If you're one for erratic tempo changes and decades-old drum loops sped up into oblivion, topped off with a smattering of electronic nonsense that will turn your brain to mush, you might be a fan of breakcore!

In many ways, breakcore is a recontextualized amalgamation of many sub-genres that have come before it, and in this guide, I want to explore exactly what it is, how it came to be, and some artists that have made a name for themselves making it.

Let's dance.

What is the Breakcore Sound?

Breakcore’s sound emerged in the early '90s as a chaotic, rebellious response to the mainstream music industry and societal shifts of the time. Some people say that it blends the remains of hardcore, jungle, gabba, speedcore, acid, grindcore, and drum & bass.

It's characterized by the hodgepodge of these genres, all mixed up complex drum programming and breakbeats, as well as strange sampling techniques.

The genre wasn’t just born out of a desire to innovate but rather a direct response to the rise of fascism, rampant consumerism, capitalism, and the growing tide of white supremacy.

Breakcore rejected the status quo, turning its back on the polished, market-driven sounds that were taking over mainstream music. It was angry, experimental, and downright unsettling, almost like a soundtrack to fight back against the systems of power that were becoming more entrenched in society.

What’s really striking about early breakcore is that it had no defined melodic style, no set rhythm, and no formula that you could follow. It’s like a cut-and-paste job of beats and samples taken from everywhere, thrown together in a disorienting mix, and left to hit you like a ton of bricks.

It’s as much about the chaos and noise as it is about the rhythm.

Some of the big names from the early breakcore scene include Atari Teenage Riot, Shizuo, and Alec Empire.

The New Breakcore Genre Revival

Breakcore has always been a genre in flux.

It’s like a constantly evolving organism, and that’s a big part of what makes it so exciting. Modern breakcore is no longer just about raw aggression and experimental chaos. The genre is now largely fueled by online and peer-to-peer distribution.

This means it’s always been in the hands of digital communities. You’re just as likely to find a breakcore track through a meme or a niche YouTube channel as you are through a traditional music platform.

The rise of social media and internet culture has taken breakcore in a new direction, and many artists are embracing what could be called “internetcore.” This draws from memes, video games, anime, and other aspects of online subcultures. It’s a sound that feels almost custom-made for the internet age, with frantic, glitchy beats that fit perfectly into viral video loops or TikTok clips.

Along with this evolution, breakcore has started to mingle with other online-born genres like glitchcore, vaporwave, and even the pop-punk revival.

Beyond the music, it's safe to say it's now about the whole package (the sound and the aesthetic). The genre thrives on its visual identity, marrying sound and presentation, using distorted visuals, pixelated artwork, anime-inspired imagery, and chaotic, glitchy graphics that match the intensity of the music.

Artists like Machine Girl capitalize on this duality. The vibe they give off is just as important as the music itself. This is one of the reasons breakcore has gained virality on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

The Characteristics of Breakcore

Arguably, the most defining characteristic of breakcore is the drums.

In my 10 Greatest Drum Breaks of All Time piece, I've discussed the use of popular drum breaks in music. Most of breakcore genre's drum breaks are based on the classic Amen Break, as well as a few other classic hip-hop and jungle beats sped up to higher BPMs.

The way in which breakcore is produced varies from artist to artist. Some like to speed up regular hip-hop breaks and add distortion, delay, and other effects to alter the timbre of those breaks, while others like to take breaks that are already sped up and chop and rearrange them.

As for the melodic side of breakcore, there isn't much that necessarily defines the sound.

While once in a while, you'll hear familiar rave elements, such as Reese bass, acid bass, or hoovers; most of the time, breakcore artists sample sounds from anywhere and everywhere they please. Some artists, such as Igorrr, Drumcorps, and Benn Jordan, are known for recording live instrumentation for their tracks.

It really depends on the artist you're talking about, which is why the genre is so difficult to pin down.

Additional Breakcore Influences

Because breakcore is a combination of genres, it's almost easier to discuss its influences to get a better understanding of what it's made of.

Raggacore

Raggacore is a blend of dancehall and ragga music, and the genre itself predates breakcore. The history can be traced back to Remarc, one of the first jungle producers to mix breakbeats with ragga and dancehall vocals.

There aren't very many producers that create this style of music, though you'll still find a pretty decent cult following among widespread breakcore fans.

Bong-Ra is one of the best examples of this particular sound. In this track, you'll hear Jamaican elements paired with post jungle breaks:

Mashcore

Mashcore is an absolute warzone of a genre. The term was coined by Shitmat, an English breakcore artist who became famous for producing what might be the wildest breakcore album of all time. His track, "There’s No Business Like Propa’ Rungleclotted Mashup Bizznizz," was the first true "mashcore" track.

Breakcorpse

Some of the most irreverent breakcore songs are defined as "breakcorpse" or "noisy breakcore." Think heavily boosted kick drums, cacophonous samples, and highly distorted vocals. I'm not going to lie to you. It's almost difficult to listen to serious breakcorpse music, as you can hear below:

Lolicore

Lolicore, which is a variant of breakcore and speedcore, popped up for the first time in 2006. On a random 4chan board, LOLI RIPE described his music as such, with the release of Jody.

With the 4chan board long gone, there's no evidence to back any of this up other than hearsay, though his albums contain plenty of elements that one would peg as lolicore specifically. There are also several J-core artists that deserve a bit of recognition for lolicore's formation, including DJ Sharpnel and USAO.

As with many breakcore songs, lolicore, uses distorted hardcore breakbeats, high-pitched vocal samples from anime, and high BPMs. Most of the themes of this style of electronic music have to do with Otaku culture, mostly anime and lolicon media.

5 Breakcore Artists to Check Out

While there are many newer breakcore artists popping up on the scene, there are a few that I highly recommend getting started with to train your palette:

Venetian Snares

Canadian producer Aaron Funk, aka Venetian Snares, is widely regarded as the godfather of modern breakcore. Since the late ’90s, he's been famous for his insanely complex, high-speed breakbeats and unconventional time signatures (famously writing in 7/4)​. His tracks often veer from brutal and frenetic to oddly beautiful.

One of his best-known albums, Rossz Csillag Alatt Született (2005), blends blistering drum programming with lush classical music.

Yet for all the darkness and chaos, Funk’s mischievous sense of humor shines through in wacky song titles and samples, reminding us that breakcore can be playful even at its most extreme. Incredibly prolific, he’s released dozens of albums (mostly on the Planet Mu label) and dabbled in everything from glitchy IDM to acid techno (even putting out analog synth jams under the alias Last Step)​.

Igorrr

France’s Igorrr (Gautier Serre) has carved out a bizarre niche at the intersection of breakcore, metal, and baroque music. He uses breakcore’s hyperactive drums to jump-cut between wildly different sounds. One moment you’ll hear delicate harpsichords or operatic vocals, the next, blistering guitar riffs and double-kick drums​.

Igorrr jokingly dubbed this mind-bending fusion “baroquecore,” and the name fits. Albums like Hallelujah (2012) and Savage Sinusoid (2017) showcase his ability to mash up graceful melodies with extreme breakbeat hardcore sounds, creating a rollercoaster for your ears.

He’s even recorded with a live baroque ensemble and death metal vocalists!

Otto von Schirach

Miami’s Otto von Schirach brings a flamboyant twist to breakcore, powered by his hometown’s signature Miami bass. In the early 2000s, he was making raw, noisy breakcore influenced by Venetian Snares and DJ Scud​. Over time, Otto mutated his style into a wild hybrid, using sci-fi B-movie sound effects and glitchy breakbeats mixed with the booty-shaking, rumbling bass lines of his Miami hometown.

His albums freely toss in bits of hip-hop, IDM, gabber, even moombahton, all filtered through an offbeat, humorous sound.

Known for an outrageous stage persona, he might perform in a gold cape and Zorro mask, claiming to be an alien from the Bermuda Triangle​.

Alec Empire

Berlin’s Alec Empire is a veteran electronic rebel who helped lay the groundwork for breakcore back in the ’90s. Many say he released the first breakcore album. As a founder of the group Atari Teenage Riot, he pioneered the “digital hardcore” style, which was a ferocious blend of punk attitude and hardcore techno beats​.

His 1996 solo album The Destroyer is often cited as an early breakcore classic, packed with distorted breakbeats and noise mayhem​.

Through his label Digital Hardcore Recordings, Empire fostered an anarchic scene that blurred the lines between thrashing guitars and machine-gun drum loops. He’s also incredibly versatile. In fact, some of my favorite pieces of his are ambient soundscapes and acid house tracks.

Mochipet

Mochipet (David Y. Wang) is a Taiwanese-American producer who put a whimsical West Coast spin on breakcore​. Based in California, he earned underground fame with releases like Girls Love Breakcore (2007), which is a tongue-in-cheek album of ridiculously fast breakbeats and chopped-up samples.

Mochipet’s style covers the broadest musical spectrum. One minute, you'll hear him splicing video game sounds and metal riffs into breakcore, while the next, he’s dropping a glitch-hop or dubstep track. He even released a full hip-hop album ( Microphonepet ) featuring indie rappers, just to keep listeners guessing​.

So, What Is Breakcore?

While nothing truly defines breakcore as an electronic music genre, as it's continuously evolving alongside mainstream and popular culture with a spectrum of styles, I think it's important to try and dissect it anyway to study its history and value in the current state of music.

There's something quite beautiful about how malleable this experimental music is, as depending on the artist you're listening to, you can transport yourself back to a distinct era. Where will breakcore go next? I suppose we'll have to patiently wait and see!