Hail the Amen Beat. Again, as i repeat, it is the most iconic, re-sampled, diseminated, debased, bastardized and syncopated mother-of-all drum loops since 1987. Originally recorded on vinyl and lost in the canals of obscurity, the beat is a mere 2 bar break played by two drummers simultaneously. A funk soul band called Winstons recorded a song titled Amen Brother in 1966. Yet thats just pop trivia. The 'Amen Break' has been pushed to levels of absurdity, loosing all connection with the original beat, after becoming the most revered drum loop and iconic moniker of a subculture rising out of the UK, US and Canada through the 90s and into the new millennium. Altered and improvised by every know and unknown producer who existed in the rave era and did not care about disco and took to acid, jungle, hard-core and drum&bass !
A staggering generation of producers, sampling Dj's, audiences, nerds, clubs and record labels, all thriving on a six second drum loop and its golden ratio - of tone and rhythm regardless of what tempo you wanted to ride it on. It has effected and and attracted hundreds of musicians and taste makers alike over and over in different countries across the world, till today. And what happened to the Winstons ? Did they care or even realize what their song or beat had become ? What about royalties ? Recent examples of the Amen Break are heard on TV commercials and Radio promos. Even certain audio sample companies have claimed copyright of the 'Amen Break' as late as 2003 !! ( Amen, to the bullshit that recording & audio laws and labels can claim ).
" This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music -- a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. Nate Harrison's 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip "
VENETIAN SNARES the artist and his dozen plus albums -is one massive, epic trailblazer of the Amen Beat. Actually it would not be unfair to call him the GrandMaster of the Amen Beat - Junglist - NeoClassical Electro - BreakCore - Snare Philosopher!
A staggering generation of producers, sampling Dj's, audiences, nerds, clubs and record labels, all thriving on a six second drum loop and its golden ratio - of tone and rhythm regardless of what tempo you wanted to ride it on. It has effected and and attracted hundreds of musicians and taste makers alike over and over in different countries across the world, till today. And what happened to the Winstons ? Did they care or even realize what their song or beat had become ? What about royalties ? Recent examples of the Amen Break are heard on TV commercials and Radio promos. Even certain audio sample companies have claimed copyright of the 'Amen Break' as late as 2003 !! ( Amen, to the bullshit that recording & audio laws and labels can claim ).
" This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music -- a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. Nate Harrison's 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip "
VENETIAN SNARES the artist and his dozen plus albums -is one massive, epic trailblazer of the Amen Beat. Actually it would not be unfair to call him the GrandMaster of the Amen Beat - Junglist - NeoClassical Electro - BreakCore - Snare Philosopher!
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