What is the difference between Bassline, Funky and Niche?

[felixgash]

Bassline & Niche are essentially the same thing. Not quite dark 4/4 as in the Narrows style, but very close to what grime would be if you sped it up and forced it over a 4/4 pattern - lots of string stabs, gliding square synths, crunching basses. The vocals are generally R&B take offs or very glassy thin US influenced female vocals. There is a slight offshoot they call Organ House (think What's It Gonna Be as opposed to Heartbroken) which as it sounds, includes organ basses. Niche is the name of the club that the sound was pioneered in. If you want to hear what's going on look out for TRC, TS7, DJ Q, Delinquents, Witty Boy, Burga Boy & JTJ.

I think Geeneus summed up funky best - "anything with a 4/4 kick underneath with the right vibe". Its great because its like experimenting with that format, changing from a traditional house beat to a soca-like off kick beat (think Cure And The Cause). Its generally quite moody and minimalist when it comes to the chords used when UK produced, but saying that one of the anthems is Shaun Escoffery - Days Like This. Musically it focuses largely on rhodes, quite squelchy synths and is very influenced by the US Garage of old. A real departure back to the roots of garage in some respect.

Hope those points are comprehensive enough!

Well said, mate.

[Jubz]

Bassline's wierd...

There's lots of good stuff granted, but so much of it sounds like hard house! uuuuuuuuuuuurgh

I like bassline and I just spent 10mins on chemical listening to hard house to refresh my memory, now I'm never, EVER going to get that time back so can you provide examples, coz I haven't heard it yet.

[ikeaboy]

I'd like to listen to a typical soca rythm. I tried Google and wiki and didn't get too far. Can anyone point me to one?

[crazydave]

There's definitely a difference in sound between "Funky" and "Funky House"

I was shocked when I got the first RINSE cd how much 'Funky House' was listed on their schedules. Made me assume they'd done something slightly different with it, unless things had gone seriously downhill. The third RINSE cd kind of confirms this.

In fact, "Funky" is what people from Rio call Baile Funk, the lo-fi electro /rap sound that's been picked up by Diplo, Mad Decent Records et cetera. A Brazilian girl tried to get me to say it right... that accent is damn tricky!

[crazydave]

I'd like to listen to a typical soca rythm. I tried Google and wiki and didn't get too far. Can anyone point me to one?

Here you go

[drifterman_]

Here:

Grime>>>Dubstep>>>everything else

[ikeaboy]

I'd like to listen to a typical soca rythm. I tried Google and wiki and didn't get too far. Can anyone point me to one?

Here you go

Cheers Crazy Dave. Interesting beats on that compilation I wish I could here them without the rest of the music around it, It's familiar alright.

[umkhontowesizwe]

not really being paying much attention to 'funky'. the stuff i have heard though hasn't really grabbed me much. is this a relatively new scene? to my ears dj ez was doing very similar (and more interesting) things with the soca rhythm circa the just turn it up ep in 03.

not going to be too dismissive until i've heard a bit more, might cop that supa d mix cd.

[shook1]

Bassline/Niche whatever you wanna call it, just 4x4 reallU
It's good though, there's something to it, simple just doe's what it set's out to do. Like go to a dance such as club vibe (niche these days), it just goes off a bit of fun really but with some pretty sick basslines.

Out to the guy claiming it sounds like hard house?? How's that, that stuffs pretty big in my town and can't say any of the hardhouse lot would be getting on the bassline thing.

Isnt 'funky' more known as 'uk funky'? And it's pretty much the grime/garage crew getting on the house thing, and shaping it up a bit innit?

Check the NG and Versatile podcast for anyone wanting hear a bit of what that mans doing, am feeling it myself.

Also, Whistla's right. It's all just garage dubstep included.

[flippo]

But it can't be just me thinking that calling an entire genre by an adjective is fucking stupid?

Is it as stupid as calling a genre drum and bass?

or metal? Rock? hip-hop?

they all pretty silly names really.

[pete_bubonic]

But it can't be just me thinking that calling an entire genre by an adjective is fucking stupid?

Is it as stupid as calling a genre drum and bass?

or metal? Rock? hip-hop?

they all pretty silly names really.

Silly names I can live with, names that reference actual tangible objects or dances or whatever. (DnB being the most sensible out of all them surely?!), but an adjective? What other music genre does that?

Anyway, back on point: I think I get the sound that 'Funky' covers now, will have a hunt round the net and shops for tunes. I get the impression that it is pretty close to Broken Beat stuff?

The bassline vs. niche stuff. So the difference is defined by location, niche being a northern thing. But sonically they ain't that different? Which came first and why did they name it something different? And how did the names come about? Wikipedia questions I guess?

[epithet]

I like the bleepy wobbly glitchy squelchy stuff with about a 140bpm breakbeat behind it and i don't mind if it gets halved to 70 every now and then as long as its got more bass than you can shake a stick at.

Call that shit what you like but thats not all i like either

[tiggertigger]

It has a lot of similarities to broken beat in terms of sound and producers but the one distinguishing factor is the 4/4 beat I suppose. It mostly arose out of the lack of a "garage" sound - for the more soulful types the main type of electro and fanky house was too alienating, and that's where this softer, "funkier" sound arose from. The name funky was bred out of necessity; it is considered funky house but is very distinct from what is seen by the public as funky house - you won't be hearing Fedde Le Grand's latest terrace hit here.

Bassline and Niche are the same, don't get it twisted. Both eminated from the north, rising out of producers like Big Ang, Jon Buccieri and everything coming out Reflective Records which used to be THE label. In fact interestingly it was DnD who actually helped pioneer the sound up north, the same guys behind Menta (the grime/garage hit "Ramp" with Ms Dynamite) and who were doing UKG from 1999. I also believe the same guys are behind the house producers Moto Blanco. Anyway a lot of northern DJs had continued to play speed garage since the late 90s and it was a relatively small scene focused around this Sheffield club Niche, before around 2002 when garage moved completely away from its roots. You were left with grime which although popular, took away the dance element. Hence - bassline filled the void.

As for the name its like anything, its something that catches on. Few people know that the name grime was actually coined by DJ EZ as a joke on his show when playing the tracks, and it caught on. As far as bassline house, I imagine it was with a view to creating something unique away from what the London and southern producers had created.

[pete_bubonic]

It has a lot of similarities to broken beat in terms of sound and producers but the one distinguishing factor is the 4/4 beat I suppose. It mostly arose out of the lack of a "garage" sound - for the more soulful types the main type of electro and fanky house was too alienating, and that's where this softer, "funkier" sound arose from. The name funky was bred out of necessity; it is considered funky house but is very distinct from what is seen by the public as funky house - you won't be hearing Fedde Le Grand's latest terrace hit here.

Bassline and Niche are the same, don't get it twisted. Both eminated from the north, rising out of producers like Big Ang, Jon Buccieri and everything coming out Reflective Records which used to be THE label. In fact interestingly it was DnD who actually helped pioneer the sound up north, the same guys behind Menta (the grime/garage hit "Ramp" with Ms Dynamite) and who were doing UKG from 1999. I also believe the same guys are behind the house producers Moto Blanco. Anyway a lot of northern DJs had continued to play speed garage since the late 90s and it was a relatively small scene focused around this Sheffield club Niche, before around 2002 when garage moved completely away from its roots. You were left with grime which although popular, took away the dance element. Hence - bassline filled the void.

As for the name its like anything, its something that catches on. Few people know that the name grime was actually coined by DJ EZ as a joke on his show when playing the tracks, and it caught on. As far as bassline house, I imagine it was with a view to creating something unique away from what the London and southern producers had created.

Thank you for taking the time to type that, real informative and with names i can search on!

[epithet]

Thats is some good info alright. So 'bassline house' has nothing to do with 'bassline breaks' as pioneered by 'aquasky vs masterbalster'' ? Its not just 'bassline breaks' with a 4 on the floor backbeat instead of a breakbeat ?

http://odeo.com/audio/17780213/view

[concept_]

In fact, "Funky" is what people from Rio call Baile Funk, the lo-fi electro /rap sound that's been picked up by Diplo, Mad Decent Records et cetera. A Brazilian girl tried to get me to say it right... that accent is damn tricky!

Yea they say it like "Fonkie". When I went to South America (couple years ago now, they were using the same name for the Reggaeton sound, which was HUGE- think this kind of spawned the faster, more hyped baile sound in a way, though it links closely with stuff like baltimore house and "gutter music" the likes of Debonair Samir etc.

Anyway back to UK discussion, tiggertigger says it well with clear examples. I don't really know much about Bassline House (perhaps its just cos im not from up north- this was all they were playing when i went up to Leeds a bit ago on frequency.fm and in the clubs) cept for the stuff in the charts.

But the Funky stuff has a whole range of influences- obvious deep and soulful US house the likes of Kerri Chandler, Karizma (this more than anything in sets by Supa D, MA1 etc.); afrobeat and soca style house the likes of DJ Gregory; then the more obvious grimier/ uk garage influences of people like Wookie. For me Apple's track Mr. Apple shows the link with this sound and grime as the hard claps of grime on the off beats are really evident and a grimy rythm over a fundamentally 4/4 beat. Big track as well.

[epithet]

Oh my. bok bok has finally unhitched his horse and jumped wagon.



http://dot-alt.blogspot.com/

[elementalism]

its just music!

genre names were actually invented by record shops in 1901 to help them come up with another way of categorizing tunes apart from alphabetically

meh

How many people say that on here? It's boring and irrelevant, it's got a name and every flyer you've ever been handed says so. It's a name that's attached to a scene and why wouldn't you want it? I'm sorry but this borderless musical utopia stuff doesn't wash.

Try telling anyone who raved through '93/95/96 what they listened to and they'll tell you it was Jungle. Not DnB. Even back then, I remember people saying I should call it techno. Fuck the semantics, I was a junglist, not a musicalist. And I'm a whatever-you-call-a-person-who-listens-to-dubstep is too.

[jera]

it's all about Perempays & Dees - Buss it tune. I can defintley see MC's laing down some bars 2 this!

anyone know where i can buy it from or similar stuff?

[mos dan]

Oh my. bok bok has finally unhitched his horse and jumped wagon.

http://dot-alt.blogspot.com/

what's your problem you fassy? jumped wagon from what? people like bok bok (and myself) were talking about halfstep and wobble boredom throttling dubstep's creativity and dynamism years ago, and were shouted down for 'hating'. now on the rare occasions i come back to this board, everyone's complaining about, erm, halfstep and wobble boredom.

incidentally elementalism, you are on the effing money there. 'it's all just music' is the silliest cliche outside of 'we're taking each game as it comes' - and they're both equally annoying.