View source for Florida breaks

{{Short description|Genre of electronic dance music}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Florida breaks
| native_name       =
| etymology         =
| other_names       = {{hlist|Orlando Sound|Orlando breaks}}
| image             =
| alt               =
| caption           =
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Breakbeat]]|[[Electro (music)|Electro]]|[[Miami bass]]||[[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]|[[Post-disco]]|[[Freestyle music|Freestyle]]|[[Turntablism]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Late 1980s and early 1990s, [[United States]]
| instruments       =
| derivatives       = [[Breakbeat#Acid breaks|Acid breaks]]
| subgenres         =
| subgenrelist      =
| fusiongenres      =
| regional_scenes   = {{hlist|United States|United Kingdom}}
| local_scenes      = {{hlist|[[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]]|[[Tampa]]|[[Florida]]}}
| other_topics      =
| footnotes         =
| current_year      = 
}}
'''Florida breaks''', which may also be referred to as '''The Orlando Sound''', '''Orlando breaks''', or '''The Breaks''', is a [[genre]] of [[breakbeat]] [[Electronic dance music|dance music]] that originated in the central region of [[Florida]], [[United States]].<ref name="Le-Huu 2015">{{cite web |url=http://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2015/11/28/aahz-respects-the-breaks-that-made-orlando-global-overdue-propers-for-dj-stylus-the-beacham |title=AAHZ respects the breaks that made Orlando global, overdue propers for DJ Stylus (The Beacham) |last1=Le-Huu |first1=Bao |date= November 28, 2015 |access-date=December 1, 2015 |quote=The AAHZ days, though absolutely foundational, were an elementary phase in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s that heavily featured European house sounds. But the breaks – a breakbeat subgenre braided of hip-hop, Miami bass and electro – was the Orlando sound, our original chapter and contribution to the EDM world. And when the breaks surged in the mid ‘90s, it was the Orlando dance scene at its apex, when we weren’t just playing the leading sounds but making and exporting them.  When it comes to breaks, the names that really jump out on this heavyweight lineup are Icey and Stylus, the two DJs who actually specialized in the style.}}{blog of Orlando Weekly's music column}</ref>
Florida Breaks draws on [[hip-hop]], [[Miami bass]] and [[electro (music)|electro]]. It often includes [[Sampling (music)|samples]] of early [[jazz]] or [[funk]] [[Beat (music)|beats]] from [[rare groove]] or popular film. It often features vocal elements.<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> Compared to the hip-hop on which it is based,<ref name="Le-Huu 2015" /> the style is faster, more [[syncopation|syncopated]], and has a heavier and unrelenting bassline.<ref name="Gettelman 1997">{{cite web |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1997/02/09/the-orlando-sound/ |title=The Orlando Sound: Although Hard To Define, It's Hot Among Lovers Of Underground Dance Music |last1=Gettelman |first1=Parry |date=February 9, 1997 |website=orlandosentinel.com |publisher= The Orlando Sentinel |access-date= November 5, 2015 }}</ref> The beat frequently slows and [[breakdown (music)|breaks down]] complex beat patterns and then rebuilds.<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> The genre has been described as being easy to dance to while creating an uplifting, happy, or positive mood in the listener.<ref name="Gettelman 1997" />

== History ==

===Late 1980s – early 1990s===

The style emerged during the late '80s at the [[Beacham Theatre]] in Orlando<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> and gained popularity in the local underground music [[subculture]] during the city's Summer of Love era, roughly 1989 to 1992.<ref name=Kelemen1998>{{cite web |url=http://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/the-florida-winter-had-ju/Content?oid=2259479 |title=Wizards of Aahz: The Florida winter had ju... |last1= Kelemen |first1=Matt |date=September 2, 1998 |website=orlandoweekly.com |publisher=The Orlando Weekly |access-date=November 30, 2015 |quote=Collins could not be aware of it at the time, but those Saturday nights -- eventually known as "Aahz"-- would kick-start an underground culture and spawn countless DJ careers. Orlando would never be the same...By 1991-1992, Orlando experienced its own "summer of love" through the culture that sprang up around the weekend acid-house nights at the Beacham Theatre presided over by Collins and Dave Cannalte, and nurtured by Beacham promoter StaceBass...only New York, San Francisco and L.A. had similar scenes, and they were characterized by warehouse parties. Orlando had a headquarters in the heart of its downtown district...From then on the crowds would refer to the Beacham as "Aahz" no matter what the owners called it.}}</ref><ref name="moyer 2017">{{cite web| url =https://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/wizard-of-aahz-orlando-lord-of-the-dance-kimball-collins-is-serious-about-throwing-a-party/Content?oid=8696848
 | title =Orlando lord of the dance Kimball Collins is serious about throwing a party | last =Moyer
 | first =Matthew | date =November 21, 2017 | website =orlandoweekly.com | publisher =The Orlando Weekly | access-date =September 23, 2019
 | quote = The last thing on DJ and Orlando dance music linchpin Kimball Collins' mind back during the fabled Orlando Summer of Love in the early 1990s was that he would someday be responsible for preserving the legacy of Florida Breaks...Collins explains that this is...a celebration of an era when Orlando was ground zero for a new type of dance music, and a survey of how that music has changed over the years: "Florida, and Central Florida in particular, gravitated heavily to all types of genres that relied on a type of break-beat from electro, techno, freestyle, Miami bass to straight-up U.K. rave breaks. Those influences went on to develop what would soon become the signature 'Florida break-beat sound.' That explains [Orlando audiences'] love of breaks and why we are happy to do another...event celebrating this style"}}</ref> Genre pioneer [[DJ Icey|Eddie Pappa]], influenced by nights spent at the Beacham, honed his skill at The Edge when it opened in 1992. In 1993, it gained prominence state-wide and, propelled by large events at the Edge, elsewhere in the U.S. and Europe.<ref name =Fergusonjuly22013 />

===Mid-1990s popularity===

{{external media
| float  = right
| audio1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Np8Mm-a68 Nick Newton's - ''Planet Acid''] combines acid, electro, and breakbeat elements for a grittier Florida sound.
}}

The Breaks influenced producers who mixed breakbeat with progressive and trance, producing a mixture that became known as "The Orlando Sound" or Florida breaks.<ref name =Fergusonjuly22013 /> The sound became popular among DJs and club goers during the mid-1990s. It was marketed internationally as "Orlando friendly."<ref name="Gettelman 1997" />

English breaks DJ and producer Nick Newton released a 1996 record ''Orlando''.<ref name =Fergusonjuly22013>{{cite web |url=http://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/dance-dance-revolution/Content?oid=2244233 |title= Dance dance revolution |last1= Ferguson |first1= Jason|last2=Le-Huu |first2= Bao|date=July 2, 2013 |website=orlandoweekly.com |publisher=The Orlando Weekly |access-date=July 28, 2016 |quote=The 1990s was formative in the electronic dance music awakening of America, and that fire-catching cultural momentum would vault Orlando to the vanguard of it all. As one of the premier global epicenters of the rave big bang, the city found itself on equal footing with not just New York or Los Angeles but also with the trailblazing U.K. scene (English breaks DJ-producer Nick Newton named his 1996 record Orlando), even siring its own sound (Florida breaks).}}</ref>

There is only general consensus on the defining elements of the genre, which spawned regional and preference variations.<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> For example, the Orlando Sound of Central and Northern Florida were influenced by [[new beat]], [[trance (music)|trance]], and [[progressive house]] sounds. Producers in South Florida and Tampa chose a [[deep house]] flavor or retained more of the [[funk]] and [[hip-hop]] influence of Miami's "ghetto-bass" or funky breaks.<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /><ref name=Gentile2014>{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/florida-breaks-in-the-1990s-beats-get-sleazy-in-the-weirdo-armpit-of-america/ |title=Florida Breaks in the 1990s: Beats Get Sleazy in the Weirdo Armpit of America |last= Gentile|first= Jessica|date= November 4, 2014|website=thump.vice.com |publisher=VICE |access-date=February 26, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Ireland">{{Cite web|url=https://www.magneticmag.com/2015/10/electronic-music-101-what-are-breakbeats/|title=Electronic Music 101: What Are Breakbeats?|last=Ireland|first=David|website=Magnetic Magazine|language=en-us|access-date=2019-09-26}}</ref>

The genre received limited local radio play in Central Florida on [[radio stations]] [[WXXL]] (106.7 FM)<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> and on college radio [[WPRK]] (91.5 FM),<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> as well as [[WUCF-FM|WUCF]] (89.9 FM), [[WFIT]] (89.5 FM on [[Space Coast]]), and [[WMNF]] (88.5 FM in [[Tampa]]).<ref name =Fergusonjuly22013 />

===2000s===
The international and local popularity of Florida breaks began to wane in 2000,<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> though it remains popular in Central Florida.<ref name="Le-Huu 2015" /><ref name="moyer 2017"/>

== 2020s Digital Revival ==
In the 2020s, Florida breaks inspired a new generation of independent producers and performers experimenting with the style’s syncopated percussion and energetic basslines. Artists such as Dino and Lightbulb, active in virtual spaces like VRChat, have cited the influence of Florida’s classic breakbeat scene and labels such as Ravesta Records while developing new events and music under the project name "Rhythm." Their performances and mixes reflect ongoing interest in breakbeat and Florida breaks within both online and physical electronic-music communities, coinciding with a broader resurgence of breakbeat-influenced production across genres like bass house, UK breaks, and electro.<ref>{{cite web |date=2023-03-02 |title=Rhythm Anniversary Interview – Dino & Lightbulb |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPl5jNcDf54 |website=YouTube |publisher=Rhythm World}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2023 |title=Breakbeat Bounces Back |url=https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/breakbeat-bounces-back/pl.790ebc2b85ac4bb9894b48bbf57e6376 |website=DJ Mag Playlist |publisher=DJ Mag}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2023 |title=The Virtual Reality Rave Scene: How VRChat Has Transformed How Generation Z Experiences EDM Music |url=https://markashmorefrsa.medium.com/the-virtual-reality-rave-scene-how-vrchat-has-transformed-how-generation-z-experiences-edm-music-8adcce314c95 |website=Medium |publisher=Mark Ashmore FRSA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2023 |title=60-Hour Dance Sessions, Simulated Sex, and Ketamine: Inside the World of Hardcore VR Ravers |url=https://www.wired.com/story/60-hour-dance-sessions-simulated-sex-and-ketamine-inside-the-world-of-hardcore-vr-ravers |website=Wired |publisher=WIRED Magazine}}</ref>

==Early Florida breaks venues ==
[[Beacham Theatre#Late Night era: (1988–1994) Aahz|AAHZ]] at the [[Beacham Theatre]] (Orlando),<ref name="Le-Huu 2015" /> The Edge (Orlando).<ref name="Le-Huu 2015" /> The Abyss (Orlando),<ref name="Le-Huu 2015" /> The Club at [[Firestone Building|Firestone]] (Orlando),<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> The Beach Club (Orlando),<ref name =Fergusonjuly22013 /> Icon (Orlando),<ref name="Gettelman 1997" /> Simon's (Gainesville),<ref name=Gentile5.11.2014>{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-essential-rave-nightclubs-of-floridian-history/ |title=The Essential Rave Nightclubs of Floridian History |last=Gentile |first=Jessica |date=November 5, 2014 |website=thump.vice.com |publisher=VICE |access-date=February 27, 2017 }}</ref>  Marz (Cocoa Beach),<ref name =Fergusonjuly22013 /> The Edge (Fort. Lauderdale),<ref name=Gentile5.11.2014 /> and Masquerade (Tampa).<ref name=Gentile5.11.2014 />

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|Florida|History|Music|}}
* [[Break (music)#Break beat (element of music)|Break beat (element of music)]]
* [[Breakbeat|Breakbeat (genre)]]
* [[Breakdown (music)]]
* [[Broken beat]] (genre)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/music.swf Florida Breaks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917100011/http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/music.swf |date=2021-09-17 }} from [[Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music]]

{{Breakbeat-footer}}
{{Hip hop}}

[[Category:Breakbeat genres]]
[[Category:Music of Florida]]