Broken Beat

Broken beat on vinyl: West London’s broken groove

In short: Broken beat emerged in West London in the late nineties: producers and musicians such as IG Culture and the Bugz In The Attic circle combined jazz-funk, soul and electronics with broken, off-kilter rhythms. Today London’s new jazz scene is picking up this groove again. The Vinyl Room currently has 22 broken beat records.

What is broken beat?

A beat that stumbles and still dances: IG Culture, one of the scene’s key figures, is represented with “Zen Badizm”.

London’s new generation carries the sound forward – Tenderlonious with “On Flute”, his band Ruby Rushton with “Two For Joy”, Kamaal Williams with “The Return” and Nubya Garcia with the remix album “Source ⧺ We Move”. Plus Steve Spacek and remixes of The Cinematic Orchestra.

What to look for

Broken beat came out mostly on 12-inches and on small labels; label, format and year of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

→ Tenderlonious · Future jazz · Acid jazz · Electronic on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

What is broken beat? Music made of jazz-funk, soul and electronics on broken, off-kilter rhythms.

Where does broken beat come from? From West London in the late nineties.

Who shaped broken beat? Among others IG Culture and the Bugz In The Attic circle.

Is there new broken beat? Yes – here, for example, Tenderlonious, Ruby Rushton and Kamaal Williams from London.