gridlok (Nerve Recordings, Audio Blueprint, Violence Recordings)
- Kemal & Rob Data (Audio Blueprint, Moving Shadow, DSCI4)
- Science, Certificate 18, Subtitles Recordings, Photek Productions
- Photek (Science, Astralwerks, Photek Productions)
- Source Direct (Science, Source Direct Recordings, Certificate 18)
- Teebee (Certificate 18, Subtitles Recordings, Photek Productions)
- Polar (Certificate 18, Subtitles Recordings, Levitated)
- Klute (Certificate 18, Commercial Suicide)
- Phace (Subtitles Recordings)
- DSCI4, Nerve Recordings, Black Sun Empire Recordings
- Black Sun Empire (DSCI4, Black Sun Empire Recordings)
- Noisia (Subtitles Recordings, Nerve Recordings)
- Matrix (Moving Shadow, DSCI4, Virus Recordings)
- SKC (DSCI4, Nerve Recordings, Commercial Suicide)
- Chris.Su (DSCI4, Commercial Suicide, Black Sun Empire Recordings)
- Pyro (Nerve Recordings)
Other neurofunk artists include Break, Calyx, Cause 4 Concern, Corrupt Souls, Desimal, Implex, Mayhem, N.phect & Diz:play, Optiv, Pacific, Psidream, Robot Death Squad, Silent Witness, Sinthetix and Vector Burn.