Amen break

The "amen break" is probably the most used sampled drum loop in drum and bass music, perhaps together with the funky drummer. It originates from the song "Amen brother" by the 1960s funk/soul outfit The Winstons, more specifically from a few bar drum solo halfway through the tune. The original song was released on a 45 rpm 7 vinyl in the 1960s and is nowadays available on several compilations and on a 12 vinyl rerelease together with other The Winstons songs.

The amen break in its different forms - looped straight as in old-skool drum and bass or totally cut up and rearranged as in some tunes by artists like Squarepusher and Amen Andrews - is used in literally thousands of drum & bass songs and in noticeably many hip-hop tunes also.

Amen break's popularity probably lies in both the rough, funky, compressed style the drums are recorded in and the swing and the groove of the drummer that plays the solo. The original song is also quite fast, which probably made it so popular among the old-skool drum and bass artists.