Genre Guides

What BPM Is Drum and Bass?

Drum and bass typically ranges from 160–180 BPM, with most tracks sitting at 174 BPM. Unlike most electronic genres, D&B has a remarkably consistent tempo -the variation comes from production style, not speed.

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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.
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.
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

160–180BPM

174

130210

Fast breakbeats and heavy sub-bass. Originated in the UK rave scene of the early 1990s. Energetic and bass-heavy.

Fast breakbeatsHeavy sub-bassComplex drum patternsAmen break

Sub-genre BPM landscape

scale: 130–210 BPM

Drumstep140–150

Jungle160–180

Ragga Jungle160–180

Atmospheric D&B165–175

Minimal D&B168–176

Liquid D&B170–178

Neurofunk170–178

Techstep168–178

Jump Up170–178

Darkstep170–180

Halftime170–180

Drumfunk170–178

Sambass170–180

Crossbreed175–200

Drum & Bass sub-genres

Jungle

160–180

The precursor to drum & bass. Chopped breakbeats, Jamaican sound system influence, and ragga/dancehall vocal samples. Goldie, Roni Size, LTJ Bukem.

Chopped breakbeatsReggae influenceRagga vocalsAmen breaks

Liquid D&B

170–178

The melodic, soulful side of drum & bass. Smooth pads, vocals, and musical breakdowns over rolling beats. High Contrast, Calibre, London Elektricity.

Melodic elementsSoulful vocalsSmooth padsRolling beats

Atmospheric D&B

165–175

Lush, ambient drum & bass — LTJ Bukem and Good Looking Records-defined. Jazz-tinged pads, deep bass, and meditative vibes.

Lush padsJazz texturesMeditative moodGood Looking aesthetic

Neurofunk

170–178

Technical, dark, and complex. Intricate sound design, glitchy bass, and precise engineering. Noisia, Black Sun Empire, Phace, Misanthrop.

Complex sound designGlitchy bassTechnical precisionDark atmosphere

Techstep

168–178

Late-90s dark, mechanical D&B that became the foundation for neurofunk. Ed Rush & Optical, Dom & Roland, Trace. No Knit roots.

Mechanical bassDark moodLate-90s soundNo U-Turn label

Jump Up

170–178

Aggressive, crowd-oriented D&B with wobbly basslines and simple, high-energy arrangements designed to make people jump. Hazard, Original Sin, DJ Guv.

Wobbly bassSimple arrangementsCrowd energyAggressive drops

Darkstep

170–180

Aggressive, horror-tinged D&B. Distorted basslines, dark atmospheres, and brutal drops. Limewax, The Outside Agency, Cooh.

Horror atmospheresDistorted bassBrutal dropsIndustrial mood

Crossbreed

175–200

Hybrid of D&B and hardcore — fast tempo, distorted hardcore kicks, and D&B drum patterns. Limewax, The Outside Agency, Forbidden Society.

Hardcore kicksD&B drumsExtreme tempoHybrid genre

Halftime

170–180

D&B produced at 170+ BPM but with halftime drum patterns — feels like 85 BPM hip-hop. Ivy Lab, Stray, Sam Binga, Dabs.

Halftime drumsHip-hop feelBass-ledSlow groove on fast tempo

Drumfunk

170–178

Edit-heavy, broken D&B prioritising chopped breakbeats over wobble bass. Paradox, Fanu, Equinox, Macc. The drummer's drum & bass.

Chopped breaksEdit-heavyFunk rootsDrummer focus

Minimal D&B

168–176

Reduced, atmospheric D&B with sparse arrangements. Calibre, Marcus Intalex, dBridge's Autonomic sound.

Sparse arrangementDeep atmosphereMinimal paletteLate-night feel

Ragga Jungle

160–180

Heavy on Jamaican ragga vocal samples and dub influence. Congo Natty, General Levy, Aphrodite. The reggae-soundsystem branch of jungle.

Ragga vocalsDub influenceSoundsystem cultureReggae bass

Drumstep

140–150

Hybrid of D&B and dubstep — D&B drum patterns at dubstep tempo (140 BPM). Excision, Datsik, Flux Pavilion crossover sound.

D&B drumsDubstep tempoHeavy bassHybrid genre

Sambass

170–180

Brazilian D&B blended with samba percussion and bossa nova feel. DJ Marky, Patife, XRS Land. Brazilian movement of late 90s/early 2000s.

Samba percussionBossa feelBrazilian originLatin warmth

Why Is Drum and Bass 174 BPM?

Drum and bass evolved from the UK rave scene in the early 1990s, growing out of hardcore breakbeat and jungle. Early jungle tracks from producers like Shy FX, Congo Natty, and Remarc ran at 155–170 BPM, with heavy Jamaican sound system influence and chopped Amen breaks forming the rhythmic backbone.

By the mid-90s, the genre accelerated and refined into what we now call drum and bass. Goldie's "Timeless" (1995) and LTJ Bukem's atmospheric sets helped establish 170–174 BPM as the standard tempo. Labels like Metalheadz, Hospital Records, and Ram Records each developed distinct sounds -all at roughly the same BPM.

The 2000s and 2010s saw sub-genres diverge in production style while maintaining the 174 BPM convention. Neurofunk (Noisia, Phace) pushed technical complexity, liquid D&B (Calibre, Etherwood) explored melody and emotion, and jump up (Macky Gee, Hedex) focused on dancefloor energy. More recently, halftime D&B has introduced a 87 BPM half-speed feel that bridges into hip-hop and experimental bass music — see our halftime/doubletime calculator to find the exact relationships.

Mixing Tips for Drum and Bass

Since most D&B sits at 174 BPM, beatmatching is straightforward -focus your energy on phrasing and EQ transitions
Use the intro/outro of tracks (usually 16 or 32 bars) for clean blends, or cut sharply on the drop for jump up and neurofunk
Double drops (dropping both tracks simultaneously) are a staple D&B technique -practice matching the energy of both tracks
When mixing jungle with modern D&B, adjust the pitch by 2–4 BPM -jungle sits slightly slower and the swing feels different
Stay in key with the Camelot wheel, and verify an unknown track's tempo with the BPM tapper

Organize your DJ library visually.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The standard BPM for drum and bass is 170-174 BPM, with 174 BPM being the most common tempo across all sub-genres. This has been the genre's default tempo since the mid-1990s.

Liquid drum and bass typically sits at 170-178 BPM, the same tempo range as most D&B. The 'liquid' distinction comes from its melodic, soulful production style -not a different tempo.

Jungle typically ranges from 160-175 BPM. Early jungle tracks from the early 1990s often sat slightly slower than modern drum and bass, around 160-170 BPM, with more emphasis on chopped breakbeats and ragga influences.

D&B is difficult to mix with most other EDM genres due to its high tempo. However, halftime D&B (around 85-87 BPM feel) bridges into hip-hop and trap territory. Footwork (160 BPM) and hardcore (160-200 BPM) are the closest genre neighbors for direct mixing.

174 BPM became the D&B standard because it hits the sweet spot between energy and groove. It's fast enough to drive the dancefloor but slow enough for complex breakbeat patterns. Early producers like Goldie and LTJ Bukem settled on this tempo, and it became the genre convention.

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What BPM Is Drum and Bass?

Share on

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.
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.
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.