Rendah Mag Issue: 014

If we talk about gritty Reese bass modulation being the staple for defining the 'Neuro' sound, it can be heard applied in a lot of styles. The not-so-recent phase has been Glitch Hop and Neurofunk’s lovechild ‘Neurohop’ which was soon succeeded by its older, more mature brother halftime, which I can only imagine is due to its increasing popularity and accessibility in the Drum & Bass scene. We hear a lot of dubstep with Neuro basses as well as IDM, but there doesn’t seem to be any other genres that have stuck with the sound consistently. Vellum is as close as it gets in defining neuro at 130, yet the prominence is most certainly on the Bass House / Four-To-The-Floor vibe, and an honorable shout out to Skope who has donned a few Neuro Garage tracks in his time, which certainly influenced others to explore, but not enough to take off. With that being said, there still doesn’t seem to be any consistency with Neuro inspired broken beats in the 130bpm region.

Now if you dig deep you will find it, and it’s golden. I find if you trawl through Neurofunk producers catalogues you’ll eventually stumble across a track or two where they deviate from 170bpm, but it’s never enough and there doesn’t seem to be people inspired enough to keep exploring it. Joe Ford and Akov are shining examples of how powerful and groovy the style can be. Though discovering more niche artists that experiment with weirder IDM styles, you find some pretty interesting interpretations. Azuruk had always inspired this sound for me and is one of the reasons why I started down the rabbit hole after I recruited him for the Bristol-based breaks/bassline label SWB (South West Bass). I wanted to start pushing more neuro-influenced breaks styles into the scene, as there is such high demand in Bristol particularly for both DnB and four to the floor but there doesn’t seem to be a market for the in-between.

Neurobreaks has all the elements to make it accessible to the Neurofunk community, and it appeals to the wider mainstream since The Prodigy have bolstered breakbeat through both the electronic and punk/metal scene, so what’s the holdup? After decades of bubbling under the surface, is Neuro Breaks about to finally 

 through? Drum & Bass has taken the reins for so long, so a novel genre is surely overdue a resurgence. All it takes is a collective willingness to push it - and thanks to some incredible like-minded people that’s just about to happen.

In a peculiar event of serendipity, shortly after I had wrapped up this article, AKOV reached out to me to express his eagerness to dedicate a label to the Neurobreaks sound, inviting me on board as well as enlisting the help of DnB powerhouse - Screamarts. He holds a similar affinity for the Neurobreaks sound and is without a doubt responsible for helping pioneer the genre, so this is just the move that’s needed to give Neurobreaks a dedicated platform So here I am, editing the article after yearning for some weight to be added behind the movement, sharing just the thing I wanted to happen as a result of writing it. So between the three of us, we’ve set the wheels in motion to drive Neurobreaks to your dancefloors through Symbiotik Records.


If you want to hear more, I’ve curated a playlist on Spotify demonstrating the awesomeness of Neurobreaks.

Be sure to keep an eye on Symbiotik Records as we steer into the official label launch soon.

I’ve been following this genre for about a decade now after witnessing my friend James (aka Hudat) shell out the most obscene neuro-influenced breakbeat in one of the shadiest yet banging clubs in my hometown, and I knew I wanted to hear more. I admired tearout breaks as a whole, especially Afghan Headspin, and Noisia’s electro stuff, but this drew parallels between the two that I just couldn't comprehend. There’s but one or two producers that I have come across that dedicate themselves to more than a few tracks, and it’s curious to try and understand why.

Are you ready for the Neurobreaks movement?

Rendah Mag

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