Big Beat was once one of the biggest, but ironically, perhaps most
misunderstood musical movements of the Mid-Late 1990's, lead by some of
the biggest artists the Electronic Dance Music scene has ever seen, such
as Fatboy Slim (AKA Norman Cook), The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy.
It's loud, eclectic sound with it's syncopated beats was a smash around
the world, leading to nights of boozy (but good natured) hedonism, and
it was the soundtrack to the advertising world of the late 1990's and
early 2000's. But, somewhere along the way, the genre got a massive
backlash from critics, leading to a very quick and painful death, and
became the very victim of it's own success. Where did it go wrong and is
there a chance for the scene to experience a revival? With new and
exclusive interviews by Rory Hoy from 120 of those who were in the thick
of it as well as exclusive Top 5's and Top 10's from the artists
themselves - this is a celebratory (and sometimes humorous) look at a
music scene that was short lived . . but had a very big impact.
"The best thing about big beat was the idea that we broke all sorts of
musical rules . . . " -.Fatboy Slim