Broken Beat, better known as BRUK, or West London, is a style of music that is heavily popular in the UK. It is characterized by syncopated 4/4 rhythms.
History[]
The genre first appeared in the 90's, being pioneered by artists like Bugz in the Attic, IG Culture, and 4hero's album Two Pages. Essentially, everyone who signed to 4hero's Reinforced label were early pioneers of this music. These included established techno artists like Carl Craig & Stacy Pullen, who tried to add breaks to their music. Their experiments led to the creation of breakbeat sub-genre broken techno. It was then picked up by Detroit & jazz influenced UK techno artists As One & Ian O'Brien, who added soul to the mixture, further influencing broken beat.
Structure[]
BRUK's most notable characteristic is its syncopated 4/4 rhythms, with staggered/punctuated snare beats, and/or hand claps. Artists who make these songs usually have experience in drum and bass, house, hip-hip, techno, or even acid jazz. One may also hear traces of disco, contemporary RnB/funk, early electronic, and 80's new wave.