So this happened. On Monday night (4/6/2015), I had a hard time falling asleep and decided to pass the time by heading into the studio. Since last year, I have had a pile of progressive breakbeat records set aside knowing that I wanted to record them, but I never found the time. I spun a lot of progressive breaks during the early 2000’s. This genre is on the shortlist of my all-time favorite EDM music.
At the moment, Wikipedia does not have a page on the genre, “Progressive Breaks,” so I’ll attempt to explain how they differ from a traditional breakbeat. Progressive breaks are highly synthesized, generally complex (lot’s of simultaneous tones), and they oftentimes have beautiful soundscapes that flow throughout. Some might consider them less danceable than traditional breakbeats. I like to think of them as being more involved and more musical than a typical breakbeat, which focuses on a kick drum and the use of samples. If that doesn’t help, think Hybrid or Burufunk. If you are familiar with those artists, they have perfected the art of progressive breaks, although neither of them made it into my set…Doh!
Head on over to the Jailbreak Sessions page and listen to Jailbreak 001 for 76 minutes of non-stop progressive breaks!