Breakbeat describes electronic music built around syncopated drum patterns, rather than the steady four-to-the-floor pulse of house and techno. The term comes from the percussion breaks found in funk, soul and jazz recordings, where other instruments briefly drop out and leave the drums exposed.
During the 1970s, hip hop DJs in New York isolated these sections by switching between two copies of the same record, extending the break for dancers and MCs. Sampling technology later let producers cut, loop and rearrange drum breaks into new rhythmic patterns, making the technique central to hip hop production.
Breakbeats entered British rave music during the late 1980s and early 1990s as producers combined sampled drums with house, techno, acid, reggae and soundsystem influences. Breakbeat hardcore grew through faster tempos, chopped vocal samples, heavy bass and piano or synthesiser passages, feeding directly into the formation of jungle and drum and bass.
Through the 1990s, the wider Breakbeat category expanded into styles including big beat, nu skool breaks, funky breaks and progressive breaks. Artists and producers rearranged drum loops, electronic basslines, samples and effects into everything from hip hop-influenced grooves to harder club productions.
Breakbeat now works both as a production method and as an umbrella term for several related electronic styles. Its defining feature stays constant: an uneven, syncopated rhythmic structure that gives the drums more movement than a straight house beat.
At Scientific Sound Asia, breakbeat is a defining feature of Ministry Of Breaks, with further appearances on Boom Bap Show and The Deeper Shades.