Drum n Bass Styles Explained: Jungle, Liquid, Jump-Up, Techstep and Neurofunk

Drop a rolling liquid tune into the middle of a jump-up set and watch the room change. Same tempo, same drum pattern at the core, a completely different crowd. That's the whole game with drum n bass: one sound, a handful of very different personalities. Here's how to tell them apart.

Jungle: where it starts

Jungle came out of the UK rave scene around 1991, built on chopped-up breakbeats, deep sub-bass and heavy reggae and dancehall influence, with the sound system as the center of the party. Ragga vocals, rewound tunes and rolling breaks are the signs you're hearing the real thing. Drum n bass grew out of it, and plenty of heads still use the word junglist to mean they never left. If you want the roots of everything below, start here.

Liquid: smooth, melodic, built to float

Liquid grew out of the jazzy, atmospheric side of the music that LTJ Bukem and his Good Looking Records crew pushed in the early and mid 90s, with the 1996 compilation Logical Progression a landmark. Today's liquid leans on soulful vocals, warm pads and a bassline that glides instead of punching. Calibre, High Contrast and Netsky are names to know. It's the style that brings in new listeners, and some purists give it a hard time for exactly that reason.

Jump-up: made for the floor

Jump-up is stripped down and bouncy, with wobbly, hooky basslines and big drops. It's built to make a crowd lose it, and it leaves plenty of room for an MC to ride. It took shape in the mid 90s and never went away. If you've ever been at a night where the whole room hit the same bassline at once, odds are good it was jump-up.

Techstep: the dark turn

Around 1995 and 1996, some producers went the opposite direction from the melodic stuff. Ed Rush and Trace, working with engineer Nico on No U-Turn, helped name and shape techstep: cold, mechanical, distorted Reese bass, techno-style stepping drums and a sci-fi, dystopian mood. No singing, no sunshine. A lot of what's still called dark drum n bass traces back to it.

Neurofunk: techstep, rebuilt

Neurofunk came out of techstep in London in the late 90s. Ed Rush and Optical's 1998 album Wormhole on Virus Recordings is the one most people point to. The drums are cleaner and tighter, and the bass is twisted into complex, almost robotic patterns. Noisia and Black Sun Empire carried it into a new era. In many sets today, neuro and techstep get blended together, so don't be surprised if the lines get blurry.

Other lanes you'll hear

Darkstep is techstep's meaner cousin: harsher, more distorted, with erratic, off-kilter drum edits and a horror-movie edge. The Panacea, Limewax and Current Value are good places to start.

Halftime keeps the 170 BPM engine but drops the drums into a half-time groove, so it feels closer to 85 and a lot closer to hip hop. It surfaced in the early 2010s out of the UK's Autonomic scene around dBridge and Instra:mental, with Alix Perez and Ivy Lab carrying it further. Space between the hits, heavy bass in the gaps.

From the booth: two heads on the lanes

Knowing the lanes is one thing. Living in them is another. We asked two people from the scene: DJ Murdok of Unknown Soljahs, and Olly Junglist, a Chicago-raised, Bay Area-based jungle producer and DJ who reps Team Panic.

DJ Murdok

When you're building a set, how do you move between styles without clearing the floor?

"I approach every set with harmonic mixing in mind, using the original key of each track to curate the next. Blending songs seamlessly so they sound like one continuous track allows me to transition effortlessly between styles while keeping the crowd locked into the groove."

@peakhourmedia Murdock on the Decks! Join us on Twitch.com/peakhourmedia to watch live! #dnb #twitch #panic39clothing #connectionthroughcreation #livestream #edm ♬ original sound - PeakHourMedia

What advice do you have for newcomers?

"Emerging artists are vital to the scene. They bring fresh energy and directly reflect what the newer generation is connecting with. I love supporting upcoming talent and sharing foundational knowledge like music theory and chord progressions. If I could offer one key piece of advice, it would be to appreciate the full spectrum of Drum & Bass."

If someone could hear only one record to understand your lane, what would you hand them?

London Elektricity, "Cum Dancing."

Follow DJ Murdok: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Unknown Soljahs

Olly Junglist

Raised in Chicago's house scene and now rooted in the Bay Area, Olly Junglist is known for dark jungle and drum n bass. He co-founded Rhythmic Remedies and is a resident DJ with Hardcore Junglists United, Tech Support Recordings and Fraktured San Francisco, pushing the underground sound while building community. His affiliates also include Church of Drum&Bass and Proper Drum&Bass Chicago. He's also Team Panic.

What pulled you into Drum n Bass first, and which style do you live in now?

"Growing up in Chicago, I was mostly into punk and metal until a few raver friends introduced me to the scene. Drum & Bass had that same raw, punk rock vibe that piqued my interest, especially in a city dominated by house music. Someone handed me a Danny the Wildchild tape, and it was history from there. Today, I mostly produce sample-heavy, Amen break-driven jungle, but Chicago DnB is what first pulled me in."

How would you explain jungle vs. Drum n Bass to someone at their first night?

"Jungle pays homage to the roots, taking classic sampled drum loops like the Amen break and blending them with dub reggae influences. As technology advanced, Drum & Bass evolved from those roots, relying more on synth sound design than chopped-up drum samples. Jungle gave birth to DnB, but if you really nerd out on the details, there's a clear line between the two."

In a US room, what does a crowd go off for most: liquid, jump-up or neuro, and why?

"It really depends on the event and the region. Massives like EDC are great entry points for mainstream big-room DnB, but deep in the underground, you'll hear every subgenre represented. Regional tastes vary too. San Francisco and Los Angeles has a massive jungle scene, Portland leans toward liquid, and the Midwest and East Coast gravitate toward heavy, technical DnB subgenres."

Follow Olly Junglist: Instagram | SoundCloud | Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify | Website

How to find your lane

Start with how you want the night to feel. Want to float? Liquid. Want to bounce? Jump-up. Want pressure in your chest and a dark room? Techstep and neuro. Want the roots and the sound system? Jungle. Most heads end up with a few lanes, and the best sets, like the best battles, know when to switch.

Quick answers for anyone new to this

What tempo is drum n bass? Usually around 170 to 180 BPM, with jungle often a little slower.

What's the difference between jungle and drum n bass? Jungle is the earlier sound, built on chopped breaks and reggae and dancehall influence. Drum n bass grew out of it and took on cleaner, more varied production.

Is dubstep the same thing? No. Dubstep is a different genre, with a much slower tempo and a different groove, though both come out of the UK bass music world.

Which style is best for a first night out? Jump-up if you want a party, liquid if you want something melodic, neurofunk if you want something heavy.

Looking for gear from the scene? Check out our Drum n Bass collection.

This story was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Panic 39 before publishing.