Neon White made me realize that I love drum and bass music
I started up Neon white recently on Steam after not playing it for a few years. But this time I didn’t play it. I just loaded into several stages to hear the soundtrack. Angel Matrix’s fantastic 2022 first-person speedrunning game is backed by a suitably energetic, synth- and drum-heavy score from Machine Girl, who rules. And then, then Neon white came out, it was my first serious introduction to drum and bass music. Replaying all the stages to achieve high scores made the tunes sink in and has since become one of my favorite genres of music for every mood and situation.
I love listening to instrumental music while working because there’s nothing better to help me reach a flow state with writing (hearing words distracts me sometimes). Somehow the erratically fluid movement of drum and bass keeps my brain humming. Do the dishes or walk to the supermarket? Let’s to go. DnB songs are often less than 2 minutes each, so you can easily pick them up and put them down, or listen to them several times in a row without feeling too tired.
The world of drum and bass is huge, and I feel like I’ve only dipped my toes in it so far. But the more I listen, the more cool artists I find. If you’re looking for artist recommendations, I’ll pick out some songs Black balloons, boy 2000, Passing currentsAnd TOKYOPILL. I especially enjoyed replaying Instagram clips from Star Power Drums, an expert in the genre who makes it look easy to bring drum and bass songs to life on a real drum kit.
My brief foray into the genre also exposed me to older game soundtracks with phenomenal drum and bass that I appreciate today, things like the Ibuki phase by Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike. Oh, and Amon Tobin’s work Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is timeless. Also the whole of Monkey escape‘s soundtrack is difficult. The thing is, I heard these songs when I was a kid or a teenager and for some reason didn’t think much of them. But keep playing Neon white was the big moment when the music clicked for me, and through this lens I can appreciate older songs in a new way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m on a mission to find more drum and bass that I’ve missed in gaming history (please help me).