Progressive Breaks
 

I wanted to open a thread dedicated to the exchange of opinion, information, and general banter regarding Progressive Breaks.

For those of you who aren't sure what Progressive Breaks are, here's a wiki quote:
"Progressive breaks essentially grew out of nu skool breaks and progressive house. Due to its origins in those genres, progressive breakbeat typically features atmospheric pads and melodies. Most artists working in this genre also work in other closely related genres such as breakbeats and progressive house. Hybrid is one of the most popular artists in this genre. Other popular breaks artists include Digital Witchcraft, Luke Chable, Momu, and Way Out West."

If any of you dig prog breaks, let's hear your top producers in the genre. Best releases, up and coming, all time fav track, general opinion of where the genre is going versus where it started, etc...


My favorite track:
Ozgur Can & Rouzbeh Delavari - Eternity (Chris Lake's Dirty Breaks Mix)

My top 5 producers:
Future Perfect (fantastic guys. Chris and I worked together on a couple projects)
Gray Area
Shiloh
Fretwell
Luke Chable

Favorite progressive mix:
Gray Area - Global DJ Broadcast (2003)

not really familiar with this one, I guess if breakcore is breakbeats+noise+freejazz then this is something a bit more accessible?

This is interesting, epic but maybe not my thing. Still this is the first track i've heard..



the progression sounds like psytrance to me!

edit: Hybrid seem to be mixed, some tracks are 4/4 house and some are like slowed-down D'n'B

Eh, I'm not much into Hybrid anymore.
Admittedly, it's the first prog breaks I'd heard prior to getting into the genre... But Hybrid is to Progressive Breaks as Ketchup is to condiments:
There's better stuff out there, but that's the first thing you see on the shelf.

I'd recommend searching about and finding some lesser known artists who're pushing prog breaks. They generally have more groundbreaking techniques and vibes than what you'd hear in the background of an Audi commercial.

So, I'm not trying to highjack this thread, but there's a semi-relevant question that's been bugging me forever.
Way back in the day, If you talked about breakbeats as a genre you were talking about e-music with a james Brown "funky drummer" beat sped up as its foundation. That interspersed with some soul samples and big horn section breakdowns was kinda' what it was all about. I never got to into it as an electronica genre until about a year ago when I became obsessed with acquiring some.
the problem is that now breaks have evolved into a sub-genre of DnB and its nearly impossible to find old, old, old-school breaks, and Iv'e never run into so many dead ends trying to find music. Iv'e placated myself with organic deep soul breakbeats (my own designation; think 70's blacksploitation soundtracks), but its not the same.
Does anyone have any earthly idea what I'm talking about or am I just insane? We now resume this thread already in progress. Thanks for your time.

Nah, Satch... I hear what you're saying.
It definitely did evolve from a sample (Although it's from the Amen sample), and I guess along the way, with electronic music going the way it goes, strayed a bit far from its roots.
But that's the progression of music in general.
I'm sure there's breaks acts out there that keep the history alive, but because of the general platform breaks are released to, regarding DJ material and all, it requires a constant updating to remain relevent.
I do like most breaks as listening music, and I appreciate the evolution, but to zero in on the begining of breaks, that's a bit hard because it was so swift.
I mean, early hiphop artists were using the Funky Drummer and the Amen sample way before breaks fell into the niche they reside in today.
I think the biggest appreciation for breaks happens along the timeline in which breakbeats live. You find yourself digging it the most at one point in time, and that's what sticks with you.

I don't mind music being like that. I know that I have my whole life to find what I like, and when I identify with those specific points in time where the music, to me, is perfect, then that's what I take with me.

Oh, I totally dig new breaks. I'm not genre snobbin' at all. Problem is I can click a link and find new breaks, but I can't find this elusive nameless style of music I'm looking for. It's like having an itch you can'y scratch.
I mispoke. The TERM "breakbeats" evolved from meaning James Brown's "funky Drummer" to The Winston's "Amen Brother" they are both by definition breakbeats but stylistically very different from each other and mutually exclusive in their respective origins and genre's where they're commonly used.

re the amen break

I remember seeing that vid a while back.
Bored me to death, but it's juicy info.

What I've found interesting is that a lot of other Breakbeat sub-genres still use the Amen loop in its original form, aside from layering in other sounds, but Progressive breaks has almost completely detached from that sample and grew into something else rhythmically.
I think that's where you stop calling breaks "breaks" strictly as a term based on its history, and start defining music beyond a drum beat. I think that's what allowed breakbeat to progress as far as it has, in terms of diversity.