Contrforce

Breakbeat is an electronic dance music style built around syncopated, sampled drum "breaks" rather than a straight four-on-the-floor kick. Producers chop, loop, and rearrange classic drum breaks (such as the Amen, Apache, and Think breaks) to create swung, shuffling rhythms with strong backbeat accents. Emerging from the UK rave continuum, breakbeat draws heavily on hip hop’s sampling culture and electro’s machine-funk, while adopting house/acid-house sound design and club-focused arrangements. Tempos most commonly sit between 125–140 BPM (though broader ranges occur), featuring heavy sub-bass, crunchy snares, and edits/fills that propel dancefloors without relying on a 4/4 kick. As a scene, "breaks" spans everything from big-room, party-leaning grooves to techy, nu skool textures and regional variants like Florida breaks. It also functions as a foundational rhythmic vocabulary that informed jungle and drum and bass, and it underpins much of modern bass music.

Electronic is a broad umbrella genre defined by the primary use of electronically generated or electronically processed sound. It encompasses music made with synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, computers, and studio/tape techniques, as well as electroacoustic manipulation of recorded or synthetic sources. The genre ranges from academic and experimental traditions to popular and dance-oriented forms. While its sonic palette is rooted in electricity and circuitry, its aesthetics span minimal and textural explorations, structured song forms, and beat-driven club permutations. Electronic emphasizes sound design, timbre, and studio-as-instrument practices as much as melody and harmony.

Nu skool breaks (often shortened to "nu breaks") is a late-1990s/early-2000s evolution of breakbeat that emphasizes tight, futuristic sound design, heavy sub-bass, and punchy, syncopated drum programming. Compared to big beat’s sample-heavy, rock-influenced swagger, nu skool breaks is cleaner, more club-focused, and more tech-driven. Tracks typically run around 125–135 BPM, feature rolling breakbeats and crisp percussion, and blend influences from techno, electro, house, hip hop, and Miami/Florida breaks. The result is dancefloor-primed music with a strong low-end, sculpted midrange, and sleek, modern aesthetics. Key labels and nights—such as Marine Parade, Finger Lickin’, TCR (Thursday Club Recordings), and Botchit & Scarper—helped codify the sound and push it globally during its peak in the early 2000s.