The Most Important Six Seconds of 1969

The Amen Break (2006): In the year [1969], an American soul group called The Winstons released a seven-inch single called 'Amen, Brother'. Little did drummer GC Coleman know that the eight-bar drum 'break' in the middle of the track would far surpass him in fame and acquire an identity of its own.

The Amen Break and the Golden Ratio by Michael S Schneider: I became intrigued when I saw an image of the audio waves themselves because I immediately recognized the Golden Ratio in the structure of its timing. And I was surprised to find an even deeper relationship to the structure of the human body.

[via gerunding]
Nate Harrison explains the world's most important 6-sec drum loop (2004): This fascinating, brilliant 20-minute video narrates the history of the 'Amen Break. This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music--a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures.

[video] Compelling 'Amen Break' variation is Vic Acid, a Squarepusher and Aphex Twin collaboration--the music of This is hell (2006), an animated video clip by Paco Rico.