What is halftime drum & bass?

Halftime keeps the drum & bass tempo, around 170 BPM, but the drums hit at half that feel, closer to 85. That space changes everything: sparse, heavy kicks and snares, deep sub-bass, and the swagger of hip-hop and trap sitting inside detailed, neuro-influenced sound design.

The groundwork came out of the Autonomic movement dBridge and Instra:mental started in 2009, and the sound took shape in the early 2010s. Ivy Lab pushed it furthest, and their 20/20 LDN label became a home for it. Sabre, Stray, and Halogenix first released together on Critical in February 2012 and took the Ivy Lab name in January 2013. Halogenix later left, and Sabre and Stray carried it on as a duo. Fracture, Sam Binga, Om Unit, and Alix Perez shaped it too.

Halftime shares its roots with deep drum & bass, the most patient corner of the sound.