Breakbeat is yet another music genre that spread from America, took on a dose of European ingenuity, and then led a life of its own to become one of the biggest beats of the dance world. This is how the most soulful of grooves would spread its wings and invent multiple genres in the process, and also how you can produce the biggest of breaks with the simplest of tools.
As with so many music genres - and you really can count just about everything from blues to jazz, house to techno - breakbeat has its roots in America. As with so many music styles, it would take a smattering of European ingredients and a big dose of technology to launch it worldwide. But boy, when it arrived, did those beats get big.
