# Adam F — Circles

Adam F’s Circles (1995) is No. 10 in our Drum and Bass ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1995
- **Label:** Section 5
- **On one list:** Drum and Bass
- **ISRC:** GBAYE9701340
- **Updated:** 2026-08-28
- **Artist:** [Adam F](https://waxonia.com/artist/adam-f/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/adam-f--circles/

## What we say

### No. 10 in [Drum and Bass](https://waxonia.com/genre/drum-and-bass/)

Jazz-inflected, immaculately mixed, and the record most often used to prove to sceptics that drum and bass is composed music rather than assembled music.

## Analysis

7 sections, the first drop of 2 at 0:46, 20% of the way in, 36% of it spent climbing.

- **Tempo:** 166.8 BPM — the pulse reads at half this too — counted the way the genre counts it
- **Key:** A minor
- **Dynamic range:** 5.2 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 3:48

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: drums, bass
- `0:22` B · **breakdown** (bar 8), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: bass, other
- `0:47` A · **build** (bar 17), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass
- `1:28` C · **build** (bar 31), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass
- `2:09` C · **steady** (bar 45), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, other
- `2:32` D · **peak** (bar 53), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `3:20` D · **outro** (bar 70), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: drums, bass

**Drops** at 0:46 (bar 17), 1:34 (bar 33). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Adam%20F%20Circles) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=1dUi19BDzbg)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.