Free Beat Friday #7 – Block Rockin’ Breakbeat
For Free Beat Friday this month…
… a SERIOUS block rockin’ breakbeat!
Why a block rockin’ breakbeat?
In case you didn’t get the reference (!?!) this month’s Free Beat Friday is affectionately influenced by a fairly well known track by the Chemical Brothers.
They took the drum break from a Bernard Purdie track – “Changes” – sliced it, diced it and sped it up. It still stands today as a touchstone of modern Big Beat/Breakbeat music, a production that tested the limits of a sampler technology back in 1997.
However, it is Pretty Purdie who should mainly be credited here. The groove and the feel on the original is just something else…
Melody!
I KNOW! It doesn’t happen often with us drummers… but while recording the block rockin’ breakbeat, we could hear a melody. So we used a….
GONG Bass Drum!?
Have we finally hit peak lockdown-madness?
The old Yamaha 9000 kick drum got dragged out, turned upside down and mounted on a tom stand so we could thrash it with a pair of furry beaters. (That was an odd sentence…)
Tuned in harmony with a pair of congas, the three drums play a melody (or is it a baseline?) over the top of the breakbeat.
Don’t panic folks… there IS some shaker as well…
The Full Monty
This block rockin’ breakbeat was recorded with the full 16 channel setup. So plenty of options if you want to delve into the multi-tracks where you will get each and every channel as a 24bit file.
We used the DW Collectors series kit, with 2 mics on every drum. Hats are a pair of 14″ Zildjian New Beats. All recorded, as always, in accordance with our Recording Ethos.
The Video
Want a piece of Free Beat Friday Action?
Each month, we send our subscribers free drum loops – the mixes and multi-tracks for an amazing new beat for free.
About a week before Free Beat Friday, we record a video of some free drum loops and publish it so you can see what’s coming.
Then, on the first Friday of the month, everyone who subscribes gets an email with links to the free drum loops. 16BIT Stereo Mix and 24BIT Multi-Tracks – and they are free for you to use and enjoy!
On signing up, you will receive the most recent Free Beat Friday email with the download links…
