Suburban Base was founded in 1990 by Danny Donnelly, who paid for it after opening the Boogie Times record shop in Romford, Essex. It grew out of white labels he pressed for the shop, and its first properly distributed record was Kromozone's "The Rush" in April 1991. The label moved from hardcore and breakbeat into jungle and drum and bass, getting darker and more bass-heavy as it went.
DJ Hype, Shades of Rhythm, Sonz of a Loop Da Loop Era and DJ Rap were among its artists. Smart E's "Sesame's Treet" reached number two on the UK singles chart in 1992, and Sonz of a Loop Da Loop Era's "Far Out" made number 36 the same year. QBass's "Hardcore Will Never Die" became one of its anthems.
With Moving Shadow it put out two editions of The Joint, and in 1994 Donnelly launched the compilation label Breakdown Records, whose Drum & Bass Selection series sold more than 300,000 copies. He also set up Quench for speed garage and opened Sub Base USA with an office in Los Angeles. Suburban Base closed towards the end of 1997, came back with a compilation in 2014, and since 2021 has issued unreleased material alongside reissues.
