Amen - Drum and Bass is born!
» Published by szola on Oct 27, 2007
The Amen break was a drum solo performed by G.C. Coleman on the b-side of the 1969 single ‘Color Him Father’ by The Winstons. The drum break lasts a mere 5.20 seconds long and consists of 4 bars. With the invention of the sampler and the drum machine musicians were given an opportunity to dig into the vaults of past performers in unprecedented ways. The break performed on ‘Amen, Brother’ was quickly snapped up by the hip hop community and the new wave of electronic artists.
The Amen break became an important part of the ever evolving music scene in Britain. With the advent of breakbeat, and later jungle the intense break on Amen was becoming an essential part of the sound. In the mid-nities drum and bass was born, and the Amen break took centre stage once again. Sliced and diced, spun back and forth, streched and reduced, the break was used (and still is) to the fullest. Drum and Bass cannot be imagined without these four bars.
Nate Harrison’s video dwells on the impact that five-point-two seconds of a flip side has made