A GUIDE TO MODERN DANCE MUSIC ~TEST.FIL~ *** A Guide To Modern Dance Music *** * By Havoc / Giants * Before you start reading this article, please be aware of this: If you don't like dance music, get back to the menu! But if you do like it, this might be of some interest to you. The list I've made is not complete, nor does it attempt to be. Dance music today is so diverse that describing all existing styles is virtually impossible. There also are too many sub-styles and cross-over styles ever to be known by one single person. If anyone feels like completing or improving the list, please be my guest, and send me a copy. There are vague plans to include other genres of music (like hardrock etc.), but my knowledge of these is far too small to do it myself. Anyone wanting to help out is welcome to do so. ~MIDI.BLK~ Let's go! Style: House Origin: USA (esp. Chicago) Associated styles: Almost all music with computerized drums Details: In its original form, house was mainly played at gay disco's. The name 'house' is widely believed to originate from a club in Chicago called 'The Warehouse'. There probably are more subcultures within house than hairs on your head. Popularity: The original house died when all the subcultures appeared. Style: Clubhouse Origin: Belgium Associated styles: Eurohouse, Dance Details: A big movement some five years ago, but a lot of people came to dislike it when the fans started to go too strange (like for instance stealing stuff from graves etc.) Popularity: Clubhouse is still popular amongst DJ's because it is suitable to mix (simple basslines), but the fans have turned their back to it. Style: Garagehouse Origin: USA Associated styles: Clubhouse, House Details: When the house records from Chicago became available throughout the USA, a lot of people started to make their own house at home. The garagehouse is the last type of house that originates from America. Popularity: Garagehouse has had a period of popularity, but is back underground by now. Every now and then a record pops up at the other side of the ocean, and is usually only played in disco's. Style: Breakbeat Origin: England Associated styles: Jungle, Dance Details: Back in 1993, breakbeat was very popular in Europe, mainly because of an English group called 'The Prodigy'. They released a lot of classic tracks like 'Out of Space', 'Android' and 'Charly'. A lot of groups released records in the same style, but they never had the success The Prodigy had. Last year, The Prodigy released a new CD and had another few top 10 hits (No Good, Voodoo People). Rumours say that The Prodigy is currently working on a crossover record together with the metalboys from Sepultura. Popularity: Quite big, although there's only one group topping the charts. Style: Hardcore (or Gabber) Origin: Holland (esp. Rotterdam) Associated styles: Jungle, Happy Hardcore Details: The definitive answer to all mellow music. Hardcore house is the most extreme form of dance music. At least 180 beats per minute. Popularity: There aren't that many gabbers (hardcore fans), but they usually are very fanatic and tend to have a limited respect for other styles. Style: Happy Hardcore Origin: Holland, Germany Associated styles: Hardcore, Jungle, Dance Details: The friendly form of gabber. The tempo is still quite high (around 170 bpm) but the music is more suitable to dance on. A great future is expected for happy hardcore because many dance fans want something a bit harder and many hardcore fans want somewhat more positive music. Popularity: Quite high at the moment, expected to increase. Style: Techno Origin: USA (esp. Detroit) Associated styles: All Techno variants Details: The Detroit answer to Chicago's house. More subtle and abstract than house. Popularity: Very high among experts, very low among the public. ~MIDI.BLK~ Style: Tekno Origin: Germany Associated styles: Techno, Industrial Details: Tekno started as a subculture in Berlin, and became popular in the early 90's. Commercial exploitation led to a drastic decrease of the original tekno spirit, especially when money-makers like 2Limited were marketed as being tekno. A very famous group in this genre is U96 ('Das Boot', 'I Wanna Be A Kennedy'). Popularity: A few years ago it was massive in Germany, and big in the rest of Europe, but commercialism killed the real tekno. Style: Rave (style) Origin: Europe (Germany, England, Holland) Associated styles: Hardcore, Happy Hardcore Details: The commercial brother of Happy Hardcore. Very popular at the moment, thanks to artists and groups like Mark'Oh, Scooter, Interactive, Marusha, Westbam and Perplexer, to name but a few. In a certain way, rave is the follow-up to tekno. Popularity: Very very high. Look at the recent charts and see for yourself! Style: Rave (group of styles) Origin: Every country north of the Falklands. Associated styles: n/a Details: Rave is also the common term for just about every style of common dance music with more than 120 beats per minute (bpm). Popularity: n/a Style: Dance Origin: Europe Associated styles: Eurohouse, House, Mellow, Clubhouse, Eurodance Details: The softest form of house. It's very friendly to hear, and well suited to dance, if you do it slow and relaxed. Popularity: Not so high, but every self-respecting disco will run this at the beginning of an evening. Style: Italo Dance Origin: Italy Associated styles: Disco, Italo House Details: Relaxed music, nearly too slow to dance. Relies on vocals. Popularity: Very small, just for freaks and Italians. Style: Italo House Origin: Italy and France Associated styles: House, Italo Dance, Eurohouse Details: The prdecessor of Eurohouse. Many people came to know this music on their holidays in Italy or Spain. Most famous DJ: Joe T. Vanelli. Popularity: Low, especially after Eurohouse appeared. Style: Triphop Origin: England & USA Associated styles: Trance, hiphop Details: One of the new hypes at this moment, a famous example is Portishead. Popularity: Medium, still little more than a hype. Style: Ambient Origin: All around the world Associated styles: Ambient dub, new age, nature Details: The famous 'walk through the woods music'. Very relaxed, no bassdrums and a lot of natural sound elements. Popularity: Obscure but popular. ~MIDI.BLK~ Style: Ambient Dub Origin: England Associated styles: House, Breakbeat Details: Quite relaxing, this is (in my opinion) the best chill-out music. In the last two years, the exact difference between on one hand ambient and on the other house and breakbeat became more and more vague. Everything in between of these two is called Ambient Dub. Popularity: Rising, but not expected to become extremely large. Style: Technosoul Origin: USA & Holland Associated styles: Techno, House, Dance, Soul Details: The clubmusic for the next century is a very good description for this style by a famous Dutch DJ (Dimitri). Technosoul builds the bridge between the sampled drums of today and the soulful music that has existed for over a century by now, relying on strong basslines and vocals. Popularity: Little. The future is unclear, when will the public be ready for the return of the vocals? Style: Grungetechno Origin: England, Scandinavia Associated styles: Techno, Hardcore Details: The rawest form of techno available (imagine some kind of an extreme digital Nirvana). Popularity: Little, and, due to the inaccessibility of the music, not likely to increase. ~MIDI.BLK~ Style: Acid Origin: Europe Associated styles: House, Trance Details: A real mania at the end of the eighties, it had a cult status that is hardly comparable with the status the newer styles have. There has never been so much hype about house apart from the acid movement (around 1988). Popularity: Very little now. There is hardly any acid being produced these days. Style: Trance Origin: Belgium Associated styles: Hardtrance, Dance Details: Somewhat hypnotizing music, very popular in clubs. Although the movement started in Belgium, Germany and Holland have now taken over Belgium's leading position. Popularity: Trance is big in clubs, a little less outside the clubs. Style: Hardtrance Origin: Germany, England, Holland Associated styles: Hardcore, Trance Details: The harder version of Trance. The sound is a lot like hardcore, and a lot of people tend to confuse the two. The essential difference is in the breaks, and the build-up, which are smoother in Hardtrance. Popularity: Reasonable. Most Hardcore fans like Hardtrance too, and it's more accessible than Hardcore, so there are quite a lot of people who like it. There aren't, however, very much real fans. ~MIDI.BLK~ Style: Hiphop Origin: USA Associated styles: Triphop, Rap Details: The modern black music of America. Quite easy to recognize by the continuing breakbeat loops Popularity: Well, it suddenly ends here, our man Havoc would have sent the rest of the article but, the poor bastard got ill. Anyway the next time around he will make it up to ya' all (ED) ! ~GREY.PAL~