Rock the microphone

Now well over 20 years old, this song was released in 1999 in Finland and then elsewhere in 2000. It was hugely popular and reached the top ten of the UK Chart and was the best selling single in Europe in 2000. Its most obvious feature is its breakbeat style, but its video was almost as popular as the music and it seems you can’t think of one without the other. The idea of the video’s main character being able to stop, pause and rewind real life as if it were playing on his MiniDisc seems to have enduring appeal. The imagery is so 90s too - breakdancers (bboys), dreadlocks, super baggy trousers that hang off the backside and the height of technology at that time, the personal MiniDisc and headphones! Worth a watch of the video for the nostalgia alone, although it remains entertaining in its own right. I don’t think of this as 90s music, just really fun music.

How do they do that?

This is a piece where you can really hear the multiple musical influences that combine to its overall ear-catching effect.

There is the rhythmic repetition, typical of Breakbeat and Hiphop, which makes this music all about the dancing. Thrown in with that are other dance music themes with further rhythmic repetitive phrases giving a Trance-like vibe and the high pitched caterwauling, that is particularly noticeable at the beginning and end of the piece, reminiscent of Acid House (can you hear it? Aah-siiid!)

Typical of Breakbeat and Hip hop is the use of a sample, but the choice of sample is somewhat unexpected. Amidst this 90s dance scene is a blues guitar riff - slow, hot, laidback - contrasting with the faster Hip hop dance rhythms. At the opening, this contrast creates anticipation, as you feel the tension between the two tempos and just know that something more lively than the blues guitar is about to intrude on the mood.

For me, part of the fun and interest of this piece is the way it plays with pace and rhythm. Another example is just before each chorus, where there are five heavy chords that interrupt the regular flow by punctuating off the beat, throwing you off and then kicking you back onto the main beat.

Of course, Bomfunk MC weren’t the first to experiment with the Breakbeat genre and the influence of bands like Chemical Brothers are also evident here, particularly in the use of variations to maintain our attention despite the heavy repetition. (See previous blog post on Hey Boy, Hey Girl: https://www.jenxlovesmusic.com/home-1/2020/hey-boy-hey-girl-by-the-chemical-brothers ).

The electronic devices employed cleverly display this music’s roots in Breakbeat sampling, which would have used vinyl records. Instead, more modern technology is used to create the stuttering, jumping stuck record effect, which further adds to that messing about with rhythm and pace, yet grounds the piece in its origins.

I think its a fascinating example of this type of music. It always grabs my attention, lifts my mood and makes me want to: “rock the microphone!”

Hope you enjoy it or feel inspired to listen to something new today.

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