Formed in 1991, 2 Bad Mice are widely credited as among the first U.K. hardcore acts to begin heavily incorporating breakbeats into the style. Consisting of members Sean O'Keefe, Simon Colebrooke, and producer Rob Playford (who also owns Moving Shadow records), 2 Bad Mice were a staple on the early- to mid-'90s hardcore scene, and were instrumental in the music's steady mutation into jungle/drum and bass. The group's influential approach to sampled beats — cutting them up into shards of rhythm and rearranging them in novel combinations (first appearing in mature form on the 1992 hit "Bombscare") — is generally considered the blueprint from which jungle's characteristic manipulation of breaks was assembled. Although 2 Bad Mice for the most part stopped producing as the hardcore scene began to wane (Playford focusing his energy on Moving Shadow, now one of the largest and most influential jungle labels), a best-of compilation of the group's work appeared on the American Sm:)e Communications label in 1995. Playford continues to record as a member of Metalheadz (together with namesake label owner Goldie), while O'Keefe and Colebrooke have recorded sporadically under different names.
Drum & Bass Breakbeat
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Past Events
- Mucky Weekender 2021
- Beautiful Days 2021
- Mucky Weekender is an event curated and organised by Dub Pistols. 2020
- One Tribe Festival 2020
- Shindig Weekender 2020
- Shambala Festival 2019
- Back of Beyond Festival 2019
- Field Maneuvers 2018
- BoomTown Fair 2018
- Another World: Festival of Digital Arts 2018
- Back of Beyond Festival 2018
- El Dorado Festival 2018
- Gottwood Festival 2018
- Shindig Weekender 2018
- Bang Face - The Weekender 2018
- Camp Bestival 2017
- Gottwood Festival 2017
- The Secret Garden Party 2016
- Gottwood Festival 2016
- Alchemy Festival 2015
- Bestival 2015
- Beat-Herder 2015
- Glastonbury Festival 2015
- Gottwood Festival 2015
- BoomTown Fair 2014
- Strawberry Fields Festival 2013
- Gottwood Festival 2013
- Standon Calling Festival 2012