Six Drum and Bass Tracks for England

Whether you’re in Bristol, London, Manchester or just some dingy basement, drum and bass is the classic sound of urban England. Here are six of our favorites.

“Deadly Deep Subs” by Dillinja (1994)

Hailing from South London, Dillinja is one of the genre’s most prolific producers with a discography of more than 500 records since 1991.

“Messiah” by Konflict (2000)

Konflict was originally influenced by minimal Detroit techno before moving to drum and bass. “Messiah” is their seminal record, considered one of the classics, though its release was marred by label politics, which eventually led to the group starting their own imprint, Negative Records.

“Inner City Life” by Goldie (1995)

Like most electronic dance music, drum and bass is built on singles, but if you’re an album person, definitely check out Goldie’s “Timeless” album, considered one of the greatest LPs of all time for merging jungle music with conventional musicality.

“Alien Girl” by Ed Rush, Optical & Fierce (1998)

Ed Rush & Optical (along with Fierce) represent the more aggressive side of drum and bass. Grooverider’s influential Protype Records released the single.

“Valley of the Shadows” by Origin Unknown (1993)

Andy C was only 16 years old when he and Ant Miles produced one of the highest selling drum and bass records of all time. The best part is he took most of the sounds from a free sample CD that came with an early issue of Future Music Magazine.

“The Nine” by Bad Company (1998)

Written on an early version of the program Cubase, Bad Company’s “The Nine” is still a regular favorite 18 years after its release. Even after all this time, the group hasn’t revealed the meaning behind the title.