This category celebrates Breakbeat, an electronic style based on syncopated rhythms and dynamic percussion. Known for its energetic beats and creative samples, it's equally at home on the dancefloor as it is in more discerning listening environments.
Breakbeat vinyl records offer a condensed experience of groove and inventiveness through varied and impactful productions. Let the rhythm carry you away.
Breakbeat vinyl covers electronic music built on drum breaks, the moments where only the rhythm section plays, sampled and looped rather than programmed as a steady four-on-the-floor. The technique comes from 1970s Bronx block parties, where DJ Kool Herc stretched out the breaks on funk records using two turntables. It went on to shape hip-hop, then in the UK fed hardcore, jungle, drum and bass and big beat. Vinyl is home turf here: breaks were discovered, sampled and mixed from records in the first place.
Breakbeat comes in two main forms. The 12-inch single, made for DJs, has wide grooves, high volume and often several versions of a track. The album is meant for start-to-finish listening and sometimes includes tracks not found on the singles. For the 1990s big beat classics, original pressings still turn up used, and several albums have been reissued on vinyl, sometimes for anniversaries.
With used 12-inches that went through a DJ's hands, the most-played track may be worn, with cueing marks at the start of the cut, so ask for a side-by-side condition report. Watch out for unofficial pressings of sought-after tracks too, often recognizable by an unknown imprint, missing credits or a price that seems too good.
In the 1990s, big beat took breakbeat to the main stages of festivals, mixing heavy breaks with distorted guitars and samples. In the UK, labels such as Skint Records and Wall of Sound drove the movement, while XL Recordings released The Prodigy. These albums remain the core of any breakbeat collection and are easy to find on vinyl:
The breakbeat section is a focused selection built around names such as The Chemical Brothers,
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