UK on Music Theory Print

UK bass

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

The breadth of styles that have come to be associated with the term preclude it from being a specific musical genre. Pitchfork writer Martin Clark has suggested that “well-meaning attempts to loosely define the ground we’re covering here are somewhat futile and almost certainly flawed. This is not one genre. However, given the links, interaction, and free-flowing ideas… you can’t dismiss all these acts as unrelated.” In the United Kingdom, bass music has had major mainstream success since the late 2000s and early 2010s, with artists such as James Blake, and Skream. The term “post-dubstep” has been used synonymously to refer to artists, such as Blake and Mount Kimbie whose work draws on UK garage, 2-step, and other forms of underground dance music, as well as ambient music and early R&B. Outside of nightclubs, UK bass has mainly been promoted and played on Internet radio stations such as Sub.FM and Rinse FM.

UK drill

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

UK drill developed a different production style than the most common Chicago beat patterns, albeit still based on Chicago drill styles originally pioneered by DJ L, a Chicago producer who collaborated with rapper G Herbo in the early Chicago scene. The genre also took influence from earlier British genres such as grime and UK garage; in an interview with Complex, Jammer noted that “without grime…there would be no UK drill.” Drill producer Mazza noted that both drill and grime share a similar rawness and energy, despite the two genres remaining distinct from each other. Drill producer Carns Hill, alongside several drill rappers, noted that UK drill should probably have a “new name” to distinguish it from the original Chicago drill sound. UK drill is generally more fast-paced compared to its Chicago counterpart. UK drill beats are generally structured around an contrast to the typical trap/Chicago drill beat, the hi-hats have moved from on-beat and triplet subdivisions to a steady 3+3+2 polyrhythm, hi-hat pattern, with snares landing on the fourth beat instead of the third every 2 bars. Instrumentals often also have a sliding bass, hard hitting kicks, and dark melodies. AXL Beats explained that the 808s and fast-tempo snares in UK drill are derivative of grime music. Both genres typically use a tempo of approximately 138–151 beats per minute. The use of British slang, intricate lyrical flows, and elements of social commentary further help distinguish UK drill from its Chicago and Brooklyn counterparts, which are often characterised by a more aggressive, stream-of-consciousness style. As referenced in the book What Do You Call It? From Grassroots to the Golden Era of UK Rap (2024), UK drill also developed its own distinct visual identity, shaped in part by economic realities. As Brixton-based rapper Skengdo explained: “The Chicago lot had True Religion jeans, Timberlands, they were all swagger. But coming up as 15–16-year-olds in the ends, not everyone can afford expensive brands. So we’re wearing Nike tracksuits and Tech hoodies in the video.” Censorship of UK drill lyrics through vocal cuts and mutes is sometimes done to avoid them being used during their prosecution by the police; for example, “shh” is used in songs to replace the names of people, weapons and criminal acts.

UK funky

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

UK funky uses tempos of around 130bpm. Drum patterns vary between tracks, using either “4 to the floor” or a syncopated style. The drum patterns commonly also include percussion playing African inspired rhythms. Instrumentation varies widely, but drum machines and synthesizers are common. There are similarities to garage in rhythmic, musical and vocal styles. UK funky is highly influenced by the tribal, soulful and bassline house subgenres. Similar genres include afro house, broken beat, electro and garage.

UK garage

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

UK garage emerged in London in the early 1990s from a blend of New York garage house, jungle, Jamaican ragga and dancehall music, and R&B. It was influenced by the pirate radio scene, rave culture, gospel, Baptist churches, and the Black diaspora. MJ Cole once stated, “London is a multicultural city… it’s like a melting pot of young people, and that’s reflected in the music of UK garage.” In the United Kingdom, where jungle was very popular at the time, garage was played in a second room at jungle events. After jungle’s peak in cultural significance, it turned towards a harsher, more techstep influenced sound, driving away dancers, predominantly women. Escaping the 170bpm jungle basslines, the garage rooms provided a more sensual and soulful sound at 130bpm. Garage increasingly got aired at events on a Sunday, such an event at the nearby Frog & Nightgown. This gave rise to what became known as the Sunday Scene, as initially speed and UK garage promoters could only hire venues on Sunday evenings (Friday and Saturday nights were still the preserve of faster and then more popular jungle and drum and bass events). Larger nightclubs, such as Heaven in Charing Cross, then began to dedicate space to garage DJs. Early promoters of a UK garage sound included DJ EZ, Dreem Teem and Tuff Jam, and pirate radio stations such as London Underground, Magic FM, Upfront FM, and Freek FM. An early UK garage track, “Feel My Love” by Justin Cantor and Matt Jam Lamont, was recorded in 1991. It wouldn’t be officially released until 1993.

UK hard house

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

Hard house has its immediate roots primarily in Belgian and German techno, American disco-sample based house music, handbag house and early trance. UK producer and label owner John Truelove was quoted as saying of hard house’s origins: “I would say that tunes such as XVX’s “Tremorra Del Terra” and Interactive’s “Amok” (essentially the same tune) were absolutely defining moments. Early German trance led directly to what Daz Saund and Trevor Rockcliffe were playing at Trade.” Tony De Vit was one of the key DJs to codify and popularise the hard house sound (earlier often referred to as ‘hardbag’), taking inspiration from his early visits to Trade in the early ’90s — where he soon became a resident DJ. De Vit is often cited as the “godfather of UK hard house”.

UK rap

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

As in the US, British hip-hop emerged as a scene from graffiti and breakdancing, and then through to DJing and rapping live at parties and club nights, with its supporters predominantly listening to and influenced by US hip-hop. Unlike in the US, the British hip-hop scene was cross-racial from the beginning, as diverse ethnic groups in Britain tend not to live in segregated areas, even in areas with a high percentage of non-white individuals. Such places allow youth to share culture with one another, including musical genres such as hip-hop. Cross pollination through migrating West Indians helped develop a community interested in the music. The integration of sound systems represent a distinct British Caribbean influence. Sound systems allowed for powerful syncopated bass runs and the ability to bring this sound to other venues creating a club culture. There were, however, British tunes starting to appear. There are an abundance of records that are often credited with being the first British hip-hop release, “Christmas Rapping” by Dizzy Heights (Polydor, 1982), is often credited as such, as well as the slightly later released “London Bridge” by Newtrament (Jive Records, 1983). Dizzy Heights was the first MC to be signed to a major label. Two singles from 1980 precede both of these however, namely Allen & Blewitt’s novelty record “Chip Shop Wrapping”, released in 1980, a parody of The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”, and Bo Kool’s “Money (No Love)”. The instrumental for “Money (No Love)” was produced by Funk Masters member Tony Williams, and would turn out to be an influential release in its own right, going on to inspire DJ’s from New York to employ influences from dub music. In Scotland, actor and stand-up comedian Johnny Beattie released “The Glasgow Rap” in 1983, receiving some chart success at the time. He later claimed to be “Scotland’s first rap star”. This was one of several British novelty or comedy hip-hop singles which hit the UK charts during the 1980s, including “Wikka Wrap” by the Evasions, “Snot Rap” by Kenny Everett, “‘Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?” by Alexei Sayle, “Rat Rappin’” by Roland Rat, and later in the decade, “Stutter Rap (No Sleep til Bedtime)” by Morris Minor and the Majors and “Loadsamoney” by Harry Enfield. There were also early pop records which dabbled with rap – such as Adam and the Ants’ “Ant Rap” (CBS, 1981) and Wham!’s “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” (Inner Vision, 1982) — but these are often considered pop appropriations of US rap. Punk band the Clash had earlier dabbled with rap on the single “The Magnificent Seven” from their album Sandinista! (CBS, 1980), and a later single “This Is Radio Clash” (1981). Even earlier than this, in 1979, Ian Dury and the Blockheads released “Reasons to Be Cheerful (Part 3)”, another record with influences from hip-hop. Then Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren’s “Buffalo Gals” (Charisma, 1982), featuring the New York hip-hop group World’s Famous Supreme Team, was the breakthrough hit that introduced the genre to the United Kingdom — McLaren’s Duck Rock album as a whole experimented with many musical styles from around the world. “Buffalo Gals” and another track from the album, “World’s Famous” which also featured the group, used techniques which have been established in hip-hop in the United States, such as sampling and scratching. McLaren even included a song referencing the ‘Double Dutch’ dance that was popular among breakdancing crews in New York at the time. Over the next few years, more UK hip-hop and electro music was released: Street Sounds Electro UK (Street Sounds, 1984), which was produced by Greg Wilson and featured an early appearance from MC Kermit, who later went on to form the Wilson produced Ruthless Rap Assassins; the Rapologists’ “Kids Rap/Party Rap” (Billy Boy, 1984) and Grandmaster Richie Rich’s “Don’t Be Flash” (Spin Offs, 1985). Releases were still few and far between, and the scene remained predominantly underground. Although record labels began to take note of the underground scene throughout the 1980s and 1990s, radio play and publicity were still a difficulty in helping the fledgling scene to grow, and the scene only managed to survive through word of mouth and the patronage of pirate radio stations around the country. Mainstream radio did play British hip-hop on occasion, supported by such well-known DJs as Dave Pearce, Tim Westwood, Steve Barker and John Peel. A significant development in early UK rap was the nationwide Def Jam ‘87 Tour, which featured LL Cool J (billed as the headliner), Eric B. & Rakim, and a then-emerging Public Enemy. In an interview for What Do You Call It? From Grassroots to the Golden Era of UK Rap (2024), DJ, photographer, and broadcaster Normski described the experience to David Kane: “You’ve never heard anything so loud. We heard the records, but we’ve never seen it with so much ferocity in the flesh. By the end of the night, everyone was so pumped. That would have inspired everyone to go and do something badass.” British hip-hop in the 1980s was not just confined to music and break-dancing, but also involved the spread of New York City-style graffiti – another integral element of US hip hop culture — to London and other UK inner-city areas, both on walls and trains. The most direct influence was, however, on graffiti painted in London Underground trains. Teenagers from inner London and other European cities who were into electro-hip-hop and had family and other links to New York City had by the mid-1980s taken up some of the traditions of subway graffiti and exported them home, although legendary New York writers like Brim, Bio, and Futura had themselves played a significant role in establishing such links when they visited London in the early-to-mid-1980s and ‘put up pieces’ on or near the west London end of the Metropolitan Line. Almost as significantly, just when subway graffiti was on the decline in New York City, some British teenagers who had spent time with family in Queens and the Bronx returned to London with a “mission” to Americanise the London Underground through painting New York City-style graffiti on trains. These small groups of London ’train writers’ adopted many of the styles and lifestyles of their New York City forebears, painting graffiti train pieces and in general ‘bombing’ the system, but favouring only a few selected underground lines seen as most suitable for train graffiti. Although on a substantially smaller scale than what had existed in New York City, graffiti on London Underground trains became seen as enough of a problem by the mid-1980s to provoke the British Transport Police to establish its own graffiti squad modelled directly on and in consultation with that of the New York City MTA. At the same time, graffiti art on London Underground trains generated some interest in the media and arts, leading to several art galleries putting on exhibitions of some of the art work (on canvas) of a few London train writers as well as TV documentaries on London hip-hop culture like the BBC’s Bad Meaning Good, which included a section featuring interviews with London train writers and a few examples of their pieces. While many early rappers from the UK, such as Derek B, imitated the styles and accents of their US heroes, there were many who realised that to merely transpose US forms would rob UK hip-hop of the ability to speak for a disenfranchised British constituency in the way that US hip-hop so successfully spoke to, and for, its audience. Attempts were made by UK rappers to develop styles more obviously rooted in British semantics, syntax and dialectical linguistic praxis and practices — Rodney P of the London Posse deliberately chose a London accent – although many succeeded only in adopting a slurred hybrid that located the rap “somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean”.

UK underground rap

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Publications have described the interconnected and collaborative nature of the scene as one of its defining features. The Fader noted that it separated the scene from previous UK rap scenes such as grime, afrobeats and drill. The scene is inspired by American internet rap and “those American influences run deep”, with artists tending to “rely on jerk beats” and lyrics referencing American brands, culture and athletes. British magazine Dazed noted that several artists in the scene were from Generation Z and had been “robbed” of their youth due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Director Lauzza added “The news is just negative, negative, negative: it can be very draining for the average young person.” and “We’re all just reaching for the last time we remember being truly happy, when you could come home from school and slap on FIFA and nothing else mattered.”

Ukrainian folk music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Authentic folk singing#

Ukrainians, particularly in Eastern Ukraine have fostered a peculiar style of singing – The White voice (). This type of singing primarily exploits the chest register and is akin to controlled yelling or shouting. The vocal range is restrictive and in a lower tessitura. In recent times vocal courses have been established to study this particular form of singing. Among the most popular exponents of traditional Ukrainian folk singing in the modern era are Nina Matviyenko and Raisa Kyrychenko.

Ukrainian hip-hop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

In Ukraine hip hop began to develop in the 1990s. In 1989 started their activities two biggest hip hop groups at that time - TNMK and V.U.Z.V. The pioneers of Ukrainian hip hop were TNMK (Kharkiv), V.U.Z.V (Kyiv), Osnovnyy Pokaznyk (Luts’k), Tartak (Lviv) and GreenJolly (Ivano-Frankivs’k). At the end of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s, audience considered Kharkiv and Lviv as the main center of the Ukra.hop subculture. Many groups successfully performed at festivals such as Chervona Ruta and Tavriyski Ihry. At the mid-2000s a lot of underground bands and artists from another cities in Ukraine began to appear and became popular: DaHok (Drohobych), Zахідна Коаліція (Stryi), Kryzhyk (Uman), Sheksta (Stryi), Sirius MC (Kalush) and Freel (Kyiv). In 2005, Ukraine’s entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest, GreenJolly’s “Together We Are Many”, was also the unofficial anthem of the Orange Revolution. Eurovision demanded the lyrics to be changed for the contest (because it did not correspond to contests rules due to political content). Also this song was remade by Polish hip hop artists. In 2008 hip hop group LEZO released their fourth studio album, Hostroslovy (Ukrainian: Гострослови). Many critics consider it one of the best in Ukrainian hip-hop industry. The same year KyLЯ and RYLEZ created group Tulym – one of the most successful Ukrainian boom bap groups. March 11, 2011, Ukrainian rapper Ivan Buyan presented his first music video filmed in New York City. June 19, 2014, PVNCH presented their new album - Holodnyi (Ukrainian: Голодний, translation: Hungry). According to voting results Holodnyi was named the best hip-hop album of 2014. April 18, 2015, Tulym from Kyiv had a concert with legendary hip-hop band from New York City – Onyx in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ukrainian hip hop also has the only rapper in hip hop History named NazareN real name Nazar Kotovych or (NazareN Tha Prophet) that raps in four languages with no accent sometimes mixing the languages together when rapping giving a unique sound that has not been done by any other artist.

Ukrainian metal

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1990s#

Nokturnal Mortum started as a death metal band called Suppuration in 1991, then they turned to black metal and changed name to Darkness but “had to change the name back between 1993 and 1994 to Nocturnal Mortum because there already existed a band with that name in the western underground.” Then the band “changed the letter so that we wouldn’t find a band with the same name again like it was the case with Darkness.” but the label and band separated after releasing the album Nechrist and a re-release of the Lunar Poetry demo due to a disagreement. According to Varggoth, “We had a contract with The End Records but it was broken. We have different points of view. They didn’t like our policy, we didn’t like the way they do business. They owe us some money. That was enough for a conflict.” Band frontman Knjaz Varggoth is one of the foremost figures in Eastern European National Socialist Black Metal (NSBM) and has played in various NSBM bands, like Aryan Terrorism, Warhead and Temnozor. Nokturnal Mortum’s albums “Weltanschauung” and the live album “Live in Katowice” were released by No Colours Records, a German label associated with NSBM. In an interview with Frostkamp, Varggoth said that the album “Weltanschauung” is influenced by Miguel Serrano, a former Chilean diplomat, holocaust denier and major figure in Esoteric Hitlerism.