Drum and Bass article
Drum and Bass Subgenres, Explained
Drum and bass isn't one sound wearing different outfits. Here's each subgenre broken down plainly, with a starting point for each mood.
Tell someone you're into drum and bass and they'll picture one thing — loud, dark, relentless. That's only true of about a third of it. The genre splits into several distinct dialects, each with its own mood, tempo feel and audience, and knowing them makes the difference between finding your sound in five minutes or giving up after one wrong track. Here's each one broken down plainly.
Jungle
Jungle is where the whole thing started, and it still sounds like it: sample-heavy, breakbeat-led, and steeped in reggae and dancehall influence. Vocal samples, chopped-up drum breaks and a raw, rave-born energy are the giveaways. If a track sounds like it was built in a warehouse rather than a studio, it's probably jungle, or close to it.
Liquid (or Liquid Funk)
Liquid is the melodic, soulful end of the spectrum — think warm pads, jazz-influenced chords and proper vocal hooks rather than chopped-up samples. It's the subgenre most likely to win over someone who thinks they don't like electronic music at all. If you want atmosphere and songwriting over aggression, start here.
Jump-Up
Jump-up doesn't mess about. It's built around a big, obvious bass hook and designed for an immediate reaction on the dancefloor — playful, direct, and unashamedly simple compared to some of its more technical cousins. It's the subgenre that tends to convert people who came for the volume, not the subtlety.
Techstep
Techstep strips things back to something darker and more mechanical: stark drums, synthetic bass design, and a colder, industrial atmosphere. Where liquid wants to move you emotionally, techstep wants to put you on edge. It's a smaller, more specialist audience, but a genuinely influential one.
Neurofunk
Neurofunk grew out of techstep and pushed the technical side even further — heavily processed, modulated bass sounds and drum programming precise enough to sound almost robotic. This is the subgenre production nerds tend to gravitate toward, since a lot of the appeal is in how the bass is actually built, not just how it sounds on a first listen.
Dancefloor DnB
Dancefloor DnB is the polished, festival-ready end of things — big melodies, clean production and arrangements built for broad appeal rather than niche credibility. It's usually the entry point for listeners who found the genre through a festival set rather than a specialist radio show, and there's no shame in that being your route in either.
Drumfunk, Darkstep and Halftime
These three are worth knowing even if you never chase them specifically. Drumfunk takes breakbeat editing to its most intricate extreme, prioritising rhythmic detail over hooks. Darkstep sits somewhere between techstep and jungle's darker corners. Halftime plays with the genre's tempo perception directly, often feeling like it's running at half the actual BPM, which blurs the line between DnB, dubstep and slower bass music. None of these three tend to be anyone's first way in, but they explain a lot about why the wider genre keeps mutating.
A Quick Subgenre Comparison
| Subgenre | Mood | Good starting point if you like… |
|---|---|---|
| Jungle | Raw, sample-heavy, reggae-tinged | Reggae, dancehall, raw rave energy |
| Liquid | Melodic, soulful, atmospheric | Soul, jazz, proper vocals |
| Jump-up | Bouncy, direct, bass-hook-led | Big, obvious dancefloor hooks |
| Techstep | Dark, mechanical, stripped-back | Industrial, darker electronic music |
| Neurofunk | Precise, aggressive, technical | Sound design and production detail |
| Dancefloor | Polished, festival-ready | Big-room, festival-scale production |
Finding the Right Names to Follow
Once you know which mood you're chasing, the fastest way in is through the people who built each sound. Our guide to essential DnB artists is organised by exactly these camps, and our list of defining tracks gives you something concrete to press play on straight away. If you're still working out whether any of this is for you at all, our newcomer's guide is a friendlier place to begin than diving straight into subgenre names.
The Bottom Line
Drum and bass isn't one sound wearing different outfits — it's several genuinely different moods sharing a tempo range and a rhythmic backbone. Work out which of these six pulls you in, and the rest of the genre will make a lot more sense.
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