Drum & Bass BPM Chart
Quick answer
What is the Drum & Bass BPM range?
A visual BPM chart for Drum & Bass and its 16 sub-genres: compare tempo bands side by side, spot where ranges overlap, and pick mixing partners before planning transitions.
- DJ-ready reference
- Printable
- Methodology included
Drum & Bass BPM Reference
Drum & Bass: 160-180 BPM, typical 174 BPM.
| Genre | BPM Range | Typical BPM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drum & Bass | 160-180 | 174 | Fast breakbeats and heavy sub-bass. Originated in the UK rave scene of the early 1990s. Energetic and bass-heavy. |
| Drumstep | 140-150 | 140 | Hybrid of D&B and dubstep: D&B drum patterns at dubstep tempo (140 BPM). Excision, Datsik, Flux Pavilion crossover sound. |
| Autonomic | 160-172 | 165 | Self-imposed 170 BPM 'speed limit' movement spearheaded by dBridge, Instra:mental and ASC on Exit Records around 2009-2011. Music first, drum & bass second: emotionally charged, spacious, sci-fi. |
| Jungle | 160-180 | 170 | The precursor to drum & bass. Chopped breakbeats, Jamaican sound system influence, and ragga/dancehall vocal samples. Goldie, Roni Size, LTJ Bukem. |
| Ragga Jungle | 160-180 | 170 | Heavy on Jamaican ragga vocal samples and dub influence. Congo Natty, General Levy, Aphrodite. The reggae-soundsystem branch of jungle. |
| Atmospheric D&B | 165-175 | 172 | Lush, ambient drum & bass: LTJ Bukem and Good Looking Records-defined. Jazz-tinged pads, deep bass, and meditative vibes. |
| Minimal D&B | 168-176 | 172 | Reduced, atmospheric D&B with sparse arrangements. Calibre, Marcus Intalex, dBridge's Autonomic sound. |
| Deep DnB | 168-176 | 172 | Moody, minimalist drum & bass with weighty sub-bass and immersive atmospheres. Calibre, LSB, Marcus Intalex, S.P.Y. The 'less is more' branch pioneered around the Soul:r label. |
| Liquid D&B | 170-178 | 174 | The melodic, soulful side of drum & bass. Smooth pads, vocals, and musical breakdowns over rolling beats. High Contrast, Calibre, London Elektricity. |
| Neurofunk | 170-178 | 174 | Technical, dark, and complex. Intricate sound design, glitchy bass, and precise engineering. Noisia, Black Sun Empire, Phace, Misanthrop. |
| Techstep | 168-178 | 174 | Late-90s dark, mechanical D&B that became the foundation for neurofunk. Ed Rush & Optical, Dom & Roland, Trace. No Knit roots. |
| Jump Up | 170-178 | 174 | Aggressive, crowd-oriented D&B with wobbly basslines and simple, high-energy arrangements designed to make people jump. Hazard, Original Sin, DJ Guv. |
| Darkstep | 170-180 | 174 | Aggressive, horror-tinged D&B. Distorted basslines, dark atmospheres, and brutal drops. Limewax, The Outside Agency, Cooh. |
| Halftime | 170-180 | 174 | D&B produced at 170+ BPM but with halftime drum patterns: feels like 85 BPM hip-hop. Ivy Lab, Stray, Sam Binga, Dabs. |
| Drumfunk | 170-178 | 174 | Edit-heavy, broken D&B prioritising chopped breakbeats over wobble bass. Paradox, Fanu, Equinox, Macc. The drummer's drum & bass. |
| Sambass | 170-180 | 174 | Brazilian D&B blended with samba percussion and bossa nova feel. DJ Marky, Patife, XRS Land. Brazilian movement of late 90s/early 2000s. |
| Crossbreed | 175-200 | 185 | Hybrid of D&B and hardcore: fast tempo, distorted hardcore kicks, and D&B drum patterns. Limewax, The Outside Agency, Forbidden Society. |
vibesdj.io/dj-tools - BPM ranges are practical DJ references, not strict genre boundaries.
Drum & Bass
Fast breakbeats and heavy sub-bass. Originated in the UK rave scene of the early 1990s. Energetic and bass-heavy.
Sub-genre tempo spectrum
16 styles- Core DJ range
- 160–180 BPM
- Practical target
- 174 BPM
- Track spread
- 70–180 BPM
- Track evidence
- View 32 reference tracks
Chart ranges are DJ planning references. Check the grid and phrase markers on the exact track edit before mixing.
About Drum & Bass BPM
Fast breakbeats and heavy sub-bass. Originated in the UK rave scene of the early 1990s. Energetic and bass-heavy. The core DJ range spans 160-180, with 174 BPM as a practical target. Sub-genres split the parent genre into narrower tempo bands, which is why this chart is more useful than one number alone.
Reading the grid
How to Read Drum & Bass BPM in DJ Software
Drum & Bass is usually mixed around 160-180 BPM, with 174 BPM as a practical DJ target. The reference tracks on this page span 70-180 BPM, so use the grid that makes loops and phrase markers line up cleanly.
| Reading | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 160-180 BPM | Core Drum & Bass DJ range | Beatmatch normally, then check phrasing around intros, breaks, and drops. |
| 80-90 BPM | Halftime interpretation of the core range | Double the grid if 8-bar loops or cue points feel too slow. |
| 174 BPM | Practical target for crate filtering | Use as a starting point, then sort by energy, key, and arrangement. |
| < 160 BPM | Slower adjacent or bridge records | Treat as tempo bridges unless the grid doubles cleanly into the core range. |
Track Evidence
This rail separates the core DJ range from the tracks shown here, so the page can be useful without hiding bridge records or outliers.
- Tracks shown
- 13
- Track spread
- 70-180 BPM
- Below core range
- 3 tracks
- Inside core range
- 10 tracks
- Above core range
- 0 tracks
- Mean of shown tracks
- 157 BPM
- Median of shown tracks
- 174 BPM
- Evidence level
- 13 tracks, 10 core examples
Counts describe the reference tracks resolved on this page, not every record in the genre.
DJ Overview for Drum & Bass
Use this as a mixing and library-prep description, not an encyclopedia entry.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sound palette | Fast breakbeats, Heavy sub-bass, Complex drum patterns, Amen break |
| Drum feel | 160-180 BPM core range; check whether slower readings work better doubled or as halftime. |
| Arrangement and phrasing | Confirm intro, build, drop, breakdown, and outro cue points before trusting the analyzer value. |
| Energy use in a set | fast sections, double-time bridges, and high-intensity moments |
| Often compared with | Liquid D&B, Neurofunk, Techstep |
Tracks in Drum & Bass, by Sub-Genre
Real tracks in our reference set, grouped by sub-genre:
Jungle(160-180 BPM)
Liquid D&B(170-178 BPM)
Neurofunk(170-178 BPM)
Deep DnB(168-176 BPM)
Autonomic(160-172 BPM)
Related Charts
Mix Into Drum & Bass
Tempo overlap is only one part of the decision. These suggestions separate BPM fit from style fit so same-tempo but unrelated genres do not look like natural transitions.
| Genre | BPM fit | Style fit | Transition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jungle160-180 BPM · typical 170 | High | High | Long blend, harmonic blend, or drop swap |
| Liquid D&B170-178 BPM · typical 174 | High | High | Long blend, harmonic blend, or drop swap |
| Atmospheric D&B165-175 BPM · typical 172 | High | High | Long blend, harmonic blend, or drop swap |
| Neurofunk170-178 BPM · typical 174 | High | High | Long blend, harmonic blend, or drop swap |
| Techstep168-178 BPM · typical 174 | High | High | Long blend, harmonic blend, or drop swap |
| Jump Up170-178 BPM · typical 174 | High | High | Long blend, harmonic blend, or drop swap |
| Darkstep170-180 BPM · typical 174 | High | High | Long blend, harmonic blend, or drop swap |
| Crossbreed175-200 BPM · typical 185 | High | High | Long blend, harmonic blend, or drop swap |
Hey, it's Ben Modigell 👋
I've been DJing and producing music as "so I so," focusing on downtempo, minimal, dub house, tech house, and techno. My background in digital marketing, web development, and UX design over the past 6 years helps me create DJ tutorials that are clear, practical, and easy to follow.
Methodology
Last updated
Author and Methodology
Maintained by Ben Modigell, founder of Vibes. Ben builds DJ library, preparation, BPM, and harmonic-mixing tools for working DJs.
- Data used
- 16 mapped sub-genres and 32 reference tracks
- Source
- Audio features sourced from ReccoBeats (https://reccobeats.com); track metadata via Spotify Search API. Spotify deprecated audio-features for new apps in Nov 2024. Manual label reference tracks use Beatport BPM/key metadata where available.
- Evidence
- 16 Drum & Bass sub-genres and 32 reference tracks from a 391-track reference dataset.
- How this page is made
- This chart is generated from the Vibes genre taxonomy and reference track metadata where available. AI-assisted research helped draft taxonomy notes; chart ranges and tables are rendered from structured data.
Chart ranges are designed for DJ set planning. Producers can release tracks outside these ranges, especially remixes, VIP edits, live versions, and halftime arrangements.
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