“Breaks” or to give them their full title “Break Beats” are a foundational feature of music genres such as Hip-Hop, Trip-Hop, Jungle and more. But what is a “Fake Break”? In this post, we’ll demystify the concept of fake breaks and show you where you can acquire some highly convincing fakes for yourself.

Definition of a Breakbeat

Breakbeats were first conceived in the South Bronx as party rocking tools during the early days of Hip-Hop during the 1970s. Fundimentally a breakbeat is a short, rhythm-heavy section of a song where most instruments drop out, leaving only the drums. Breakbeats are known for their heavy syncopation and funky drum patterns. Originally sourced from obscure old vinyl records the concept of a breakbeat has gone on to become well established in the music production world. Originally looped manually by DJs on two turntables the breakbeat later went on to become fully adopted during the sampling revolution of the late 80s. Breaks are now looped, chopped and reprogrammed using isolated one-shots.

All 25 volumes of the iconic Ultimate Breaks and Beats series from Street Beat records

Top 10 Iconic Break Beats

  • 1: Amen Brother: The Winstons
  • 2: Funky Drummer: James Brown
  • 3: Impeach the President: The Honey Drippers
  • 4: Apache: The Incredible Bongo Band
  • 5: Think (About it) : Lynn Collins
  • 6: Synthetic Substitution: Melvin Bliss
  • 7: Ashleys Roachclip: The Soul Searchers
  • 8: Take me to the Mardi Gras: Bob James
  • 9: It’s a new day: Skull Snaps
  • 10: Long Red (Live) : Mountain

What is a Fake Break?

The term fake break can be attributed to the Cornish Hip-Hop producer Si Spex who is a pioneer in this field. It refers to the recreation of vintage-sounding drums and breaks “in the box” i.e on a computer using a DAW. Drums are recreated using drum-modeling VSTs and lots of processing. Vintage-modelled drum kits are tweaked to replicate the sound of vintage vinyl recordings. Fake breaks can either be original or inspired by classic drum breaks of the past.

While live recorded breakbeat inspired drum samples far outstrip the fake alternatives on Routenote Create we have some great Fake Break offerings. As well as Volumes 1-3 of Si Spex’s Ultimate Fakes & Beats series on his New Bap imprint we also have Crate Break Remakes from Daytoner.

Why not check them out and see if you can tell the difference between a real drummer and a DAW-based rhythm king.