Big beat

Big beat (sometimes called chemical breaks) is a term devised in the mid 1990s by the British music press as a way of describing the work of The Chemical Brothers, but was defined by the wo

Big beat (sometimes called chemical breaks) is a term devised in the mid 1990s by the British music press as a way of describing the work of The Chemical Brothers, but was defined by the work of Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy. Big beat tend to feature distorted, compressed breakbeats at moderate tempos (usually between 110 to 136 beats per minute), acidic synthesizer lines and heavy jazz loops. They are often punctuated with punkish-style vocals and driven by intense, distorted basslines with conventional pop and techno song structures. Big beat is also characterised by a strong psychedelic influence stemming from the influence of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin's breakbeats, and the acid house musical movement.

At a time when electronic dance music tended to have deliberately artificial, robotic and repetitious drum beats mixed with sampled drum loops, the Chemical Brothers took the unusual step of recreating rock-style drum lines with individually-sampled drums, their music consequently combining elements of dance and rock music. The term caught on, and was subsequently applied to a wide variety of acts, notably Bentley Rhythm Ace, Lionrock, Monkey Mafia, Death In Vegas and David Holmes.