Big Beat Rock
tagStarted 1995Peak 1996-2000Last big hit still active
Located in 2 routes
Huge distorted breakbeats slammed at rock volume: chunky funk-rock drum loops, acid-squelch synth riffs, hip-hop scratches and punk attitude pushed into the red. Built for festival mainstages as much as clubs, it borrows rock's loud-quiet dynamics and live energy. Maximal, in-your-face electronic music made to mosh to.
History
Coalesced mid-1990s out of British dance culture (the Heavenly Social club, Skint and Wall of Sound labels) as producers fused breakbeat with rock and hip-hop swagger. The Chemical Brothers' Grammy-winning "Block Rockin' Beats" (1997) and Fatboy Slim took distorted breaks onto rock radio; The Prodigy's The Fat of the Land topped the US Billboard 200 in 1997, carrying the sound to mainstages worldwide.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_beat
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_Rockin'_Beats
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busy_Child
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Flag_(song)