Broken beat
This west London sound broke free from four-to-the-floor rigidity, creating an underground sound that lives on
Maybe you’ve never heard of the broken beat scene that emerged out of west London in the late ’90s, but you’ve probably heard its influence. Also known as ‘bruk’ (from Jamaican patois for broke/broken), the broken beat scene never really crossed over to commercial chart success or created any household names, but the influence of its choppy grooves, jazz influences and open-minded approach lives on today.
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The term ‘broken beat’ was coined by IG Culture, London-born Ian Grant, who first found success as a member of Dodge City Productions, a hip-hop duo who straddled the worlds of rap music and acid jazz, the late ’80s subgenre, which acted as the groove-focussed, club-centric offshoot of UK jazz culture. From the mid-’90s, alongside fellow DJs and producers including the likes of Alex Phountzi, Kaidi Tatham and Dego of 4hero, Grant began exploring a sound which combined a range of influences, loosely defined by a jazz aesthetic and heavily syncopated, chopped (‘broken’) drum patterns.