Drum & bass is a diverse genre — from the smooth, melodic vibes of liquid to the gritty punch of neurofunk, the raw energy of jungle, and the stripped-back minimalism of techy rollers. This diversity is what makes DnB so rich and exciting. But with that variety also comes friction.
One controversial reality in the scene is this: not everyone respects or understands every subgenre. Some DJs or fans turn up their noses at sounds they don’t personally enjoy. In some circles, liquid is seen as “too soft.” In others, neurofunk is dismissed as “too aggressive” or “lacking soul.” These kinds of attitudes create divisions — even though we’re all technically part of the same musical movement.
Sidney SN seen firsthand how these differences play out in clubs, festivals, or behind the scenes. There are unwritten rules, biases, and egos. And he belong to the people who see that not everything in drum and bass movement can be nothing as is a one music genre.
Maybe this piece could be a words of a mental health itself of a nightlife itself. In a different music genre than is DnB, German techno artist Monika Kruse, for example, she’s vocal about mental health in nightlife, often speaking about the psychological toll of DJ life itself—something many avoid discussing.
One Tempo, Different Worlds
“Drum and bass moves at 174 beats per minute.
But within that single tempo lives a multiverse.
- Liquid whispers in melodies,
like rain or sunshine on the ground—soft, soulful, aching.
Neurofunk growls with chrome teeth,
a machine in motion, dystopian from synthetic textures and razor-sharp.
Deep DnB breathes in the dark,
its rhythm a meditation, a pulse beneath the surface.
Jungletek and crossbreed roar from the underground,
raw, unfiltered, anarchy—punk in digital form.
Dancefloor DnB flashes bright,
designed to ignite bodies in motion,
a celebration of the drop and the rise EDM. -
They all move at the same speed—
but speak in different tongues.
- Just as house flows warm,
techno marches and flow cyclical,
hardcore breaks boundaries with noise and defiance—so too does DnB split itself into galaxies. -
It’s not one genre.
It’s a storm of voices in the different wind.”