By Nora Kamareddine
LAU Tribune contributor
Walking on the sidewalk beneath the Broadway Center in Hamra, you see some familiar faces among small groups of people. Inside the elevator, you begin the swift ascend to the 10th floor.
As you go up, you slowly start to hear the familiar loud beats. And, when you enter the room, you find the bar to your left and the DJ set toward the back of the dance floor.
How is 1991 England related to 2011 Lebanon?
Drums and Bass (DnB), a music genre with several subgenres, ranging from Techno to Jazz, has come to flourish in Lebanon.
DnB was influenced by various genres starting with Reggae (in the early 60′s), Hip Hop, Breakbeat, Rave, and Jungle. In 1994, it first carried the name Drums and Bass.
The genre is characterized by Breakbeat and hardcore music that ranges from 185 to 190bpm. In terms of texts and lyrics, what started out as those of Soul went through Hip Hop type of lyrics into electronically altered voices or mostly none at all.
“I like it because it’s an interesting form of music, musical expression, lots of creativity, it gives you an adrenaline rush,” Julian Tohme, a fan of the genre, said. “For the same reason I like heavy metal.”
In the world of turntables, bands like Pendulum –the most famous in the genre– still perform live acts with real drums and bass players and a mix of rock-like lyrics to go along. DJs like Urban Hype, and Grooverider shaped the beginnings of the scene.
Very little is known about them since DnB is not a mainstream type of music. In England in the early 1990s, parties were often held in warehouses that organizers illegally broke into.
Since the early beginnings, DnB was rarely played by DJs in overly popular clubs. The first DnB parties were only accessible to a limited number of people informally invited through word-of-mouth.
“In Lebanon, 5 or 6 years ago it was spread in the same way,” George, a frequent in the scene, said.
In 2012, the scene is slightly different. Flyers litter the streets of Hamra to attract people to the parties. For up to 30 dollars, people go to dance the night away in various locations. Few DJs, like Kapushka and Screwheadz aka Ripsnorter, Tavarish, Spets, and Villiam, are already famous among insiders.
Among the most popular locations is the Broadway Center in Hamra. At DnB parties, a colorful mix of Hippies, Trance Junkies, Rastafaris, Metal heads and Hip Hoppers meets the eye.
“I think DnB music here should be more accepted by the general public,” Sagger Khraishi, a fan of the genre, said. “Its listeners should not be negatively labeled.”
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