Turn It Up: A Short History of Drum & Bass

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Music Uncovered: Turn It Up: A Short History of Drum & Bass: 6. D&B Pops, Again

1. The Birth

6. D&B Pops, Again

BBC - Music Uncovered, Turn It Up: A Short History of Drum & Bass, 6. D&B Pops, Again

DJ Fresh gifts the scene its first number one – all of a sudden, D&B is on the main stage.

Dubstep invades dance floors, D&B lovers disappear. A more commercial form of the music grows stronger – thanks to the first D&B number one: DJ
Fresh and Rita Ora’s Hot Right Now.

When Dubstep invades dance floors in 2008, it’s like UK garage all over again. What happened to all the D&B lovers? Where did they go? But as those in the underground ponder the state of the nation, above the surface, a more commercial form of the music is growing stronger and stronger – thanks to festival headline sets from Pendulum and the very first D&B UK number one single: DJ Fresh and Rita Ora’s Hot Right Now.

Music Uncovered: Turn It Up: A Short History of Drum & Bass

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Music: Dance & Electronica: Drum & Bass

DJ Flight, Storm and other genre-defining contributors tell the story of D&B.

In the mid-1990s, beyond the antics of the Spice Girls and Britpop, an exciting subculture was blowing up. A futuristic kind of music that melded hip hop, rave and dub seemed to appear from nowhere and was suddenly everywhere: drum & bass. Multicultural crowds flocked, often from small towns and sleepy suburbs, to basements in Bristol, London and Coventry to dance to this thrilling new sound. DJ Storm and her partner Kemistry emerged from the Midlands to set up, with Goldie, Metalheadz, a club and record label that stood for D&B's after-hours vibe and the huge cultural influence it went on to have. With the help of fans who were there, she tells the story of a scene that represented the UK more than any 'Cool Britannia' magazine cover, that showed the way for many female DJs, that brought her unbearable tragedy as well as incredible success, and that keeps blowing up, again and again.

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6. D&B Pops, Again

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