Drill and Bass

Drill and bass, also written drill 'n' bass, is a subgenre of electronic music that emerged in the mid-1990s when British IDM producers subjected drum and bass and jungle rhythms to extreme digital manipulation. Breakbeats are chopped, retriggered, and accelerated into dense, irregular patterns that defeat dancing, while basslines move with rapid, syncopated independence and ambient or melodic passages provide contrast. The style is marked by technical display, abrupt edits, and a streak of deliberate absurdity in its titles and samples. It flourished briefly between 1995 and 2001 and directly anticipated the more aggressive breakcore.