Breakcore as a genre originated in the mid 90s. It takes influence from jungle, drum and bass, happy hardcore as well as taking samples from many other more mainstream genres such as pop, RnB, metal and even classical. Breakcore arose as an anti-fascist and capitalist through its often confusing and extreme sound. Original Breakcore uses the samples from these genres often chopping, looping and changing their tempo to create complex rhythmic patterns. These are often paired with the ‘Amen Break’ as well as similar high energy breakbeats which similarly are chopped up to create interesting, complex grooves.
Hajnal- Venetian Snares
One of the earliest pioneers of the Breakcore is the Canadian artist and musician Venetian Snares. His track Hajnal is an interesting example of the early Breakcore genre. Within it Venetian Snares uses many samples from different classical composers such as Paganini, Stravinsky and Bartok (whosampled.com). He layers these different samples together reimagining them under his own construction. Together they have a sense of tension and with a pulsating cymbal accompanying them they build towards a ‘drop.’ Before this moment the piece could have been just a reconstruction of these different genres. It is at this point (3:32) a synth bass as well as a chopped breakbeat enter, almost slapping the listener across the face. For me this track defines Breakcore showing the creativity of such artists as Venetian Snares. Despite the often-hardcore association of Breakcore throughout the 90s, this track shows us the knowledge off music as a whole in the integration of fairly obscure classical music woven together.
The Breakcore Resurgence
Through the 2020s Breakcore has seen a revival through the explosion of short form content such as TikTok and Instagram reels. Original fans of Breakcore argue often argue that this new genre isn’t the same as the Breakcore from the 90s. They would suggest that it has taken a new approach with much influence from the internet, video games, pop culture and anime often using samples these different media forms. Whilst it is true that new Breakcore takes much influence from forms of media derived from the internet, it could be argued that this is just a natural change to an already ever evolving genre rather than a replacement for the Breakcore of the 90s.
Bibliography:
Venetian snares’s ‘hajnal’ sample of Bela Bartok’s ’String Quartet No .1 Third Movement (no date) who sampled. Available at: https://www.whosampled.com/sample/159090/Venetian-Snares-Hajnal-Bela-Bartok-String-Quartet-No.-1-Third-Movement/ (Accessed: 26 November 2023).
Venetian snares’s ‘hajnal’ sample of Igor Stravinsky’s ’three pieces … (no date) who sampled. Available at: https://www.whosampled.com/sample/49536/Venetian-Snares-Hajnal-Igor-Stravinsky-Three-Pieces-for-Solo-Clarinet/ (Accessed: 26 November 2023).
Venetian snares’s ‘hajnal’ sample of Niccolò Paganini’s ’Caprice no.7 … (no date) who sampled. Available at: https://www.whosampled.com/sample/219764/Venetian-Snares-Hajnal-Niccol%C3%B2-Paganini-Caprice-No.7/ (Accessed: 26 November 2023).
‘What is Breakcore? A Genre Field Guide’ (2023) wknc , 10 August. Available at: https://wknc.org/2023/08/10/what-is-breakcore-a-genre-field-guide/ (Accessed: 26 November 2023).