Big Beat Music Guide: 4 Characteristics of Big Beat Music

Big beat is a style of electronic dance music built around heavy drum beats, breakbeat samples, distorted synth basslines, and sound effects. Leading big beat artists like Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy, Propellerheads, and the Chemical Brothers have drawn inspiration from earlier forms of electronica as well as hip-hop, funk, and rock music.

The big beat scene thrived from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, hitting several milestones along the way.

• The Big Beat Boutique: Big beat music takes its name from a recurring Brighton club night called the Big Beat Boutique run by DJ Norman Cook (also known by his stage name, Fatboy Slim). This event, along with similar London electronic music parties led by the Chemical Brothers, promoted electronic music composed with more recognizable pop structures like distinct verses and choruses.
• The big beat style: Record labels like Heavenly, Wall of Sound, and Damian Harris’s Skint Records began signing electronic music artists who combined the sonics of popular rave styles like drum-and-bass, acid house, trip-hop, and breakbeat hardcore with the pop songwriting structure heard in hip-hop, funk, and indie rock. This approach helped define the ’90s sound for acts like Death in Vegas, Lo Fidelity Allstars, the Crystal Method, Wiseguys, and Bentley Rhythm Ace.
• Mainstream success: While most big beat tracks remained confined to nightclub dance floors, a few broke through into MTV and radio play. This included "Firestarter" by the Prodigy and "Praise You" and "The Rockafeller Skank'' by Fatboy Slim. Suddenly big beat records were shooting up the Billboard album charts.
• Fade into other electronic genres: As the 2000s dawned, big beat's hold on dancefloors and radio airwaves began to wane. New genres—like an electronic version of Jamaican dub and reimagined techno and house music—took over the mainstream electronic music scene. Today, some classic big beat tracks still receive placement on prominent streaming playlists and at clubs worldwide.

Big beat music stands out in the broader world of electronica thanks to a few key traits.

1. 1. Frequent breakbeat sampling: Big beat often uses breakbeat fills from classic '70s funk, soul, and hip-hop records.
2. 2. Heavy drum sound: Following in the spirit of industrial, drum-and-bass, and breakbeat techno, big beat music emphasizes heft in its drum tone.
3. 3. Distorted basslines: The bass sounds in big beat songs recall the distorted synth bass tones of acid house and drum-and-bass. As with acid house songs, the sounds often come from a Roland TB-303 synthesizer.
4. 4. Pop structure: Big beat's mainstream success can partially be attributed to traditional pop song structures. Major big beat artists like Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy, and the Chemical Brothers saw the value of pop structure in hip-hop and rock music, and they adapted it for the dance floor.

The big beat genre has produced some of the most iconic artists in electronic music.

1. 1. The Chemical Brothers: Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons began their career as the Dust Brothers before rebranding as the Chemical Brothers. Their 1993 record "Chemical Beats" helped lay the groundwork for the big beat sound. They have won three Grammy awards for Best Dance/Electronic Album for 2006's Push the Button, 2008's We Are the Night, and 2020's No Geography.
2. 2. The Prodigy: The brainchild of Liam Howlett, the Prodigy channels the primal energy of UK raves into short, poppy packaging. This led to massive sales for the group's third album, The Fat of the Land, which topped the Billboard charts in July 1997.
3. 3. Fatboy Slim: Norman Cook, a DJ from the south of England, is best known by his stage name Fatboy Slim. He scored some of the highest-charting hits of the big beat era, including "The Rockafeller Skank," "Praise You," and "Weapon of Choice."
4. 4. The Crystal Method: Big beat music tends to be synonymous with England's club scene, but the Crystal Method is one of several American acts that also broke through in the genre. The Crystal Method is known for its 1999 album, Tweekend, and for its remixes of indie rock artists like Rage Against the Machine and Garbage.

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