Chicago footwork is a 160 BPM dance music genre with a very specific drum pattern: triplet-based, syncopated, designed for a competitive dance style that emerged in Chicago in the 2000s. Drum & bass is 174 BPM with 4/4 drum patterns. They should not blend. They do.

How it started

Around 2012, producers like Machinedrum, Om Unit, Tim Reaper and the Astrophonica Records crew started releasing tracks that took the footwork drum vocabulary and pitched it up into DnB territory. Some called it footwork-DnB, some called it junglist 160, some refused to name it.

Why it works

Footwork drum patterns have more rhythmic information per bar than DnB drums. When you bring that detail into a DnB context, the dancefloor responds differently. Less head-nodding, more confused-then-locked-in. The energy is sideways rather than forward.

The scene now

Footwork-DnB is still a sub-scene rather than a mainstage genre, but it has its own labels (Cosmic Bridge, Astrophonica), its own crew, and a small but devoted following. UK festivals like Outlook and Dimensions program it regularly. SELECTA has not booked a dedicated footwork-DnB night yet but the elements show up in eclectic warm-up sets.

Where to listen

Start with Tim Reaper. His catalogue covers both the pure jungle revival side and the footwork-influenced edge. From there: Om Unit, Sully, Machinedrum, and the Astrophonica back catalogue.