Amen brother... a history lesson
The "Amen Break" is four bars of the drum break lifted from the song "Amen Brother" as performed by the 1960s funk/soul outfit The Winstons. The song is an uptempo, instrumental rendition of the gospel music classic "Amen".
With the emergence of rave music around 1990, the amen began to appear in an increasing number of techno productions. Very soon the famous loop became the sole drum element of many tracks and a whole style got its own name - Jungle. In the early 90s, jungle became an important part of electronic music. It borrowed largely from hip-hop and reggae but the amen break was always an inseparable part of every jungle track in many different forms: looped straight as in oldschool jungle and breakbeat hardcore, or entirely dismembered and rearranged. Over time, the majority of the jungle movement evolved into drum and bass. The new style became more sophisticated, more complex and producers started using other drum loops. At the end of the 90s, some producers focused on the amen break and took it to the next level. Artists like Squarepusher and Aphex Twin started a new sub-genre of hyper-edited drum and bass called drill and bass. The amen break is still to be found in many new productions today, Luke Vibert has released several records under the moniker Amen Andrews, using that break on every track, heavily sliced and edited (yet recognizable). It is probably the only time in the history of music when a five-second drum loop created a completely new style of music and managed to influence other musical styles to such a degree.
CAN I GET AN AMEN , A SHORT FILM BY NATE HARRISON... CLICK THE LINK ABOVE
Can I Get An Amen?, 2004
recording on acetate, turntable, PA system, paper documents
dimensions variable
total run time 17 minutes, 46 seconds
Can I Get An Amen? is an audio installation that unfolds a critical perspective of perhaps the most sampled drum beat in the history of recorded music.
TO VIEW MORE OF NATES WORK GO TO THE LINKS
With the emergence of rave music around 1990, the amen began to appear in an increasing number of techno productions. Very soon the famous loop became the sole drum element of many tracks and a whole style got its own name - Jungle. In the early 90s, jungle became an important part of electronic music. It borrowed largely from hip-hop and reggae but the amen break was always an inseparable part of every jungle track in many different forms: looped straight as in oldschool jungle and breakbeat hardcore, or entirely dismembered and rearranged. Over time, the majority of the jungle movement evolved into drum and bass. The new style became more sophisticated, more complex and producers started using other drum loops. At the end of the 90s, some producers focused on the amen break and took it to the next level. Artists like Squarepusher and Aphex Twin started a new sub-genre of hyper-edited drum and bass called drill and bass. The amen break is still to be found in many new productions today, Luke Vibert has released several records under the moniker Amen Andrews, using that break on every track, heavily sliced and edited (yet recognizable). It is probably the only time in the history of music when a five-second drum loop created a completely new style of music and managed to influence other musical styles to such a degree.
CAN I GET AN AMEN , A SHORT FILM BY NATE HARRISON... CLICK THE LINK ABOVE
Can I Get An Amen?, 2004
recording on acetate, turntable, PA system, paper documents
dimensions variable
total run time 17 minutes, 46 seconds
Can I Get An Amen? is an audio installation that unfolds a critical perspective of perhaps the most sampled drum beat in the history of recorded music.
TO VIEW MORE OF NATES WORK GO TO THE LINKS
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